Paco Martin

Paco Martín has been passionate about colored pencils since the time he was in Elementary School in Madrid, Spain. When he was in College, Paco realized that all the self-taught techniques that he had acquired that far were not enough. He needed some formal training and guidance, and he found it through the lessons of Sarita Muñiz. He learned how to paint with oils and he was captivated by pastels. The new learning also helped him to still improve with colored pencils, and Paco realized that colored pencils were his technique. However, he felt that there was a long way ahead of him in order to become the best version of himself as an artist. Over the years he has explored incessantly pastels and colored pencils, striving to perfect his technique, experimenting, trying out different brands of pencils and paper, and facing bigger artistic challenges every time. He attended pastel courses with important Spanish artists like Aurelio Rodríguez, Rubén Belloso, or Enrique Donoso. Through these masters he learned a lot of valuable techniques that he was able to apply with colored pencils. When he felt he was ready, Paco burned his ships and decided to devote himself exclusively to colored pencils. Little by little, he realized that he could reach as much realism as he wanted using colored pencils. At the same time, the technique allowed him to communicate the strongest emotions. Colored pencils became his language as an artist. His work became meticulous, even obsessive, carefully observing the world around. He experimented with shapes, volumes, textures, and composition, trying to recreate the harmonious beauty of small objects of everyday life, which are a form of art for him. 

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 15^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.