What Inspires Visual Artist Lilian Martinez?
Breaking bread with Lilian Martinez, the designer behind the artist behind ROSETTE's label design. Take a look at where she finds creative inspiration for her art.
Welcome back to Breaking Bread, Brightland's editorial series that fosters dialogues with creatives, makers and artists who inspire us. Our third installment features Lilian Martinez, also known as BFGF, the California-based multimedia artist behind ROSETTE's label design. Through her paintings, sculptures and works on paper, Lilian blends past with present and future, combining classical architectural elements with contemporary pop cultural references to create the settings for her portraits and landscapes.
How do you describe what you do?
I would say that I’m a visual artist. I use this title because I feel like it’s both specific and broad enough to describe my practice. Which can include painting, drawing, design work and running a small art based online shop.
Where do you find inspiration for your art?
I find inspiration in nature, modern art, comfort and humor. I enjoy traveling and going to museums to find inspiration, too.
How did your creative process look when creating ROSETTE’s label?
I had to figure out how to interpret the design brief and align it to my design language. I drew it on my iPad. That made it easier to add and edit colors.
What dishes currently nourish you?
My husband usually cooks. But we just got a puppy and he’s been so busy with him. I like to cook with minimal ingredients and minimal dish clean up. I like easy food like lightly steamed green beans as a vegetable side for any meal. I also like making a pot of beans to add to various things throughout the week. Like breakfast burritos or rice. I’ve been eating dry mango in between meals.
Where do you get cooking inspiration (certain cookbooks, sites, etc)?
I like seeing what people I follow on IG cook, like @kiacooks and @debbiecarlos.
What does “living in a golden state” mean to you?
I think the light really informs my practice. I gravitate towards colors with a sun washed feel. And I feel like the sun helps me work. It kind of gives me energy.
