Josh Martin

JOSHUA MARTIN

Joshua is a Masters student in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in his second year of study. His coursework focuses on structural engineering, and will continue on to be a bridge engineer upon completion of his masters degree. His creative outlets lie mostly in the culinary arts of coffee and cocktails, and is a new student to the visual arts. A complex understanding of geometry is a shared tenet among visual arts and structural engineering, and a deeper understanding in the visual arts capacity has helped facilitate understanding of structural mechanics.

SELF-PORTRAIT CHARCOAL ON PAPER, 18"x24" This drawing was completed in one sitting using a handheld mirror to observe my face while drawing with the other. The expression and angle are a result purely of the fact that I was drawing from an uncomfortable angle (as evidenced by the slight grimace and not quite symmetric view of the face). In drawing my own portrait, I learned that I exaggerated any flaws in my complexion and was more drawn toward a stern view of myself.

"SHOE" CHARCOAL ON PAPER, 18"x24" This shoe is the first large drawing that I have ever made. I very much wanted to emphasize the age in the leather, as that is a quality in apparel by which I am fascinated. The more creases and scuffs in a shoe, the more days that it has seen and people that it has interacted with. This particular shoe was purchased in Germany by a dear friend and has been worn generously and resoled a number of times. My style of drawing focused on the texture and imperfections in the shoe, as it is those things that make the shoe valuable.