About Mario Martinez - Oil Painting Secrets

The one in the photo is me, Mario Martinez.

And before I start I want to clarify that many people confuse me with an artist who is no longer with us in 2013.

That is not me; unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of meeting him.

His name was also Mario Martinez but he lived in the province of Santiago del Estero, here in Argentina. It is logical to meet people with the same name since the surname Martinez is one of the most common here.

In fact in my small town I know two other Mario Martinez.

But of the three, the only painter is me and this is my history with painting …

WHAT IS MY HISTORY WITH PAINTING?

Several years ago I “accidentally” discovered some methods that completely changed my way of painting and helped me to perfect my technique and be recognized for my work.

Today my creativity does not stop flowing; I can bring out everything I have inside and capture it in my works.

I stopped feeling that I am not capable (and that fear of the blank canvas that blocked me) and I started to see significant advances in my work almost daily.

All this happened in only 9 months.

I also stopped feeling overwhelmed and without the time and I started to dedicate myself to what I like the most, oil painting.

The most incredible thing is that all the methods I use to achieve this are so powerful that they changed me from the inside out.

And today they allow me to paint any kind of work that I propose and achieve exactly what I have in mind.

Here I show you some of the works I have painted and with which I teach STEP by STEP to my students of OilPaintingSecrets.com.

… BUT, LET ME CONFESS SOMETHING TO YOU

My ability was born when I grew up.

I always liked to paint but for years I remained below the average painter.

Yes, until recently I was a garage painter.

And by this, I mean that even though I had gone to countless classes and courses I was still copying works in the garage of one of the neighborhood teachers I used to attend.

My best works were a copy of some famous painters, I had taken it from a magazine or from a more advanced classmate.

I never knew what to paint, and when I finally came up with something I would work on it for months and then file it away unfinished. I didn’t show them for fear of criticism, my excuse was that I still lacked details.

I would usually keep working on them until I smeared the colors and had to throw the whole canvas in the trash.

I would try to get away and not paint water or skin because when I tried, things got too complicated.

And of course, I was stuck and made little to no progress.

No matter what I did or who I went to things were not getting any better.

HOW DID I MANAGE TO CHANGE EVERYTHING?

I was clear about what I wanted to achieve and I was not going to stop until I got it…

I wanted to be able to paint without fear, bringing out all that I had inside me and expressing it in my work.

I wanted to be able to pick up a paintbrush and discover what I was capable of doing on my own.

My dream was to start selling my work little by little until I could make a living from it and work on what I like, enjoying the peace and tranquility that painting has always given me.

Besides, that would give me the possibility to show the world something I already knew:

“That you can learn to paint at any age and be recognized as an artist.”

At first, I tried everything. I went to teachers, took courses, read books, etc., and although I learned some things nothing helped me to move to the next level.

In fact, there were things I learned that I later had to unlearn because I realized they weren’t right.

Yes, you read that right…

In those classes, I learned things that worsened my technique and my work.

Something really difficult since I was never good at painting (I was always at the back of the class).

I spent several years in this situation. Many.

I felt that there was a piece of the puzzle that was missing and that affected everything else.

I had tried everything and nothing solved my problem.

Until something happened…

THE CLUES TO THE RIGHT PATH STARTED TO APPEAR…

One afternoon, about 10 years ago I read a sentence that touched me deep inside my heart (it was a clue) but I didn’t understand it until much later.

The sentence said:

“A man paints with his brains, not with his hands” ~Miguel Angel.

At that time I could not see the true meaning of the great master’s words.

I thought that the problem was outside of me, that I had to keep learning techniques and that I had to keep working with my teachers until I hit the nail on the head.

After all, they were telling me that this was the way, who was I to contradict them, right?

But Michelangelo in his sentence was saying the opposite. He was saying that the most important thing is inside us, not outside.

It was not until some years later that in a strange way I came across a copy of a very old book (written around the year 1500) and I finally understood Michelangelo and his phrase.

That afternoon the coincidences were incredible.

Alberto, a great friend from years ago (who has NOTHING TO DO with painting) came to my house and brought me a gift.

It was THE BOOK.

