Sometimes we are so involved and busy that we don’t get a chance to get to know our SUNY Old Westbury staff members. Dinorah Martinez is the secretary of the Faculty Senate. She is also an artist who produces artwork in acrylic, watercolor, and oil. Dinorah Irene Martinez continues to create artwork in her Long Island studio. She became the artist that she is today because of the steady support and faith that she had surrounding her. She intensively practices her art, sketching constantly whether it is waiting for a bus or at the dentist. She enjoys working at Old Westbury and paints for self-fulfillment. Her artwork is featured in our library thanks to the Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center.
Question: Who or what inspired you to become an artist?
I had no other option but to learn the arts. My mother was an artist. She was constantly busy so she gave us colored pencils, sketch pads, pencils – we were dispositioned to paint. My mother watched us closely and watched us develop. (Una necesita a sus padres para ponerte en camino.) My mom entered me into the San Alejandro Visual Arts Academy in Havana at just the tender age of 13. I was the youngest one but everyone supported me and had a lot of faith in my success. I studied with the best art instructors available at that time in my native country, Cuba, where they trained me in a broad spectrum of visual art techniques, such as sculpture, mosaics, lithography, gravure, oils, and watercolors.
What made you emigrate from Cuba to the U.S.? Every Cuban has a desire to leave. In order to be a painter I had to leave, I had no authority to officially declare myself as a painter. All my art materials I had to acquire secretly. I was not allowed to have paint supplies. My only authority was to be a seamstress. There was no opportunity, it was a different world, and it’s hard to understand if you don’t live through it. It was hard for me to even graduate high school. Exhibitions, etc. are only available here in the United States, I can paint on my spare time freely. The only advantage I gained from Cuba was my training, my training in the arts to become the painter that I am. (Pero mi juventud fue puro lágrimas, una de tras al otro pero yo insistà a continuar
What is your favorite visual art technique?
Paint, oil, acrylic and watercolors. Oil is the easiest for me to use. If I like to challenge myself I would paint landscapes using water color. I think it’s good to explore all the possibilities and explore ones limits. So I went to go find myself and develop skills beyond my instruction of the classroom.
How long does it take you to creating a painting?
It depends on what I want to create. I was created a billboard in just two hours. If the elements, focus, balance, materials are available then it is possible to finish a complicated painting. Whether my project is simple or complicated I sometimes take a break and then come back to it to see what else I can add.
Does your art represent themes, thoughts or feelings?Fundamentally any emotion that is good, anything positive. (Paisajes, el ser humano saltana y bebes porque representan el futuro esperanza.) I try to express happiness, joy or restfulness when I paint. I want to bring warm feelings to the viewer when they look at my paintings.
How would you describe your art?
“Unfinished” – I am never satisfied with my art and I am my worst critic. I always think of ways of how my art could be better. I work on many paintings at the same time, so I am never finished; I just start a new project. I always go back to retouch, add and finish…but I am never finished.
How do you want people to evaluate or interpret your art?
I want people to get the message of harmony, grata sensaciones. I am humbled and grateful when people can evaluate my art and are satisfied. It really makes me content when my art allows them to reminisce in bliss.