Bicycle For The Mind

My first Brick and Mortar Show!

2010-09-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I have a piece in a real-life art gallery, here in Portland!

Close to our home in SE Portland, there's a little place called the Sidestreet Gallery. A fantastic gallery/kids shop/knicknack haven and light-up store, I've found myself drawn in the doors whenever I pass by.

Last night, they opened their September First Friday show last night, with a Day of the Dead theme. The artwork showcased is astounding:

Folk art sculpture mixes with candle-holders and huge oil-on-canvas pieces, and skeleton brides frolic with dead mariachi players. Great, fun stuff.

And, there it is. On top of the dais in the center of the show, sits In Memoriam, a miniature Dia de los Muertos shrine complete with tiny roses, Virgen de Guadalupe prayer card and candles:

The base is a hardwood plaque, stained cherry and edged in gold acrylic. The center cross is laser-cut wood, also painted in gold acrylic, while the others are charms. The roses are silk and fabric, twined around the cross and encircling the miniature tapers:

The prayer-card is a miniature print of Virgen, one of my favorite pieces, and the gold rose votives and white mini-tapers balance the piece out nicely:

It's the skull that is the main focus of the piece, however. A true-to-life cast of an infant skull, the model was painstakingly done up in purple, blue, green and gold in a floral sugar skull pattern.

Here's what the piece looks like in its natural environment:

And yes, here's me standing proud over it:

Thanks for looking!

August Pieces

2010-09-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

After the the Patron's mention last month, I couldn't help trying to come up with something interesting and exciting for the two shows I felt drawn to in August. The first, Still Life with Lemon, is a very different theme than I'd ever tried before, while the Pet Portrait Swap was something I did (and loved) last year.

For the lemon show, I posed a photo of a martini glass, fresh blueberries, a sliced, fresh, lemon and a fantastic pair of shoes, took a photograph and then edited it digitally. Then, I entered Shoeberries:

Detail images:

Shoeberries won a Patron's Mention award, for which I am truly grateful.

For the swap, I paired up with Eva Bagg, a wonderful watercolour artist in Canada. For my piece, I took this photo of Joey (Eva's mom's dog who recently passed)

Then, I created this portrait of him (out of feathers and a rose petal):

Details:

For her part, Eva took a photo of my daughter's godmother's dog, Rudy (seen here with his best friend Lucy):

She painted this:

I'm astonished, really, and I know Annie, Rudy's mother, will love it. I just hope Eva's mom likes hers half as much!

July Piece - Patron's Mention

2010-08-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

The annual Ripped Off show is easily my favorite recurring theme in EBSQ. Yes, the portraits and pet-swaps are fun, but nothing beats pairing up with another artist to try and work your angle on their piece. It is a freeing experience, and one that I hope to participate in for years to come.

This year, I paired with Torrie Smiley, a wonderful artist who does many perky still life fruits and drinks. I didn't think I could do any of her martini pieces justice, so I chose one of her tea pieces to rip off.

Here is her Morning Tea:

And my rendition, Afternoon Tea:

Two close-up, detail images:

Morning Tea, created through digiral freehand collage usign paper textures, took the Patron's Mention Award in the show, and I am flattered and humbled at the recognition.

For her part, Torrie took my photo of the Golden Gate, San Fran 2:

and painted this, piece The Bay Bridge:

Two close-up, detail images:

I love how she took the cars of the bridge, and the city off the hill, removing San Fran itself, in all of it's clutter, from the beauty of the Gateway to the West. I can't wait for it to arrive, and it is going up in my office. I hope Torrie likes Afternoon Tea as much as I know I'll enjoy having her lovely bridge in my home.

May Pieces - Motherhood and my daughter

2010-08-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

This month I created 4 pieces, one in my more traditional collage style, as I was asked to do a piece for a non-EBSQ show on modern motherhood, and then I used my daughter as a model for 3 altered photograph-style pieces in two other shows.

