Women in Art: Q&A with Kayla Martell
Women in Art: Q&A with Kayla Martell
On the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024, we are excited to celebrate the progress made in promoting gender equality and empowering women, with a special focus in the creative arts sector. Join us in celebrating the diverse achievements of women from all walks of life. To honour this occasion, we have curated a series of Q&A sessions featuring three exceptional artists, including both members and non-members of the Federation of British Artists (FBA).
We had the pleasure to speak with the exceptional artist Kayla Martell, recognised for her exhibitions with the Society of Women in Artists and for winning esteemed awards from the Federation of British Artists (FBA), winner of the RSMA Royal Society of Marine Artists “New Generation” award in 2023 and Winner of the ROI Themed Painting Prize at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters annual exhibition 2022. Throughout our discussion, Kayla generously shared insights into her artistic journey, from her background and inspiration to her unique creative process. Additionally, as a practicing female artist, Kayla offered valuable guidance for aspiring women navigating the contemporary art scene today.
Could you tell us about your artistic background, what draws you to painting and your desire to visually record the world around you?
Painting is a dance with a medium -in my case, oil. The medium is equally as important to me as the subject, I enjoy the movement of paint on the canvas, and all the variation that oil painting allows. As for the subject, I'm most interested in capturing the nuances of light in front of me. A little chroma reflected off a stove that I never noticed before, the shimmering purple of an avocado's skin, etc. Eventually, I'd like to take everything I've learned in still life, interiors, and move to bringing figures into my scenes.
Kayla Martell, Hay Sailor, 49x39cm | BUY NOW
Your unique method of drawing inspiration from the composition of your subject matter is fascinating. Could you offer a more in-depth explanation of how your creative process takes shape? In particular, what steps or factors influence your decisions when it comes to arranging and positioning elements within your artwork?
For compositions, it's all about the Notan study for me. How darks and lights arrange themselves on a canvas, which is why I have strange objects together sometimes (like shoes and grapes), because I just like the arrangement and colours they make. Sometimes, I'm trying to tell a narrative, but most of my paintings are about the joy of painting.
Kayla Martell, Anya's Favourite Yellow Shoes, 49x39cm
In your still life compositions featuring everyday objects, the inclusion of personal items seems to evoke a sense of familiarity. Are these personal items directly connected to your own experiences? Additionally, your body of work exhibits a recurrence of certain motifs, as seen in the 2023 painting 'Anya's Favourite Yellow Shoes' displayed at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition. Could you provide more insight into the significance of this repeated motif and its role in shaping your artistic expression?
I do bring shoes a lot into my compositions. I think this likely plays into my goal of moving to figures eventually, because shoes have personality. They're lots of fun to draw, especially the laces which can be tied in a bow between sneakers to symbolize love or affection, or the shoes can be propped at opposite angles like maybe the people got into an argument. It's all a bit of fun and play, and a riddle of how to solve it with oil paint.
Kayla Martell, Roe. 20x25cm
As a practicing female artist, what guidance would you offer to aspiring female artists navigating the contemporary art scene today?
My one piece of advice is that you are right where you deserve to be, doing exactly what you deserve to do. Sometimes, that means painting en plain air in a busy street and facing all that comes with it, sometimes it's fighting your own negativity in your studio, but wherever the doubts come from, you deserve to be here. You deserve to paint. You deserve to share your work.