For longtime readers of this column, you may remember an article from way, way back in 2018 about Tommy Arnold’s Syncopate, a digital work from Dominaria. To this day it is one of the only prints in my collection, and one of the best paintings ever created for Magic: The Gathering.
Arnold has done a fair few cards since then, and has gone on to found Studio Tommy, an endeavor to bridge the gap between story and reality for creatives working in the space. His first collaboration was with Tamsyn Muir this past summer, and the studio’s next project is with Magic: The Gathering powerhouse. Martina Fačková. She’s approaching three dozen cards for the game, and will be releasing a stunning selection of nine signed prints exclusively through Studio Tommy. Each print will be signed when Martina makes a rare US appearance later this year, an extra special bonus essentially impossible otherwise
On the occasion Tommy invited me to collaborate on an interview with the artist, and the three of us got to chat about Martina’s story, art, Magic and what all that means today. Enjoy!
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Tommy Arnold: Hi Martina, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us! Let’s start at the beginning: can you describe your relationship with art-making over the course of your life?
Martina Fackova: This is gonna be a cliche response but I have been drawing ever since I was a kid! I wasn’t like the person drawing in a notebook everywhere they went – I’m still not like that – but drawing and painting were definitely my favourite pastimes. In Slovakia you have this Fine Art School, sort of an atelier that you attend a couple times a week in the afternoon after your regular classes, and my granddad’s friend was a principal in one of those, so after my family noticed I was drawing a lot (and well for my age), they signed me up and I went there for 12 years. Back then for me it was all just about having fun and a good time. We tried all the different techniques and mediums under the sun, from painting in tempera or drawing with charcoal to linocut and sculpting with clay. I drew from models, did still life, even some plein air.
Donny Caltrider: Where do you draw your inspiration? Some of those same places you did as a child?
MF: I draw my inspiration from everywhere, it can be movies, music, fashion, nature (I’ve been loving spending time in nature so much lately), but I tend to see everything through this “Martina filter.” I’ve always had a strong sense of what I liked visually, things that excited me, and things that just…didn’t do anything for me. I tend to focus and surround myself with the former, I feel like it makes me a happier person and a better painter. Of course my taste changes as I get older and as I grow and change as a person so I’m excited to see where this shows up in my work in the future.
TA: What was your early training like, and how did that prepare you or help you when you looked to turn professional? From what you’ve written online, it seems like Art wasn’t your first career path.
I studied English and Psychology as art never really seemed like a viable career option and none of my teachers were suggesting that either. I had no idea about the opportunities in illustration and the entertainment industry back then and my work was seriously subpar. Seriously, not a mastered fundamental in sight! Later when I was in university I got a Wacom tablet and I slowly taught myself how to use the software for design and painting. I started entering some logo design competitions and when it was time to start earning my own money I actually managed to get a job in a local game studio. Unfortunately by the time I finished my degree in Psychology the studio closed, and I was left with my portfolio which was still quite mediocre.
TA: Any fun stories from your time moving from decision -> pro that you’d care to share?
So, under the stress of just having finished school, moving out of my home and having to pay rent but unwilling to get just a random job to make ends meet I decided to invest my savings into a serious art education to make things happen as fast as possible. By that time I knew about all the big game companies, I was already envisioning Magic as my goal client and I was following skillful artists in the industry who were speaking about their journeys online, artists like Cynthia Sheppard and Karla Ortiz. From them I learned about mentorships, online classes and workshops. So I went all in. I started with a private mentorship from Adam Duff, a Schoolism workshop in Copenhagen, and I took a Smart School Class with Nonie Nelson. From there I got a scholarship and went to the IMC masterclass. It was my first time in the US and it was a great opportunity not only to learn but also to meet all the important artists and Art Directors in person! By the time of the trip my portfolio looked way different than 2 years before and amazingly, soon after this trip I got both my first book cover commission and also my first Magic card. That’s when the real work began. The stress of keeping up and creating consistently high quality work was its own challenge but I was smart enough to seek out your [Tommy’s] help at the time. As it turns out, support is the essential part of every step!
