Artclectic 2026 Chairs Anna Cramer, Libby Scanlan, and Magda Schleicher have chosen Julia Martin as the Featured Artist.

“My first participation in Artclectic is what inspired me to try going full-time as an artist,” notes Julia. “I believe that was a good twenty years ago at least. To this day, it remains the most elegant of Nashville’s fundraising art fairs. I suggest it often to young up and coming artists.”

Best known for her vibrant, otherworldly portraits, Julia’s work has expanded over the years to include polychrome and multimedia sculpture, along with much broader narrative compositions – all of which call back to an unmistakeable, yet ever evolving style. Guided by intuition, her hand is distinct and purely emotive, leading often to dreamy, prophetic and playful works.

Julia founded Julia Martin Gallery in 2013. It is located in Nashville’s Wedgewood Houston arts district in an historic L&N Railroad house.

What advice would you give to a young artist just starting out? Follow your instincts. Learn all the “rules” and techniques so that you can break them and bend them to your will. Be patient and make what you want to see in the world.

What prompted you to become an artist? What prompts anyone to do anything? I believe Art choses artists. My family tells a story from my childhood about a basket of apples by the fireplace . Everyone was talking and visiting one Christmas while I was busy taking one single bite out of each apple, and had lined them up along the hearth. That is art. I was not even two years old.

How do you know when a piece is finished? Instinct. There is a sort of “combination lock falling into place” feeling for me. It’s been interesting trying to break that rule.