“When we do what we thought was scary, the most unexpected and rewarding experiences occur.” This is what Colombian artist, Lina Mar (@linamar.art) lives by and it’s paid off. It saw her move across the world to Australia, begin her life as an artist and most recently, paint Melbourne’s street-art hub, Hozier Lane. 

Lina’s can do attitude and belief in herself is super inspiring. We got real with the abstract artist and uncovered how it all started and how living in Cali, Colombia influenced her art.

Where do you look for inspiration?

 I'm intuitively inspired to make connections between my own life experiences with colours and their meaning and influence. Mostly my paintings and compositions are about my personal experiences; every painting tells a story about what I'm experiencing at the time.

How has Colombia influenced your style?

As an abstract artist from Cali, Colombia, it’s a vibrant and colourful place that has profoundly influenced my art and style, the paintings definitely reflect that influence, most of my compositions feature bright and busy colours.

Where do you create? What’s your studio/room look like?

My studio is at home, so I can get into it at any time. I'm a highly organised person with a bit/a lot of OCD LOL! So even though it can get messy with the paint, my space is always clean and organised.

What are you most proud of creating?

It's my creative goal to inspire those who view my artwork to reconnect with themselves and enjoy each colour, so if I can achieve that with my paintings, that's what brings me joy and what I'm proud of.

What’s something that stifles your creativity?

No living experiences, staying comfortable and not pushing myself to grow when I've been stuck, is exactly when I've been the most comfortable in a routine that doesn't make me want to wake up in the morning and enjoy my day. It’s pretty much living in automatic. I just can't do it anymore.

What would you say to someone who might be a little scared to take a leap into creativity?

When we do what we thought was scary, the most unexpected and rewarding experiences occur. My goal this year has been to push myself to do things that I thought I would never do because I thought they were too big and scary for me to do. I thought it would even ruin my life if I did them, but after I did them, my life was better. I've experienced the most amazing things that I could not even imagine, so if it's scary, you gotta do it, I'll tell you!

Who are your creative cheerleaders?

Everyone around me, I am blessed and lucky to have wonderful people around me. My family is in Colombia, but we have a beautiful, close relationship. I love the friends I chose here, they are so supportive and they bring so much joy into my life, I would not be able to do this without them.

What would your dream creative space look like?

A big, warm, warehouse where I don't have to think about the paint stains hehe.

What’s next? What are you looking forward to in the future?

Becoming an abstract artist came so naturally to me, almost in a flowing and inspiring way. I love how everything begins to fit together when I’m painting, how the colours complement themselves like people, emotions or even places. I never planned for it to turn out this way. Yet, none of this happened by luck or chance. It was through the little things that kept building up to something big in the end. I want to bring colour to the world. It’s a simple reason, but the journey to realising that didn’t come so easily to me. It would have been so simple to do something else. But I am sure that I wouldn’t be as happy as I am with art in my life.

We hope that you feel inspired by Lina Mar and her story to create something new yourself. Try #montmarteart or tag us @montmarteart on Instagram or Facebook, we’d love to see what you create.

Read more on Lina Mar's art here. Or check out more of our featured artists.