Artist Mary Ancilla Martinez finds inspiration in themes exploring a variety of predominantly feminine archetypes. She works using fairy tales, folk tales, myths and legends from around the world, as well as nature and her own life experiences.  Currently living in Torrance, California, Martinez enjoys painting mystical, wild, free, ethereal places where unseen greets seen. She finds satisfaction in depicting mystery with paint, where dark weaves through light and land meets sea and sky. She appreciates the exploration of dreams, mythology, archetypes, alchemy and metaphysics. She is deeply inspired by nature, by the secret whispers of desert winds, the language of trees, the dynamism of the elements, and the infinity of the stars and cosmos. Growing up in a rural area of Albuquerque, New Mexico, shaped how she experienced the natural world and strongly influences her work. The power and magnificence of animals, birds and insects often appear in her work as allegory for emotional states, transitions or as spirit guides.