Frequently Asked Questions

This page answers questions about my Portland, Oregon sculpture and painting studio, including studio visits, art classes, commissions, materials, and artistic influences. If you don’t see your question here, feel free to contact me—I’m happy to discuss ideas, commissions, or learning opportunities.

Where is the art studio located?

My sculpture studio is located at:

7830 SW 40th Ave., Studio #7
Portland, Oregon 97219

I am in the studio most days, but hours vary. Studio visits are welcome by appointment—please contact me to schedule a visit.


How do I schedule a class with you?

I offer private classes in my studio on sculpture, mask making, watercolor and acrylic painting. I have no fixed schedule, but arrange depending on need. I offer both individual sessions and small groups (2-3 people). Classes are more enjoyable with friends. I encourage registering together. See the Classes Page for additional details.:

  • Individual sessions: $110 for a 2-hour class
  • Small groups (2–3 people): $65 per person



What materials do you use to create your sculptures?

My sculptures are created using different materials for interior and exterior work.

Interior sculptures

Built on a carved marble base with a steel wire armature. Layers of paper or fabric saturated with a polymer binder form the structure, followed by a plaster-polymer surface for strength and texture. Finished with acrylic paint and a UV-protective sealer, intended for interior display only.

Exterior sculptures

Begin with a welded mild steel armature mounted to a steel plate base. High-density urethane foam is carved over the armature, sealed with fiberglass, painted with durable exterior enamel, and finished with a UV-resistant sealer for weather protection.


Where do your ideas come from?

My ideas come from reading, observation, and decades of drawing. I am a visual learner and keep hundreds of sketchbooks in my studio. An idea may require dozens of sketches before it becomes a sculpture. This is a nonlinear process—some ideas pause for months or years before returning in a new form. Even after sculpting begins, a piece often evolves significantly. I think of the process as a collaboration with the work itself.


Who has influenced you as an artist?

Artists who have influenced how I see include René Magritte, Isamu Noguchi, Georgia O’Keeffe, Rick Bartow, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Moran.

Sculptors who have influenced my work include Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, and Marcel Duchamp. Many of these artists worked across disciplines, which continues to inspire my approach to sculpture.


Where can I purchase original sculptures or paintings by Chas Martin?

Direct purchases can be made through this web site, or at my studio where there are always many paintings, masks and sculptures on display. My newsletter usually includes examples of my newest works. My galleries, Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ and Toriizaka Art in Sisters, Oregon both have many pieces on display and are thoroughly knowledgeable about me and my work.


What are the primary themes explored by Chas Martin in his paintings and sculptures?

  • Awe and Transcendence
  • Archetype and the Collective Unconscious
  • Tension Between Figurative and Abstract
  • Transformation and Becoming
  • Play, Intuition, and Experimentation
  • Connection — Individual to Collective

Chas Martin explores awe, archetype, and transformation through a dynamic tension between figuration and abstraction. His sculptures and paintings evoke mythic presences rather than literal narratives, drawing on archetypal ideas associated with Carl Jung and the collective unconscious.
Working intuitively, Martin allows materials to evolve through play and experimentation, creating forms that feel discovered rather than constructed. The resulting works exist in a state of becoming — psychologically charged, symbolically layered, and open to interpretation.
At their core, his pieces invite viewers beyond personal perspective into a larger, shared field of human experience — where mystery, imagination, and cultural memory converge.


What is "The Liquid Age"?

This is a term I created. The Liquid Age is our current era where truth, alliances, and reality itself have become fluid. We have become disconnected from the archetypal patterns that once grounded human experience. My work is a response to that dissolution.


What is an Archetypal Metaphor?

A metaphor binds one thing to another. My sculptures and masks bind viewers to the archetype or universal pattern of a particular quality, character or situation. An archetypal metaphor is a symbolic connection to a reality anchored in timeless patterns.