We recently connected with Brandon Martinez and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

When I look at my work, I see a lot of the time I spent exploring different techniques and tools, working through a ton of iterations, and generally trying to understand the work of other artists. I see learning as a marathon, not a sprint, so in a sense I’ll always be learning. But the product of my learning only shows once I invest time into the craft. With that, I’d say that I’m in no rush to speed up my learning process. Instead I’m more excited about taking the time to fully explore ideas rather than trying to rush them. Though, if I had to pinpoint my challenges along the way, I’d definitely say a lack of patience and a hesitancy to be open to new techniques, approaches, and themes can get in the way of learning. I recommend taking the time to work through ideas, as doing is part of the learning process!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an illustrator who works with themes of architecture, cities, urbanism, and the built environment. After a brief stint studying architecture and later earning my doctorate in sociology, my illustrating has since become a full-time endeavor. I’ve worked with local organizations like Islandia Journal and Transit Alliance Miami to illustrate report covers and supporting artwork for stories, and I currently manage the print production for westofchester – a Miami-based illustrator (and my partner). In addition to my illustration and print work, I also support small-scale build projects, including last summer’s Palacio de los Recuerdos. I am currently working on a series of illustrations depicting Miami’s most prominent postmodern buildings using oil pastels – a material I’ve loved since I was a child.

I have three distinct childhood memories that really inform my fascination with the built environment. The first is visiting my mother’s office, which had these giant elevators on the exterior that would allow you to see the entire city bustling about. The second is walking through the many fantastical lands of Florida’s theme parks. And finally, I always found myself trying to recreate those themed experiences with my Lego sets – and a bit too much super glue. Today, I’m still thinking about those three memories when I’m putting pen to paper, especially when it comes time to draw a viewer into a scene.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Be it with illustration, animation, building, or writing, the most amazing moment in the creative process is seeing a realized idea – and it works! The process includes so many parts: thinking of an idea, working out the technical aspects that will make it work, experimenting and iterating versions, and piecing together all the many components that make up the larger creation. Once that’s all done and you can sit down to just appreciate it – that’s the absolute most rewarding aspect of any form of artwork.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Oh, absolutely. I firmly believe that art can be used to celebrate architecture and cities, and can even reimagine them! It can also bring people together around a shared vision or mission. In the case of my work with Transit Alliance, you can see that a better, more connected Miami is possible. In some of my earlier work, I show how so many cities are characterized by their distinctive architecture. And in my future work, I’m excited to explore the ways that architecture can take you to other places.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brandon-martinez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiodrbm/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonpmartinez

Image Credits
Artist Portrait: Melissa Gutierrez, westofchester