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From The Daniel Island News Top Stories
Artist Laura Martindale floats some of the best of Charleston in a glass of vino.
A stiking tribute to Boeing in the Lowcountry. Waiter, there’s a skyline in my chardonnay. Or perhaps I’ve been overserved. Either way, leave it – I’m kind of mesmerized, and I swear I’ve seen it somewhere before. Ah, yes, the Laura Martindale original hanging in Starbucks! It was Laura. She put East Battery and the Ravenel Bridge in that aged oaky white. Laura also put a Boeing 787 low over the harbor, FedEx Stadium in a Redskin rec room in Mount Pleasant, and the city of Charleston in Ashley Furniture. It is safe to say Laura Martindale is an artist with exceptional vision. But she is equally contemplative and deliberate. Having been an artist for most of her life, Laura has fine-tuned her craft so thoughtfully that she can produce a stunning oil painting one week and a tight corporate graphic design package the next. Laura’s home and studio are in Mount Pleasant, and her parents live on Daniel Island so she is certainly no stranger around here. She earned her B.A. in Fine Arts from Coker College in 2004, spent several years in sales and marketing, then combined the disciplines to start her own business, ARTISTICi, in 2009. She chased her dream, never looked back, and is now busy delivering her brand of beautiful to the lowcountry. She sells her paintings from her website, and they can also be found at area retailers and restaurants – from Wasabi on Daniel Island to 86 Market Arts in downtown Charleston. Her sweet spin on Charlotte’s Web is a mural enjoyed by all ages at the Summerville YMCA at The Ponds, and her brush strokes grace 400 rooms at Charleston Place Hotel. A little closer to home, her work will adorn the walls of Honeycomb Café on Seven Farms Drive now through August. To kick off the display, we were able to talk to Laura and get a glimpse from "her artistic eye." And if you don’t make a point of getting to Honeycomb to check out this distinctive local talent, I may have to check to see what’s in your wine glass. Jennifer Johnston: Does inspiration for your landscape pieces come to you on site (i.e. seeing the image with your own two eyes, right place/right time), or do you first envision the scene in your head? Laura Martindale: A lot of time and research goes into each piece I do. I use a variety of photographs/images to create a single work of art. In regards to the wine glass work, I was inspired by the Charleston Food and Wine festival. I was trying to come up with an idea for their contest. I never entered it, however; I just started selling it. They are my most popular pieces, by far, and I plan to continue the series (other landmarks, other cities). Once I complete a majority of the cities, I plan to take it to the Cathy Lee & Hoda show… JJ: And the Boeing piece? LM: Boeing is going to change our community! They will have a huge impact on our economy and housing market. I approached Boeing with my idea and they drew up a contract between us. They have allowed me to produce 100 limited edition giclee prints of the original to sell to the public. The print is very popular among Boeing employees. They are so proud of the plane and company they work for. Approximately 55 prints have been sold to date. JJ: With regard to human subjects and landscapes, do you work from photographs, on location/with model, or a combination of both? LM: When I do portraits (people or animals), I always ask for a couple of photographs so I can see the personality and variety of expressions. For landscapes, and all subjects actually, I do not paint on location - too much to carry around - so I work with a variety of photographs. I pull different aspects from different photographs to create a very accurate, detailed, realistic work of art. JJ: You are obviously very talented, but this doesn’t mean creating a piece isn’t hard work. Do you ever get halfway through a painting and find it hard to muster the will to finish it? LM: When I’m only painting for myself it’s hard to make myself finish the piece, but when I’m creating for a client and I know they are looking forward to the final product, I have no problem finishing the work. Delivering a painting/mural to a customer is one of my favorite aspects of my job! JJ: If you could hang your art in any building - residential, commercial, or municipal - where would it be? LM: I enjoy having my work in commercial buildings the best. More people can enjoy my work this way, and it brings me the most business. My next goal is to have my work featured in some places on Kiawah Island, perhaps The Sanctuary. I also really enjoy doing model homes! JJ: Do you have an approach or style that you consider to be your "signature?" LM: I enjoy realistic work with a twist. I like a slightly modern edge to the work I do, for example, turning my canvas on its side (to create a diamond shape) for my wine glass paintings. I prefer oil on canvas. JJ: When you are commissioned by a business or individual, do your clients typically have at least a seed of an idea, or are you more often starting with a blank canvas? LM: I love it when clients give me their input. One of my talents is taking what my customer is envisioning in their head and translating it on canvas, or on the wall, or onto the computer. There are so many different things I do, each day is different. I create logos, graphic design, websites for businesses, and commissioned paintings for individuals, as well as murals for model homes, children’s rooms, and local businesses. My most favorite type of work is painting murals for children’s rooms. I love to see the transformation and bring happiness to the kids. I’m currently painting murals in the long hallway and five rooms in the children’s nursery at Seacoast Church along with two other volunteer artists. View more of Laura Martindale’s work, find out where to see it on display, and place an order with ARTISTICi at www.myartistici.com. © Copyright The Daniel Island News |