For the motherhood show, and created a mostly-abstract representational collage, entitled Venus of Modernity:

Here are two close-up detail images:

I tried to create something that had a very symmetrical feel (something I think is easy to see in the detail images, but that is also still a hard piece, showing how a woman's self moves inward after motherhood. I patterned her shape after the famous Venus of Willendorf statue, round and life-giving, not only to harken back to a time when mothers' bodies were appreciated and valued, but also to be frank an honest about the changes that modern motherhood especially, puts a woman through.

Two other pieces were for the EBSQ Nursery Rhymes Show. Both pieces involved careful planning of the photo, attention to light, dress choice, my daughter, and the other (sometimes not so cooperative, models).

First, there is Sheep?

Two detail images here:

This piece required taking my little city girl 45 minutes outside of Portland to Dolce Farm and Orchards, where the family very nicely let us chase around their sheep, goats and chickens, amused at our obvious urban bent. I gifted them a copy of this print, and I hope they liked it.

The second nursery rhyme piece, featured my girl as Little Miss Muffet in Beside Her:

Detail images:

This was taken in the small fern-covered glen near our home, with my little model sitting on a decorative concrete bench. The spider was an ebay purchase, and was the perfect size, I think. A few touch ups and a watercolor filter to make it match the Bo-Peep above completed this piece.

Lastly, there was an EBSQ Flower-of-the-Month show featuring Irises. I entered my piece, also entitled Irises:

Detail images:

If you look very closely into the detail images of her eyes, you can see the iris flower reflected in her pupils, surrounded by her pretty brown irises. I love that piece, and only hand-feathered the edged a little bit with a smudge tool.

April Pieces

2010-05-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Awww, don't you just love spring? Rainy, drizzly, wet spring? :) Well, chin up, summer rapidly approaches.

The first show I entered this month was Saints. Last month's show was Sinners, so I really liked the contrast. My entry was "Virgin", a take on the famous Virgen of Guadalupe.

Click to see it bigger.

My second piece was in the juried show Repurposed, that dealt with projects made out of found and recycled items. I entered "Dragonwall" a piece I made out of tossed magazines and a found frame.

Click to see it larger.

March Pieces

2010-03-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Ah, finally, back into the swing of things. :)

My first piece, called "Yellow Burst" is of one of the wild daffodils that sprang up of its own accord in my back yard. So vibrant and yellow, I tried to capture its cheery essence for the Daffodils show.

Then, we have a show entitled Sinners. I knew immediately which piece I was going to enter. I'm not sure if any of you knew my friend, Brad, but he was a good soul. After surviving heart failure and a replacement at an early age, he went on to try his damndest to be a good father and spouse, battling depression and BiPolar disorder along the way. He lived to make other people smile, and believed that only broing lives were ever considered perfect. An unapologetic mischief maker and marijuana activist, he is the perfect image of a benign sinner.

I painted this for the woman he left behind, and for his sons.

February Piece

2010-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

February's shows included Candy, the first EBSQ brick and mortar show, which I had every intention of entering. Ah well, maybe next year.

I did however enter the Roses show (all the favorite flowers are going to be back this year in celebration of EBSQ's 10-year anniversary). Here's "Rose Blue" in all of its glory:

I'm not a huge fan of roses, probably stemming (pardon), at least in part, from my tenure as a florist's assistant. However, my cousin is a fan of blue roses, and so I was thinking of her when I "perfected" this tea rose.

January Piece

2010-03-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

January held some fantastic shows, but we were in and out of the hospital so much I'm surprised I managed to enter the one show I did. Even then, it was an older piece of work, and since it was untouched, I was able to enter it into the Food Porn photography show.

This is Fall Produce:

When we moved to our new home, we met some wonderful neighbors. In lieu of a pie or casserole, one of our neighbors set my four year old loose in her yard, and my daughter picked these scrumptious grapes and tomatoes. They were so bright and vibrant, I simply had to get a picture!

No effects, just the pure beauty of the healthiest and freshest organic food in Portland!

December Piece

2010-03-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

In December I started my Family Sign Language business, and sort of got entangled in setting it up. However, I did do on piece for the show ancient:

What I like best about the henges is that no one knows what on earth they were for. Religious ceremonies? Druidic calendar? They are large and mysterious, imposing and slightly terrifying in their other-worldliness.

