Marian Brister Martinez is a Louisiana artist who grew up on the coast near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Her favorite childhood pastime were her visits to the barrier islands near her home. Water is a recurring theme in most of her work. She has lived in the valley for about two years.  Ms. Martinez is a free-lance artist/illustrator. She is published in Louisiana Laurels, a book of poetry and essays written and illustrated by Louisiana authors and artists, The Spirit of the Estuary: Using Art to Understand Ecology, a tutorial for children grades 6-12, for which she is the recipient of a Coastal Stewardship Award from the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana for that work, and Claude & Clawdette's Estuary  Adventure, a children's activity booklet designed to promote coastal stewardship awareness.  These last two publications can be viewed at btnep.org by going to the "education" section.

Her work encompasses a variety of mediums and subject matter including pen & ink architectural drawings by commission, oil on canvas figurative paintings, watercolors, and traditional religious iconography by commission, as well as landscape subjects. Ms. Martinez holds a bachelor of fine arts from Louisiana State University.