The Show! The Show!

It was a lovely October evening in Portland. The Halloween spirit was in the air. There was a slight chill in the air. Want to see shots of the show? It was such a fun experience.

Sugar And Spice and Everything Nice

You are cordially invited to attend my next art show on October 27th, Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice, from 5pm-9pm at Screaming Sky Gallery, 1416 NE Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211.

Celebrate a stellar line up of female artists and join us for the opening of Sugar & Spice and Everything Nice!

DJ Tommy Tank will provide the music and Jenelle will keep the refreshments flowing!

Show runs October 27th through November 20th

Commission for Charity

Started working on this very pink and girly piece. There will be so many parts to this puzzle, words, a dog, birds, hearts, and love! All proceeds of this piece go to St. Jude's Children's hospital. This is just the beginning.

Art Show to Benefit Los Angeles Children's Hospital

I am excited and honored to participate in this show in Los Angeles to raise funds for the Los Angeles Children's Hospital.

Art Show in Venice Beach

This weekend, I am participating in this great Art Show in Venice Beach, California! If you're close by, go check it out, it's for a great cause!

Strawberry Surprise, Here she is!

My sister, Stella, was such a huge Strawberry Shortcake fan growing up, she had the dolls, sheets, pj's, everything! I bet she never thought Strawberry Shortcake could get herself into so much trouble! I loved painting her, it was such a fun painting!

Work in Progress

Here's a shot of my work in progress. There is still a lot to do until this little lady is finished. Maybe a couple more days work and she'll be ready to go.

Once Upon A Time...

There was a little girl who wanted to be an artist. She drew and painted everyday, she did it with joy and love.

MY WEBSITE IS LIVE!

Dear Friends,

I am excited to share with you that my website is live! I am so excited to have a proper place for all of my work. Please visit and tell me what you think.

Please click on link or copy and paste:

http://www.marybelmartin.com

xoxo,

Marybel

I Can't Stop

I am obsessed with this pregnant girl in my head. I drew her before. I drew her again, then again. Tonight I'm painting her. HUGE canvas, she's trying to tell me something so I want to really see her. The painting will be called LIFEBOAT an ode to a time when I thought I was dying and I survived and lived. Really lived.

Strawberry Surprise

I have had this drawing in mind since I completed the Hello Titty painting. I don't know if she will ever make it to a painting but she was fun to draw. What a surprise for Strawberry Shortcake when she gives birth to her cat, Custard!

The Original

I have drawn these big headed, pregnant dolls for as long as I can remember. Last night as I was looking through old letters and photos I came across one of the originals. Thank goodness my Mom kept everything! This was drawn when I was four years old. If you look closely, the baby, in the womb, is wearing heels!

Lifeboat

I am very inspired. I feel like a new creative channel has opened up for me. I am excited and energized. This is a sketch that I worked on today. This will be part of a bigger picture. She is pregnant and scared. In her belly there is a squid. She needs to save herself.

Little Winter

Come visit Tokketok this weekend!

Let's Collaborate!

The wonderful people over at Tokketok have asked me to do a collaboration with them! I am so excited since I am a big fan of their hand printed letterpress cards. Click on the link to take a peek!
http://tokketok.com/2010/10/cards-for-tots/

Happy Halloween!

I have been exhausted and super busy. I have had visitors from out of town and have been away myself. Just wanted to check in and tell you that I have tons of ideas that have been brewing in my head, just must get past this holiday first. I hope your halloween is wicked! I am going to dress up as Princess Peach and my two boys will be Mario and Luigi, my husband, Toad.

The Bird Bowl

These birds perched themselves on an off white bowl I had. Someone built these cute little birdhouses for them too. Blues and neon green work perfectly together. All glazed and shiny. Take a look!

Thanks Tokketok!

Thank you Tokketok for featuring me on your blog today! I am a huge fan of yours. This is a great honor. Please check out their lovely letterpress cards and blog.

http://www.tokketok.com/

Hello, Titty!

I haven't done anything in a very long time. I've had visitors for weeks now and I find it hard to paint. I finally got around to starting and finishing Hello Titty. Here she is!

Hello Titty

I've loved Hello Kitty since I can remember. I am always inspired by anything Sanrio. I wanted to do something erotic and I came up with this sketch.

