Caricaturist Martinez SP Society of the Arts demo artist on Sunday
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: September 09, 2005
He’s fun and highly talented in an art form as old as history: caricaturist Chris Martinez, who this Sunday will demonstrate how he lightly - and affectionately - spoofs his willing subjects through art.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
He’s fun and highly talented in an art form as old as history: caricaturist Chris Martinez, who this Sunday will demonstrate how he lightly - and affectionately - spoofs his willing subjects through art. Martinez will be the Demonstration Artist of the Month at Sunday’s Santa Paula Society of the Arts meeting.
The meeting - open to the public - will be held at the Santa Paula California Oil Museum from 2 to 4 p.m. The museum is located at the corner of 10th and Main Streets.
There are few people who have not seen Martinez’s work, according to SPSA President Virginia Gunderson. It has appeared on maps, brochures and advertisements, where Martinez’s drawings have brightened up the page and drawn the eye to the content through a strong sense of fun. He has done newspaper cartoons, and in many homes throughout Ventura County a portrait by Martinez is highly prized.
Caricatures have a long history, used either as political expression or an affectionate look at the subject of the portrait. Caricature involves the over-emphasis or exaggeration of characteristic traits, whether they be physical - making large eyes even larger or refining a sharp chin to a pencil point - or related to a task or profession. In the early ages caricature was mostly political and rarely affectionate, with the top talents of the times bringing government leaders and politicians to their knees through the art form.
Martinez’s work is highly prized, not only for the fine talent that produces it but also for the more gentle approach of exaggeration. In recent months Martinez was the featured artist at the Santa Paula Adult Daycare fundraising dinner, where he was kept busy for hours as people waited in line to be able to go home with a signature Martinez portrait.
For more information on the September 11 Santa Paula Society of the Arts Demonstration Artist meeting featuring Martinez, call the SPSA at 525-1104.
The Santa Paula Society of the Arts Depot Gallery and Gift Shop - where you can buy unique arts and crafts as well as fine paintings - is open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. The SPSA Gallery is located inside the historic Depot at the corner of 10th and Santa Barbara Streets.
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