Martha “Patty” Hernandez was born in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and moved to the States at a young age with family. Her love of painting came from the art history books and biographies of historical artists she was gifted as a young girl. The early influencers of these years were Salvador Dali, Leonardo De Vinci and Bob Ross. Receiving her first set of oil paints at 9 years old, she started to teach herself to paint. Her family, recognizing her interest, allowed her to attend a few local art classes, but found she preferred to paint in the privacy of her home. Martha worked hard to improve her skills and built a portfolio to attend an art based high school. It was in high school that she first introduced dance as another medium of artistic creation. She graduated high school at age 16 and found herself torn between performing and visual arts. While earning her BFA in dance at ASU, she simultaneously gave new focus to her painting by inadvertently taking a class on color theory that would inevitably influence her personal style. During her studies Martha’s paintings filled with symbolism, chiaroscuro, and color were accepted in several showcases at community college and university levels. She finished her schooling and continued to perform with several Arizona dance companies from Phoenix to London. Recently when she came back to painting, it was easy to notice the influence of dance. Embracing the change, she wields an interdisciplinary attitude toward both her art forms. Martha’s creative output is principally acrylic paint. She identifies as an expressionist/surrealist artist, with a heavy influence of colorful spectrums and chiaroscuro. Martha draws deep inspiration from her husband’s music, her love of dance, the circus, and the beauty of Mexican culture.