Chas Martin
Portland, OR
Sculptor/Painter inspired by Magritte and primal archetypes. My works are concept driven. Outcomes are never fully predictable. That's what makes it interesting
MessageChas Martin studied visual communication at Pratt Institute. After a career as an art director and creative director in Boston, San Francisco and Portland, his curiosity led him to explore his deeper creative voice. Travels drove him to paint. Negative space taunted him to sculpture. He creates archetypal metaphors - situations and characters in a variety of materials. He occasionally hosts creative sessions in his SW Portland, Oregon studio.
Statement
Technology touches us everywhere. Mostly it alters our balance.
Pure visualization is the ability to see your OWN images, angels and ghosts. It is essential in finding your true path. Visualization is the first step toward realization. Thought precedes reality. Concepts guide action.
My work has always been concept driven. Images that attract me come from books, dreams, conversation, meditation and a mashup of synchronous experiences throughout the day. I can’t stop asking questions about everything around me. Everything!
What if this was different? How would that look in reverse? Why isn’t that thing vivid cobalt?
I imagine archetypal characters in symbolic situations. These are part of my ongoing storyboard – a graphic novel of my own mythology.
I explore images from multiple perspectives through sketches, wire frames, clay models, photos of any of these stages, manipulation of those photos, more sketches, watercolor, acrylic, collage, and sculpture. Interaction on so many levels transforms visualization into realization. Manipulation through so many different media crystallizes an image into a tangible form.