DC: What work are you most proud of? Is it a particular triumph or challenge that makes it so?
I think I’m quite proud of my oil paintings. So far the only published ones are my reproductions, which were sort of a training I did, but I have a couple originals waiting to be spoiled as well. The medium is way harder to master than digital work and there’s a different feeling of satisfaction I get when I get it right.
DC: Well that’s certainly an exciting thing to look forward to! How do you think your work then as grown, changed, or adapted since you began in Magic? I don’t know if you remember but your piece Return Upon the Tide was the featured image from my Kaldheim article; I’ve been watching your work since the very beginning!
I remember! I was so nervous when my first works for Magic were published and I was so happy it got that kind of attention, it was such an encouragement!
One technical thing I can definitely see that’s developed is my color use. I’ve become much more comfortable using colors I, for some reason, though I didn’t know how to work with. Getting different kinds of colored cards definitely helped push me in that. But generally what changed most is the way I feel when I work. I’ve gotten way more calm and relaxed as I gathered confidence that I know what I’m doing and that I know how to actually finish a painting. Hopefully that’s also visible in the work.
TA: Your work is often praised for its realism. Unfortunately realism has come, well, I’d almost say “under fire” from AI-auto-taggers. My work also gets tagged as “likely AI” by Meta’s idiot detection bots. What are your feelings about realism, what does it mean to you, and is there a message you’d like to share with people during this bizarre time in our cultural history?
I’ll be completely honest here and say that until you mentioned this to me I didn’t know my posts got flagged. I’m just very cozied up with the work in the studio at the moment, there’s a lot to be solved and worked on there and that comes from my own reflection on the work, not outside pressures. I love looking at realism. I naturally gravitate towards painting things like they actually appear; observational drawing has always been my strength and it makes me feel good to build on that. No message to people except “No porridge is eaten as hot as it is cooked,” which basically means things will settle down and be digestible again. We just have to hang on and keep doing what’s meaningful for us in the meantime.
DC: Thanks so much for this Martina, what a treat to hear your story and see some of your best work for Magic outside the card frame!
Wrapping Up
As mentioned, Studio Tommy and Martina have been working on something super exciting. Normally it’s almost impossible to get a signed print from Martina unless you catch her at a big Magic: The Gathering convention. She only comes to the United States every other year or so at best, so this is a pretty exclusive opportunity.
Studio Tommy is partnering with Martina to make gold-signed, archival giclée prints of her work available for five days, starting today, October 15th. We’ll be offering nine iconic pieces of her art – including two brand-new pieces from Reality Fracture – as meticulous reproductions:
- Dragon’s Rage Channeler
- Edgar Markov
- Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
- Liliana of the Veil
- Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
- Sorin the Mirthless
- Tasha, the Witch Queen
and, for the first time anywhere
- Jace, Reality Sculptor &
- Tam, the Possibility
From Tommy Arnold, Founder, Studio Tommy
“Connecting people with art and artists is something I’m incredibly passionate about, especially in this current cultural zeitgeist where people are often suspicious of great art. They think, “Is that AI? It’s so good!” It’s the new “That looks just like a photograph!” I’ve even heard “it’s as good as AI” said as an intended compliment to an artist. But the fact of the matter is, Martina’s work doesn’t look like AI; high-level AI generations look like the art of highly skilled artists, and Martina is one of them. The list of artists whose work was scraped without permission to feed the early iterations of Midjourney? She’s on that list. Martina paints everything lovingly, by hand, and watching her steadfast dedication to her craft over the years of our frienship has brought me such joy and inspiration. When you look at these prints, you can explore all those little marks, the moments in time that a human being recorded one by one. I’m thrilled we can partner with her to bring these masterpieces to as broad an audience as possible.”
Head on over to Studio Tommy and support some of the best folks working in this space today!
Donny Caltrider (he/him) has been writing about Magic: The Gathering art since 2018. He has an M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University, and works in varying capacities as an agent with nearly 50 Magic artists.
He likes baseball, Magic, good cards, great art, whiskey, and you.