Martin Bruce
MS paint whiz kid, Martin Bruce, makes really interesting work. His digital art brings the viewer into a magical world filled with tidbits of imagery that are surprising and scenarios that are fantastical. Find out how he does it!
Where do you live and how old are you?
At the moment I live in Santiago, Chile near the national soccer stadium. I´m 30 years old.
Your digital works are my favorite. Can you tell us about this process? You use MS Paint right?
Thank you. It was during my formative years that I began doing digital artwork with MS Paint. I really wanted to mess around with the computer and create digital collages. I loved the aesthetic of the results, so I started to use it a lot. This simple program allows me to have fun. The source of images was my old stored files of photos and also the Internet.
I didn’t know how to use Photoshop in a proper way as it was so complicated for me at that time…using different layers and stuff. So at the beginning, a simple program was enough for me to create unexpected imagery. After this digital process, I realized that I could also start an investigation of painting on canvas.
Who's pool is this?
It’s a very old photo from my auntie´s pool. I took that picture in the summer of 2010. I did it without too much thinking about the final result. It took me like four seconds on MS Paint. It was an instinctive reaction. I selected a piece of water with the "free-form selection" tool and then dragged off really fast to cut it in a half again, like clay.
Pick one: Dragons or Puppies?
Puppies.
If you were a cartoon character who would you be?
Maggie Simpson! I would love to wear the star form pajamas every night. Also she never speaks, only participating in the events around with subtle gestures and facial expressions.
Images courtesy of MARTIN BRUCE
interview ASHLEY MUNNS
More to read