Art of the day

2009-12-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

Every week the EBSQ site runs a theme, and every day of that week a piece of art is chosen to be featured that day. There is no voting, no expectation of the piece being sold, it is just a celebration of the EBSQ artists' work as it pertains to these random themes.

This week, the theme was "'Tis the Season", and the piece featured was mine!

This piece is called "Virgin" and it is the Virgen de Guadalupe, the same that hung in my church when my son was having all of his surgeries. Whether or not there was actually an appearance in Mexico (or in Lourdes, for that matter) is a matter of conjecture, but I believe that the message of faith, peace and hope to a suffering world, is a good one.

November Pieces

2009-12-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

This month was a nice one, and I got to work another swap show, which I love. This one was the annual Portrait Swap , and my partner was S. Key.

Here are the ones she did of me:

Two of them won awards!

And here are the two I did of her:

I really enjoy working swaps because it means I get to take home the lovely pieces that my partner does, and that some of my work finds a new home. That makes me all tingly and happy inside.

I also entered two Photographs in the Bark Show:

And one of my home city in the Two Tones show:

I won a Patron's Mention award for this one! Yay, and thank you, fellow EBSQers!

Art for sale

2009-11-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

So, this month I sold a 16x20 print of my "Defiant Rose" piece, on stretched canvas and all hand-touched with acrylic paints. I've also joined the Nibblefest Art Contest (an ebay contest for artists in EBSQ), and today posted one of my paintings on ebay for the first time. I'm a seasoned ebay seller, but most of my art sales have been on recommendations from friends, not over the internet.

However, if you'd like to see the auctions I have up at this point, click here and it will take you to my current auctions. Here's the piece i just listed, an 11x14 with gold accents:

Branches:

Normally the art I do is for me, or for an EBSQ contest, or (now) for Nibblefest's art contest, but I sell very little because I don't have a client base and have not had a brick-and-mortar gallery show. I am thinking of creating a website to host art for sale, but am unsure whether or not it would receive enough traffic to make it worthwhile. Thoughts?

October (another award!)

2009-10-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

I took a bunch of really fun fall photos, but only entered three pieces into the EBSQ October shows.

For the Zombie Chickens show, I entered this guy:

Detailed views give a good closeup:

This piece took home a Patron's Mention Award, which is phenomenal. I'm terribly amused that I apparently do very well in the "weird" shows. What does that say?

For the Squash and Gourd show:

And lastly, the Think Pink show that benefits the Susan G Komen Foundation:

Generally speaking, I think "Breast Cancer Month" is over-exposed, and that other caners lack recognition and funding because of SGK's branding of everything from toasters to trinkets, but the piece fit so well, I had to enter it.

I've learned to only enter one piece a show, if at all possible, and I'm already working on a portrait for next month's show. :)

Featured Artist!

2009-09-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it makes me a bit of a geek for being excited by this, but hey, so what? I thought I'd share the screen capture, and encourage you to head on over to the EBSQ site to check the links out. I don't actually have any art up on my EBAY link, but if you're interested, drop me a line here. :)

August Pieces

2009-08-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

With the move and homework, I only got three pieces entered in the August shows, and I won't be entering nay in September. Hey, a girl's got to unpack and get her schoolwork done, you know?

However, I thought I'd share the August pieces with you.

From the Pet Show (where artists trade photos of their pets and then paint portraits for each other):

This is a photograph of Collete, and elderly kitty:

And this is the portrait I did:

Tracey has done some MARVELOUS pieces, and I was very excited to get to work with her. In exchange, she painted my puppy, Scurvy, on a stone for me:

One of Tracey's other stone paintings won a Patrons' Choice award in the Pet show!

Here's a photo of Earl and his dog Zeus:

And here's the piece I made for them:

Earl's mother, Susie, entered the two of them in this as a gift for Earl, and I hope he really likes the piece. She painted a picture of Fabio, my inlaws' cockatoo, for me. I think I'm giving it to them for Christmas. It even won a Patrons' Mention award in the show!

