Artist Spotlight: Marta Pertak

Meet Marta Pertak, one of the competition winners in DARA's Academic Portrait Drawing class. Despite only being enrolled in her very first term at DARA, Marta was quickly recognized for her strong proficiency in drawing from life.

Marta working on a block-in drawing from life.

This year, a new initiative began in our Trimester Programme to reward excellence in the portrait drawing and painting classes with Mischa Tranquilli. Throughout the duration of the drawing programme, which typically takes three trimesters to complete, students draw a series of short studies from the live model ranging from three to six hours, as well as longer studies of up to twenty-four hours.

First-term student Marta Pertak was recognized as the winner of the short-pose portrait drawing group during the 2025 Winter Trimester. Over three months, she completed a series of anatomy studies, as well as eight drawings from the live model from different angles. In each view from the model, she completed a block-in drawing, in which she carefully designed the light and shadow masses of the portrait.

​She additionally created a separate drawing from each angle demonstrating the constructive anatomy of the head and neck, showcasing her skillful understanding of structure and form.
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Could you tell us a little about yourself, and what led you to be interested in fine art?

MARTA: I have been drawing as a hobby since childhood, but found myself doing it a lot less once I started university. When I did draw, I was frustrated by being unable to realize my ideas on paper, so I took a class on academic figure drawing, where I really fell in love with the process and the way drawing forces you to think about and understand the subject.

Marta's first series of studies, from the model Maria.

​What is it about portraiture that most interests you?

​MARTA: The skill of capturing a likeness, and especially maintaining that likeness from different viewpoints. I have found building an idea of a subject's head as a three dimensional form through an understanding of constructive anatomy incredibly valuable to help work towards that aim.
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Which of the drawings made this trimester was your favorite?

MARTA: ​The final drawing of Fernando (the last drawing of term) probably captured his likeness the best, although I felt a bit unwell and wasn't able to finish it with as much care as I wanted to.
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Marta's second series of studies, from the model Fernando.

​In your personal work, what kind of art do you create, or are interested in creating?

MARTA: I am most interested in figure drawing and drawing from imagination, though most of my personal art is more casual and rarely results in finished pieces.

​Marta can be found on Instagram: @iguanerskid