MARTEJA BAILEY

I’m an artist, the medium I use is oil. I wouldn’t classify myself as just a portrait artist unless I had to. The reason I wouldn’t put myself just to portraits is because I will paint just about anything that inspires me.

For the most part, I try to paint primarily what I see in my mind with points of reference to develop structure on occasion. A lot of my work is centered around mental health, my own in addition to what I see within my community. That is my main source of inspiration, hidden sadness.

To explain that further, I’d first like to discuss a piece titled “Shadow Work.” While creating this piece, I was in a rocky mental state, and I wanted to paint a reflection of what I was feeling at the time. It shows in the inconsistency of my brush work as well as what I decided to paint. The piece is half of a face with tears coming out of the darkness. Essentially that is what shadow work represents for me. Coming out of a dark place but rather than staying out of it, embracing it. That’s the beauty of sadness and what my work represents.