Meet Etsy Artist: KathyMartinStudio

Aside from being an artist, Kathy Martin is also a professional saxophone player, singer, composer, and "3rd grade teacher, who has a passion for creating." She has lived in 10 different states, but currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she plans to pursue her music career. As a composer she writes New Age piano ballads. "I then layer different ambient sounds and melodies over the top of my piano compositions to create a Yanni or Enya type of piece," she explains. "As an elementary school teacher I plan to begin writing a series of songs that will encourage students to learn and acquire long-term retention of important facts. I have begun research on the brain in regards to how music effects and enhances the long-term retention of knowledge....think 'School House Rock' and 'Conjunction junction, what's your function?'" Aside from music she loves creating visual works of art. "Painting beautiful, unique works of art is very fun and exciting to me. I use a variety of acrylic paints, 18 karat gold leaf, silver leaf, and copper leaf in my pieces. Most of my paintings are base coated with 24 karat gold paint, painted in 3D, and then treated to appear to be antiqued metal." Nature and music are her inspiration. "My favorite subjects to paint are cherry blossoms (and) dragonflies," she says. Currently she focuses on metallic earth tones, but plans to experiment with a bolder palette. "I am afraid of color's beyond shades of gold, copper, and silver for some reason," she admits. "It's time to start branching out." Although she's been composing songs since she was 13, she's only been painting since 2003 when her "EXTREMELY talented sister, who is a gifted visual artist, moved in with (her) for 2 years." To encourage her sister's talent, she purchased an excess of supplies - and one day picked up a brush and started painting herself. "My first painting was so ugly that I threw it away," she jokes. "It took a while to figure out what medium to use and how to get the three dimensional aspect of my paintings how I wanted them...Luckily, as a teacher, I get 3 paid months off a year and can use that time to really focus on my painting." Please check out her shop: http://kathymartinstudio.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com