Julia Martens

is a Canadian artist and illustrator working towards doing art full-time.
 
Martens works with many different mediums, including oil paints, watercolours, inks, and graphite.
She draws inspiration from vintage and botanical illustrations, classical artwork, natural history, and old jazz. Martens desires to tell a story within each of her works, and it's up to her viewer to connect the dots within her paintings and drawings.
 
Martens has a form of synesthesia, a sensory and neurological phenomenon, which causes colour to dominate her life. This has been with her since childhood, her earliest memory linked with it being her animatedly describing her friends’ names in specific hues. All words, letters, numbers, and people are associated with a colour in her mind, and she uses this to influence and inspire her artwork.
 
She is often asked to paint for people, design tattoos, paint large-scale murals, or design musical album art. She is currently open for commissions and other projects and would love to hear from you.

When she's not drawing, you can find her near the ocean, at a concert, or skydiving.

Current / Upcoming Shows + Collaborations:

Downtown Chilliwack Market / Sundays 10am-2pm
(keep updated for dates on Martens' Instagram)

Downtown Abbotsford Mural - Aug 2021

Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival - Virtual Art Walk / Sept 2021

Previous Shows + Collaborations:

Abbotsford News Article July

Abbotsford News Article March
 
Tedx and Abbotsford Arts Council - Perception Online Exhibition / Nov. 16th - 20th 2020
 
South Delta Artfully Anonymous - Online Exhibition / October 10 - 18 2020

Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival - Virtual Art Walk / Aug-Sept. 2020

#HomeGalleryLAC Surprise Exhibition - AIFS Gallery
Online / July 10th-25th 2020

A Little Bit Of Art - Kariton Gallery Online /  July 1-22, 2020

Strange Times - Kariton Gallery Online / June 1-22, 2020

Anonymous Art Show - Kariton Gallery / July 2018