Artist interview- Ua Martel

On a sunny day in Los Angeles, circa summer 2017 I set out on an adventure through the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles accompanied by my friend Alex Bonnet to take photos for a photography project. Making use of everything we could we ended up in the bathroom of the W hotel and snapped the notorious light bulb photo. I thought nothing of it really until soon after it was posted I was approached by Ua Martel. He asked if he could paint a mural of it in San Francisco. This text exchange would result in what was quite honestly the most amazing and emotional thing to ever happen to me.

Years after the mural Im still buzzing from the experience. The thing was, i had never actually had the chance to meet Ua. This was until our paths eventually crossed and we sat down on a Saturday night in a Dollhouse inspired home in SE Portland Oregon so i could ask him some questions.

Where are you from?

Im from Coeur d’Alene Idaho.

How old were you when you started doing art?

I was 18.

Where murals your main form of art or did you start with something else?

I immediately wanted to go big. I did a small canvas, 8x16 or something like that and after that one night i didnt take a day off from painting and i went and got two massive canvases. I got a free wall in Seattle which ended up being a strip club. Which is really funny, i never ended up going into the strip club. Two years later i saw my mural on the front page of one of the papers there and the guys who hired me were totally running a prostitute ring through the club. They definitely were giving me some sketchy vibes when i was painting there, So that was gnarly for my first mural.

If you saw yourself involved in artistry in 5 years what would you be doing?

Making massive sculptures and I would like to do a lot more installations. The instillations I’ve gone to in Los Angeles are so inspirational. I love that it’s actually just for a moment and then it’s gone so you really have to pause and appreciate it. I think In just one of those instillation moments you could inspire someone so heavily, i love It.

Why did you paint a mural of me in San Francisco?

I saw the photo on Instagram, i think I had been following you for a little bit and i had my eyes out for a few people that i knew or didn’t know that i would like to paint. When a wall and a photo i just randomly see align and feel right i just go for it. Something about the way you were looking at the lightbulb, the emotion of the photo definitely felt perfect for that mural.

What inspired your nomadic lifestyle?

My friend, he was older and more like a big brother figure to me growing up. He was one of my friends uncles, he started traveling and he was doing the PCH. We started talking for some reason just because he felt some sort of vibe with me, we decided we would plan a secret trip to bring his nephew down to Tahoe since that was where i was Paused for the winter. He called me a vagabond and i laughed because i knew it wasn’t true but i wanted It to be. Evidently he saw that in me. He was hit and killed by a car one night in California. I immediately packed up my car, i was In North Idaho at the time spending the winter there, i drove down to Tahoe immediately to pay my respects. While in Tahoe i thought fuck, i might as well head down to LA. Driving down to LA it just felt so right being out in my car and just going for it. It felt so natural, after that year i couldn’t go back.

Whats the hardest thing about living on the road?

Organization. You always want to be insanely organized, being a painter and using that small space (the van) for work as well as it being my home it really can get difficult keeping it clean. It’s kind of annoying keeping things not painted.

When you’re out on the road do you have somewhat of a set itinerary or do you just go for it?

I normally only have the next 20 minutes planned in front of me, sometimes a few hours. I was in San Francisco about to head up to Portland over a month ago and as I was gassing up one of my friends hit me up and asked me to grab coffee with them, long story short i ended up hanging around the Bay Area for a whole month, got a mural there and ended up in Portland with a whole other plan. Things just change on a day to day. I think time management is good but sometimes in reality it holds us back to an extent. I think It’s more important to prioritize certain things, not to have a set plan but to make sure those priorities are seen to, that’s how i do it.

Do you have any advice for artists and travelers?

Be honest with yourself. Journal. Know yourself the best you can. The better you know yourself and the more true you are to every feeling you have, the happier you’ll be. Don’t be afraid to chase what you truly love about yourself and want to see in your life. You can’t be afraid. It’s going to be scary, but you can’t let that stop you.

Thank you Ua for allowing me to record you in history with this small blog post, as you recorded me with that painting in San Francisco that summer. I’ll carry the happiness i felt looking at that building with me forever.

You can find this talented man on Instagram at @uamartel or at www.cadere.art

you can find my face at 73 pond street San Francisco California 94114