Schmidt has traveled through England, France, Cuba, Bali, Thailand and Korea. Each place takes her somewhere new with her art.
 
“I have always loved to travel," Schmidt said. "I like being in different cultures, learning different languages. I am influenced by the people I meet on those travels.”

Early start
Schmidt fell in love with art at an early age. She started painting at 6 years old.

By age 12, she had already carved her first woodblock. Now, she has dozens lining the shelves in her studio from across the globe, including India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

By her teens, Schmidt was exploring the world of printmaking through tie-dying and silk screening.

She studied art for many years on her own, but her thirst for knowledge led her to attend Young Harris College in North Georgia in the early 1980s.

“I began experimenting more with mark making, printmaking and painting as a mixed media.”

Her studies took her to the next level with her painting and printmaking. Her desire to learn more led her on a personal journey across the globe.

“I always studied with various teachers around the country whose work I really respect in both mediums of painting and printmaking. It has been my direction forever.”

The textile designer
Schmidt moved to Santa Rosa Beach in 1993. Her love of fabric and textile design led her to open Marti’s Macaw in the Ruskin Place Artist’s Colony in Seaside.

“I started hand printing my fabrics and selling them.”

Word of Schmidt’s fabric line spread quickly.

In 2001, a boutique hotel in the British Virgin Islands contacted Schmidt to order fabrics, paintings and tiles. This allowed her to launch the fabric line nationally and go into mass production.

Schmidt moved to Orlando to see the operation off the ground.

The fabric line, now known as Island Dreams Textiles, http://www.islandreamstextiles.com, has showrooms in Hawaii, California and Florida.

“The fabric is natural cottons and linens. Most of the images are images I created myself through woodblocks or silk screenings.”

With her product line launched, Schmidt returned her focus to painting. She moved back to Santa Rosa Beach in 2007 and opened her studio and gallery, L'Artiste Marti Schmidt, on Point Washington Court.

The artist
Schmidt is a professional artist and makes time to paint everyday.

“Even if I do not go in and create a masterpiece that day, there is always something that comes out of the painting that takes me to the next one," Schmidt said.

Schmidt continues to evolve in her art by learning different techniques and approaches to her paintings.

She is known internationally for her Batik paintings – the process of layering molten wax, dyes and pigments. Her original Batik paintings hang in homes, galleries and businesses throughout the world.

Her latest approach involves the intricate art of etching. To create an etching, Schmidt covers a metal plate with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. She scratches off the ground exposing the bare metal to create an image. She then dips the metal plate in an acid bath to further expose the etched image. Once cleaned, the plate can be dipped in inks and paints to create etchings.

“I’m really excited, because I think this will take me in a new direction and really elevate the quality of work.”
 
Schmidt does not limit her paintings to one approach. She uses a variety of techniques before each piece is complete.

“It may take a few days to get all of the elements together for a series that I am working on or a particular painting that I have been commissioned to do,” she said. “Some days it is just creating handmade paper and other days it is creating the imagery on a plate that will be etched that will go into a painting.”

Technique may determine the steps that Schmidt takes, but the inspiration for each painting comes from her life experiences.

“When I go to paint a painting or create an image, I reflect on those life experiences and translate them through my own psyche … my own personal dialogue,” she said. “My own personal feelings, emotions about the time, the smells and the colors eventually work themselves out through the painting.”

Welcome home
After her brief stint in Orlando, Schmidt is glad to be home.

“I was welcomed back with open arms,” she said. “I am very lucky to have a community like this as an artist.”

Upon returning, she was asked to create a piece for the 10th anniversary of the Seabreeze Jazz Festival – an international jazz festival held annually at Gulf Place in Santa Rosa Beach.

Schmidt will be at the festival April 16-20 selling prints of her completed artwork.

“There is some etching and printmaking involved in it. It is collaged pieces of raw printing, gold leafing and painting,” she said in describing the festival piece. “It is a really nice honor to receive in returning to the area.”

Artists united
Schmidt recently joined North of Grayton Artist Group. NOGA is composed of eight artists in the Santa Rosa Beach area who have home studios. Other artists include Teresa Cline, June Holm, Dawn Anderson, Catherine Dickson, Lowell Lotspeich, Eric Marcus and James Foley.

“I’m really proud to be associated with that group of artists,” she said. “All of the artists involved are very accomplished. They are not typical beach artists. They are very unique.”

For more information on North of Grayton Artist Group, visit http://www.northofgraytonartistgroup.com.  

Find Marti Schmidt
L'Artiste Marti Schmidt Gallery is located at 63 Point Washington Court in Santa Rosa Beach. For more information, call (850) 974-8543 or visit http://www.martischmidt.com.  

For more information about Island Dreams Textiles, go to http://www.islandreamstextiles.com.