Joel Martinez has been drawing since childhood, and his childhood continues to be an inspiration in his work. Most of his drawings and paintings stem from memories and dreams from his youth, and attempt to capture the atmosphere and emotional impact of those experiences. Formerly interested in becoming a cartoonist, Joel now focuses more on making individual paintings that resonate with him conceptually and emotionally. Joel says he strives to be a minimalist and often considers two things he believes: “Sometimes less is more and also–sometimes–different is more.” Striking a balance between simplicity and stepping outside of his comfort zone is important to him. Joel enjoys reading, science fiction, and fantasy (although he says his relationship with those genres is complicated at times), and is currently working on teaching himself Japanese.