Justine Martinez

Justine paints abstracted figurative paintings that explore what it means to be fully alive, the journey from fragmented living to wholeness. Through layered, intuitive processes using fluid mediums like ink and water alongside oils and acrylics, she lets intuition lead, creating pieces where vivid scenes and backgrounds move through human faces and figures. Her work explores both the pain of disconnection and the potential for full human emotion, challenging dehumanizing narratives through honest storytelling.

From a life steeped in stories and an inherent emotional sensitivity, Justine was always drawing faces and figures, compelled by an intuitive hunger to understand and express what lies beneath the surface. She has spent decades working as a spiritual guide and mentor, holding space for others through their journeys of becoming.

In midlife, a shift occurred as an act of reclaiming what had personally become fragmented. A body of abstracted portrait paintings emerged, exploring the tension between control and connection, an invitation to reconnect with what is honest, soulful, and alive. Justine currently creates in San Francisco from a studio in her home where daily life and the call to make are intertwined.

Justine’s creative process starts with unformed, raw emotion. Using a variety of tools and mediums, from palette knives to eye droppers, ink to oils, she journeys through layered materials within each painting. After sitting with spontaneous layers, she contributes more thought and intention as a response, moving toward refined mark making with oil, acrylic, or line tools, adding figurative story elements and symbols while letting the intuitive, emotional foundation remain at the center of the piece

Website: https://www.justinemartinez.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinemartinezart/
Substack/Blog: https://substack.com/@justinemartinezart