Then I entered on piece in the Wanderlust show:

EBSQ statement

2009-08-12T04:36:00.000-07:00

They're allowing us to apply to be the featured artist, so I decided to take a crack at the questions:

• What, besides your art, brings you creative fulfillment?
I write, less than I'd like, but am working on two biographies and a fiction novel (putting that English degree to good work). I edit photography and keep a website of photographs up for each of my kids, updated weekly and monthly. I blog and read and daydream, and I'm enjoying decorating the old Craftsman house we bought.

• What are your motivations for creating?
I get this urge, this pull, sometimes, that is nearly compulsive, and then I have to fight to do anything else until a piece is completed. I'll ignore other responsibilities and stay up until all hours of the night working, until a piece gets done. Normally, inspiration strikes at very odd times, but I've found that entering EBSQ shows sometimes gives a direction to my madness, if you will, and encourages me if and when I'm in a creative funk. I especially like the paired shows, since working with these amazing artists is such an honor, as well as a pleasure.

• How do you know when a piece you're working on is done?
I usually have a pretty good idea of what I expect it to look like before I start, and when what is in front of me matches or exceeds what I was hoping to create, I know I'm finished. Sometimes, it doesn't match what was in my minds' eye at all, and I either have to start over, or accept that art takes you unexpected places. Most of the time, I start over, but if I have a deadline, I may decide to allow flexibility in my vision for the sake of actually finishing.

• What do you find stimulating right now? How does this influence your creative process?
I've just moved to the most beautiful city in the world, and I'm looking forward to photographing it, especially in the rain. My husband supports my wild and artistic side, and his love makes me want to create. My daughter inspires me to have patience, my son to be joyful, and my brother reminds me that you never know who you really are until a crisis point. Faith impassions me, and fantasy tickles my creative processes. All these outside forces tend to congeal into one piece, leaving me exhausted until I feel the urge to do another.

• What are some of your artistic goals for the future?
I'd love to sell some of my art, and to get it viewed by more than just the people I deal with on a daily basis. Getting into a physical show would be a high point for me. I'd love to finish up my mother/faith/disability artwork that is just sitting in my computer, and I'd really like to try my hand at some stained glass when the kids are a little older.

And here's my artist profile picture:

I'm in a tree in front of my daughter's future elementary school.

July's Pieces

2009-08-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, here are the 10 pieces I entered in the July shows at EBSQ.

The Liberty show:

Liberty from Responsibility

Sewn Flag

The Parades show:

Water and Earth Dragons

Red Dragon

Purple Asian Dragon

The "Ripped Off" show:

Nature's Cathedral

Ripping off:

Sugar Skull With Candy

Ripping off:

Sugar Skull With Roses

Ripping off:

Paper Cranes

Ripping off:

Couch Cats

Ripping off:

There were some fun "rips" of some of my pieces, too:

ripping off

ripping off

ripping off

(By the way, if you are one of my "Ripped Off" partners, I owe you a copy of the artwork. I'll get it out next week as soon as I have everyone's addresses)

First of all, let me express that I was stunned with my award last month for "Dead Man's Bells." I was astounded, honored and very, very surprised.

This month I entered 10 pieces, many of which were far, far dearer to me as an artist, and I wanted to share them with you. I was secretly rooting for Couch Cats to take home an award of some sort, and I find it strange and unsettling to find myself sometimes disappointed at not "winning" something. I mean, I had ten pieces that were viewed by a few thousand people, and that should, and usually does, thrill me.

Still, I think because I consider seven of those pieces some of my all-time best, I wish they'd been recognized. They did, however, face some impossibly stiff competition, and I think the winners deserved their awards, and I'm so happy to be part of a community where I can enter pieces in shows every month, and get them seen.

Art going out!

2009-07-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last week, I ordered some really nice pieces from Giclee Print Net, and while I have a hard time with their layout process (really hard to come up with specific sizes...I guess next time I'll send a CD and instructions), I did get the layout set up and pieces ordered.

