Collection: Cristina Martinez Collection

Cristina Martinez is an artist from Tacoma, Washington, based in Seattle, whose work emerges from the profound strength of the Mexican women who shaped her. Raised by her mother - who had her at 15  - grandmother and aunts, Cristina's artistic vision is deeply rooted in the resilience, power, and sisterhood she inherited from these formidable women. Cristina’s art reflects the universal struggle, resilience and triumph of all people seeking to be seen and heard.

Though her formal entry into the art world began with fashion illustration, Cristina was inevitably drawn to more expansive forms of self-expression through painting - from thought-provoking portraits to boundless abstract pieces. 

Central to Cristina's practice is her intentional focus on painting Black and Brown women, a direct homage to the strong Mexican women who raised her and an acknowledgment of those who are too often invisible in spaces that matter.

Butterflies - her grandmother's favorite creatures - always find their way into Cristina's work, representing the sacred connection between us and Mother Earth. Her grandmother raises butterflies, nurturing them through their transformation from caterpillars and releasing them into the wild once they've bloomed into their full beauty. By weaving butterflies into each piece, Cristina creates a reminder of growth, blooming, and the paradox that sometimes we must venture outside of ourselves to find ourselves and return home. 

This philosophy of finding eternal beauty in personal narrative found its most powerful expression in her viral "Water Me" series, born from Cristina’s deepest heartbreak and vulnerability. These works, now hung on gallery walls, stitched into garments worldwide, and permanently inked on countless bodies, transformed her personal pain into universal breakthrough for others.

Whether creating intimate pieces on handmade paper or monumental public works, her mission remains constant: to create art that encourages viewers to find beauty in unexpected places, honoring the legacy of the women who taught her that resilience blooms in the most challenging soil.