Done! Done! Done?

Okay, so I feel like it's done, but maybe not. I'll post it even though I'm not totally sure. I have a ton of new ideas for new paintings. I need to move on from this and get on with it.

The Outcasts

I started this a while ago, and I can't get myself to finish it. It's about being different, acceptance and wanting to belong. It brought back a lot of painful memories. I went to eleven schools in twelve years. I was always the "new kid". It was hard to try to fit in when you didn't even know who you were yourself. My sisters and I became masters of transformation and observation. We would come into a new school and bam, we transformed our clothing, language, accent, whatever it took. Maybe I'll complete this soon, maybe not.

I Told You So

New painting, no girls this time. I've been wanting to paint a fawn for a while, I was going to add one to my previous painting, "So So Tired", but in the end I didn't feel it needed it. This one is all about the fawn. The bird told the fawn something a long time ago, the fawn didn't listen, it happened. The bird came back to tell the fawn, "I told you so". You should always listen when a little bird tells you something, really.

New Items!

Prints have officially arrived at my Etsy shop. I am so excited. They look great! Why don't you take a look? http://marybelm.etsy.com

Take a Peek

If you were to wander around a solitary forest you may run into this sleeping beauty. She was so tired that she laid down and took a snooze. She's laying on a bed of her own hair only to be bothered by a fluttering butterfly. She's done! "So, So Tired". It took me a while but I like the end result. Take a peek.

Forest

I thought a good backdrop for my tired girl would be a forest. I like the look of birch trees, they're so clean and graphic. I also darkened the sky, as if night were falling. I was thinking of adding some creatures, I'll see how it goes.

So So Tired

My newest will be called "So So Tired". It's kind of where I'm at right now both physically and mentally. The girl will be outside about to doze off into a peaceful nap. Exactly what I need.

She Made It

Bun-ny In The Oven has been in my head for a long time. I wasn't ready to paint. I didn't feel like it for a long time. You have to be in a very specific place to do so. Tonight I got there, all in one go and she's done. I love her. She's so beautiful and sad. It's raining, she's naked, and she's expecting a bunny.

Bun-ny In The Oven

I want to paint a redhead next. She will have long ginger strands cascading down her shoulders. She will have flowers in her hair and maybe a lei. Will she be sad? Maybe. Here's a preview.

Another Baby

I've completed Ave Maria. I love painting these pregnant girls. I love that they're tiny. I love that they have animals in their bellies. There will be one more in this series, I wanted four, but couldn't find another canvas just like the other three. Oh well, maybe they're three sisters, like my sisters and I.

Work In Progress

I've been working on these little 4x5 paintings. I like working this small, it's fun and intense. I will be doing two more little ones after this. Just wanted to show you what I was up to. I told my sister, Adriana, that I was going to make some prints to sell and she said, "Prince?". That gave me an idea, maybe I will paint Prince, who knows, maybe I won't.

Ave Maria

My next little piece is in the works. Here is a sketch. Like the one before, it is of a woman with an animal fetus. We are all interlaced, animal, people, plants and earth. It also comes from me calling my boys "pollitos" or little chicks.

The End Of Me, The Beginning Of We

I'm pleased with how this turned out. I went back to my own memories of pregnancy and the moment when it hit me that from then on, it wasn't all about me anymore. After I had my first child, I stopped talking in singular and started referring to myself as "we". What a shock.

I'm Back

After a break from painting, I'm back with a load of new ideas. When I was a very small child I drew a lot of pregnant women who's bellies you could see through. You could see the baby. I must have been fascinated by my mom being pregnant that I drew this a lot. When I find the old drawings, I'll post them. This memory inspired me to start a new series of pregnant women paintings. They will be very small, like tiny baby paintings. The first piece will be called: "The End Of Me, The Beginning Of We". Here's a sketch, and, yes, that is a lamb fetus.

Mary(bel) Had A Little Lamb

I found this little lamb wandering in my backyard... Looks like she's made out of chocolate. She has inspired me to paint her, as my friend Joke would say: "I see a painting"...

The Show

Here are some images from the show last night. It was great to have this wonderful experience. I wanted to thank everyone for their support, it meant a lot to me.