They came yesterday, are GORGEOUS, mounted on 3/16 inch gatorfoam, and make the work look marvelous! And, after signing and sealing them, I wanted to share them with you.

Couch Cats and Heron Moon are for my Ripped Off partners. I'll be mailing the cats off today, and the birds whenever I get confirmation from that artist. I still have a shirt for my 3rd partner.

Cherry Bee 1 and Cherry Bee 3 are the 17th birthday presents (along with a really fun novel) for Pablo's cousin Melissa.

Sugar Skull With Roses will be dragged to So Cal for my Godmother. :)

Also, I've entered pieces in three shows this month, Ripped Off (four pieces), Parades (3 pieces) and Liberty (2 pieces).

Thank you for stopping by!

Carissa Martos, Award Winning Artist

2009-07-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

I entered a few pieces in the June EBSQ art shows, in the Macro Bug Photography and Flower of The Month categories.

The Macro bug pieces were good, I thought:

They weren't up to the beauty and detail of the winning pieces, however, and I was just glad that they got judged and seen.

The Flower of the Month chooses different flowers or plants for each month as their theme. For June it was Foxgloves, big pink bell-shaped flowers from the digitalis family. Gorgeous, but poisonous. Here was my entry:

And look here! A patron's choice award! According to the EBSQ.com FAQs, "Patron's choice winners are based on the net number of votes from non-artist registered users for an individual work of art, and is validated by the piece being within the top 10% of the peer voted selection."

I'm honored, let me tell you! I've never before won an award, especially for my art, and I'm pleased as I can be! I've entered a few pieces in July's shows as well, so come back and visit to here how those go.

Also, I'll be mailing out my first Giclee prints later this month, so you know I'll have photos of the signing of those.

First judged pieces!

2009-06-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been creating for nearly a decade, and hosting it at EBSQ for five years. I've sold a few pieces on my own during that time as well, but (other than an event in high school) I'd never entered pieces into a show to be judged.
This month, however, I entered two EBSQ shows, and judging ended for them last night.

For the Bridges show, I entered two photographs:

and

and for the Scintillating show I entered a digital collage:

I didn't win any awards, and, especially in the Scintillating show, I'm glad, as I'd have felt it wasn't earned. It did however prompt me to enter three shows for June, Macro-Bug Photography, Tatoos and Foxglove. I'll let you know how that goes.

Commissions

2009-06-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have done a few commissioned pieces.

My media are usually mixed media/collage or digital art/photography, dealing mostly with fantasy or religious themes, though I have dabbled in some Japanese style still life and landscape, thanks to a foreign exchange student's influence, as well as photo retouching and restoration. I also do wedding/romance themed works, and my WEDDING RINGS work was just used for wedding invitations for a client. I will gladly discuss any subject matter, however.

For specific pieces, I give estimates about time of completion and cost, and ask for 10% of that fee upfront, mainly for materials. This is not refundable. When the work is completed, I will mail a proof, electronically or through USPS. If the work is adequate to the patron's standards, the rest of the funds may be sent through paypal or money order, and the piece will be mailed. If the patron does not want the piece, no hard feelings, and I will list it elsewhere. Prices differ for collage and digital art, and depending on whether the patron wants the only printing, or whether I am free to do a limited edition series.

I am also willing to discuss notecards and other items with my images on them. Please email me or visit my cafepress store to see the kind of items I have available. Names or phrases can be added to most items.

Introduction

2009-06-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

I'm Carissa Martos, a wife/mother/student/caretaker/artist/blogger in the SF Bay. I started doing collages when I was a high school senior as a way to deal with some frustrating and traumatic emotional issues, and my teacher liked my work. I continued with mixed media assemblages until 2003, when access to a computer allowed me to create digital collages, retouch some old photographs and move to a media more conducive to being easily packed up and put away.

I have a long-held EBSQ account where I can showcase my pieces, get some inspiration (wouldn't normally choose "foxgloves" as a theme for a piece) and forge relationships with other artists. It is truly a wonderful community.

So, head on over to My Portfolio and take a look at the pieces I've got up, and then over to the Cafepress store and see what items all the art are available on.