The art that I produce is primarily rooted in expressionist traditions.  Through the language of form and color, I pursue to address the interior world of man.  My work addresses the many intricacies, the highs, the lows, the frailties, the wows of men as I understand them from my own life’s observations.  Without it being the intent, the ultimate discovery that I find in my work is an understanding of who I really am.  My work reveals my life, but only to me.  Hopefully, for others, it reveals something that is true in themselves.

    

The approach that I use to develop my work is like automatic writing. I begin with no preset studies or ideas.  If I am painting, I start by applying paint at random. I then study my marks which then suggest a direction for the work.  There are many “paintings” underneath each of my paintings as the thought process and the needs of the work develop.  No matter what materials I work in, this is the way my work is made.  It is like writing poetry.  It has a direction and a life of its own.  All I do is provide a forum.

 

My desire has always been for viewers of my work to have a personal and emotional response to the work, to be sensitive to the emotions at hand in the work portrayed.  There is no right or wrong interpretation.  It has been said, “It takes one to know one”.  Not everyone understands my work, but when someone gets it, I am happy.  It is then that I feel that I have made art.

 

Maria Sonia Martin