For many creatives, the drive to make art comes from an unexplainable part of their psyche. They’re just born to express their inner minds through any means possible, even if that means spending countless hours on their craft. Contemporary French artist Margritt Martinet is one such artist that just needs to draw, no matter how long a piece might take her. She renders large-scale, futuristic cityscapes in pencil and ink that take years to complete.
“When I start a large drawing I don’t know in terms of time and energy where I’m going, I just see this vast space open up before me, and I’m not afraid of how long it will take me to create,” Martinet told My Modern Met. “My process consists of instinctively letting everything in my head flow out. Instinct drives me to start several large formats at the same time, moving from one drawing to another according to my moods and thoughts.”
It took Martinet four years to finish the Maxi Bibulle, a massive nebula of countless “bubbles” clustered together. Now, the devoted artist is focused on her latest project, Maxi Futur/amas, a work that has already been in development for four years. This piece features intricate grids and labyrinthine structures, stacked one upon the other like an overcrowded city. You can almost imagine hover cars and spacecrafts gliding through the sprawling, futuristic cityscape.
Martinet’s complex compositions are developed organically and intuitively. “What I like most about my process is not knowing in advance what the final drawing will look like,” she tells us. “I enjoy discovering the shapes, lines, curves, and hidden details of my future drawing as I go along. I encounter it with each step forward.”
Martinet is a trained art therapist and often brings therapeutic and self-reflective aspects into her art. “My process is a kind of therapy; without drawing, I couldn’t live ‘normally,’” she admits. “It’s a vital need for me to be able to get everything out of my head onto paper. When I don’t draw, my mental mechanics go haywire, and I become a real gremlin to those around me and myself.”
Check out the artist’s incredible drawings below and find more of her by following Margritt Martinet on Instagram.
French artist Margritt Martinet creates large-scale, futuristic cityscapes in pencil and ink that take years to complete.
Martinet’s complex, sprawling compositions are developed organically and intuitively, and she never knows what the final drawing will look like.
Her latest project, Maxi Futur/amas, has been a work in progress for the last four years.
The futuristic cityscape is so incredibly detailed, you can almost imagine hover cars and spacecrafts whizzing past.
Watch this dedicated artist at work.
@margriitt #bicreate #drawing #creator #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #studiolife #ballpointpen ♬ son original – Margriitt
@margriitt MINI FUTURAMA —————————— 1 2 0 x 8 0 cm—————————— INK on paper——————————- ——————————— #inked #architecture #artwork #inkdrawing #contemporaryart #asmr #ballpointpen #drawings ♬ son original – Margriitt