Marty Lewis

MASTER OF COLLAGE

"Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud" - Herman Hesse

Photo by Jessica Oleksy

​I would like to introduce to you an inspiring mixed media artist Marty Lewis.  He currently has a 100 piece show hanging at The Flightpath Coffeehouse in Austin and will be one of two participants at the ART Showdown at Halcyon in Austin this evening January 18th from 7pm-9pm.  Please stop by if you're in Austin and you'll be able to check out his work and meet Marty as well as the artist on my previous blog post Jean-Pierre Verdijo.   

Marty is a Pastors Kid which he referred to as a  "PK."  I didn't know there was a slang way of saying it but now I know.  He is from a very religious family and he is the youngest of 7 kids from California.  He currently works as a nurse and has been for about 20 years.  

Marty loves symbolism in art and tries to put allot of that into his art.   He takes from the past and the present and merges it.  He talks about life, death, sin, resurrection, and color.  The process of cutting for him is almost like a meditation.

How did this art thing get started for you?

My sister Rachel was an amazing artist and she passed away  5 years ago in 2012. When I went back to California a few of years ago and I got into some of her art supplies in 2015.  That is really where things have taken off for me as an artist.  It was a conduit for my healing with her death and that's where the gates opened up for me.​

What is inspiring you to produce so much art? 

I'm a really passionate person and I might be a little OCD I think.  Once I find something I'm really passionate about I grab onto it and just fucking go with it.   

 What type of material do you use to create your art?  Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Found paper and vintage magazines from the 1930's-1970's

Divine Intervention

Passing the torch

Tell me more about how your sister Rachel and how she influences your art?  Rachel has been the biggest inspiration in my art.  I feel that I do bring her with me when I'm creating art although our styles were different we both do assemblage.  One of the first pieces that I did was an assemblage piece.  She worked with oil and acrylics.  

​Is there anyone else that inspires you?  It's so cliche to say your parents but without the foundation that they instilled which is a traditional foundation.  Art, literature, music.....They were the most inspiring because I was surrounded by that. 

Marty Cutting

Desert Homage, This is the assemblage piece Marty created with his sisters cigar box that he found among her art supplies.

Tell me more about what inspires you as an artist? The dadist are some of the most influential artists for me. It is said that Dadaism rejects reason and logic, prizing nonsense, irrationality and intuition. This type of art certainly intrigues me. Collage allows for the aforementioned and speaks loudly to how I feel about much of what are art has become.

Are there any specific artists that inspire or influence your art? Lance Letscherdoc who is a local artist in Austin has influenced my work. Last year there was a documentary released about him called The Secret Life of Lance Letscherdoc check out the trailer here.

"I am interested in as a means of living a life; not as making a living" - Robert Henri

I'm really new to understanding and writing about mixed media but there is definitely a specific skill set it takes to understand composition, shape, color, and story telling.  Each of Marty's pieces is dramatic and makes a statement.  Some are a little shocking but most are playful and humorous.  From what I've learned about Marty over the last few weeks is that his art does define who he is as person.  Most artist do express themselves through their art since they pour their heart and soul into it.  That is the case for Marty and why he is inspiring to me.  Please check out all of Marty's work on this blog and follow him on Instagram where he posts a new piece of artwork daily.

Please check out all of Marty's work on this blog and everything is for sale so please contact myself or you can follow Marty on Instagram here.  

Every artist that I introduce I would like to inspire just one person.