Yes, although Alberto doesn’t know anything about painting, he found a book that he found interesting because of its history with art and as a present and without knowing it, he gave it to me as a gift.

That night, when he left home, I leafed through it and realized that there was something different that I had not seen anywhere else.

Yes, the book talked entirely about painting, but making an important differentiation between the internal and the external, the mental and the corporeal.

Interesting.

I was reading and wondering… “How can this help me, if what I need is to paint better?”

I didn’t think that “mentality” was going to change things much, but it was different anyway and that attracted me a lot.

After giving it a look I thought…

“… I’ve tried everything, why not give this a shot? …”

I decided to start focusing on my mindset change instead of my techniques as I had always done.

I kept reading and as I went along it all started to make more and more sense to me.

That night I remembered Michelangelo’s phrase again but this time I understood it with total clarity.

The following week I practically did not leave the house, I dedicated myself to carefully studying the jewel I had in my hands.

After 9 months I had left my painting classes and I was exhibiting more than ever the best thing was that people enjoyed my work much more.

HOW I USED THIS DISCOVERY TO CHANGE MY PAINTING…

What happened in those 9 months?

Well, I realized that it was actually my mindset that was holding me back. I was confronting myself and putting up barriers that were limiting my growth.

The problem was inside and not outside.

It was amazing how much progress my work made in such a short time, having been stuck in the same problems for years.

The painter’s mentality is fundamental and there are almost no books that talk about it or teachers that explain it.

Why don’t they do it? I have no idea.

I can only tell you that on the contrary, the masters of painting always talked about this…

“Painting is a mental thing” ~Pablo Picasso

Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, and so many greats said it…

The challenge is not in technique, it is in learning to manage ourselves and our inner selves.

Read that paragraph again because it is key.

That was the missing piece in my puzzle…

In those 9 months, I went from feeling unwilling to getting up with incredible energy to paint and improve every day.

From feeling overwhelmed and without time to having organized moments every day to paint my work and dedicate myself to what I like without feeling worried about other things I have to do.

I stopped feeling that fear of the blank canvas (thinking I was not capable) and I started to see progress every day.

Today I feel focused and centered in my work, something that gives me enough patience to keep going and not self-limit myself.

And best of all, my creativity is flowing like never before.

Yes, even though I was always a copyist of works without an ounce of creativity.

THE MENTAL CHANGES STARTED TO BEAR FRUIT IN MY PERSONAL LIFE…

After a couple of months of working this way, I realized that I was no longer attending my painting classes.

That was one of the biggest revelations for me.

I almost didn’t realize when it happened, it was automatic.

It made me lose valuable time that I could have spent working on my artwork.

In those months I changed my way of learning completely and instead of following a “professor” in his garage I decided to learn from the best painters in the world.

I studied Leonardo Da Vinci, Picasso, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, and a long etcetera.

Those were incredible times, of great creativity and a lot of learning that helped me to get here.

I completely lost my fear of painting and showing my work, in fact, I realized that one of my biggest mistakes was not showing my work to others.

I will tell you later why.

I also found a way to express my feelings. Painting stopped being just a technique and became a way to communicate with the world.

I feel more energetic than a 15-year-old teenager, I managed to recover my self-esteem and as I started to exhibit my work, people started to recognize me and even follow my work.

Incredible, isn’t it?

If someone had told me that all this was possible at my age I would have said it was crazy.

But now that I have created this kind of life for myself I KNOW that it is possible and that it requires less effort and time than many belief.

The secret is in finding the right information.

And if you are here, reading this story, and have made it to the end, you know that you too can learn to paint and amaze everyone with your artwork.

That’s why I have created OilPaintingSecrets.com to help you.

A place where you will find all kinds of painting content.

From hundreds of free techniques to advanced courses that will allow you to develop your art as much as you want.

And the best of all is that you can learn from the comfort of your home since all the contents are virtual.

All you need is a PC, tablet, or cell phone with Internet access.

If you want to start right now to review the contents I have prepared for you just go to the “Blog” menu or click on the following link:

Click here to go to the Blog

ABOUT MY HOMETOWN

If you are interested in knowing a little more about the place where I live, here are some pictures of different places in my beloved city, Bell Ville, in Córdoba (Argentina).

City hall of Bell Ville: