About the Artist

Some people remember their lives through photographs. I like to remember mine through the places I’ve lived, the places I’ve visited, and the moments of happiness I’ve experienced along the way, moments that have somehow stayed with me.

I was born in Almería, in the south of Spain, and spent most of my childhood in Marbella (Malaga), where the Mediterranean became part of who I am. The sea, the gardens, the changing light and the quiet beauty of everyday life shaped the way I learned to observe the world long before I ever picked up a paintbrush.

At eighteen, I moved to Granada to study at university. Those years taught me that every place has its own rhythm, its own colours and its own stories. After Granada, I returned to Almería before making what would become one of the most important decisions of my life.

In 2011, I packed my suitcase and moved to Stockholm. What I thought would be a temporary adventure became a new home. There I found love, built a family and discovered a completely different landscape. Sweden introduced me to peaceful forests, endless lakes, changing seasons and a light unlike anything I had known before. Living between two cultures didn't divide my identity, it expanded it.

Years later, our curiosity led us one step further. Together, my family and I spent several months living in Rome, using the city as our home while exploring Italy. From the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento to Naples, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa and Venice, every journey became another chapter in a growing collection of memories that continues to inspire my work.

Some memories stay with us forever. The home where I spent my childhood in Marbella had a beautiful wisteria, with its cascading purple blossoms climbing through the garden every spring. Years later, while living in Rome, I found those same flowers cascading over streets, courtyards and hidden corners throughout the city. In an instant, I was transported back to my childhood. Moments like these remind me that memories never truly disappear, they simply wait for the right place to bring them back. That is the heart of my art.

I don't paint simply to recreate landscapes, flowers or buildings. I paint to preserve the emotions they carry. Every painting tells the story of somewhere I have loved, somewhere I have lived, or somewhere that changed the way I see the world. Some are inspired by the warmth of the Mediterranean, others by the quiet stillness of Swedish nature, and many by the journeys that continue to shape my life.

For me, art is a collection of emotions. Every person experiences it in their own unique way, and that is exactly what makes it so beautiful. Whether through painting, music or any other form of artistic expression, it is our emotions that connect us, inspire us and, ultimately, move the world.

I hope my paintings become more than images on a wall. I hope they awaken memories, evoke emotions, or simply invite you to pause for a moment and discover your own story within them.

Although Sweden is now the place I call home, I know our next adventure is never far away. Every new destination brings new colours, new light and new emotions that, sooner or later, find their way onto my canvas.

Some places become memories.
Some memories become part of us.
And sometimes, they find their way into art.

— Raquel Martos