Originally from Vitoria, Spain, Arantzazu Martinez moved to New York in search of 19th century style classical training. There she studied with Jacob Collins, both at the New York Academy of Figurative Art and the Water Street Atelier.

Martinez frequently puts her classical training in service of the interpretation of fantastical literary subjects, both historic, as in her take on the Dracula story (images above, top); and contemporary, as in the commission she accepted from Lucasfilm Ltd. to participate in the 2009 “Star Wars Visions project” (image above, second from bottom).

Her work shows an appreciation not only for the classical draftsmanship and painting techniques of previous masters, but for the refined value and color relationships found in the best 19th century painting.

When viewing the gallery on her website, be sure to use the “Zoom (+)” button to the upper right of the individual images. You can find additional large images of her work on the Art Renewal Center site.