Merry Christmas and an Happy New Year

An Year full of Wonders

Origins

When i returned from the military service (where i also be active against the portuguese authoritarian regime at the end of sixties), i joined the Surrealist Group of Lisbon, Portugal. My first work was a b/w collage i made over a shoes box found on the garbage. They welcome my first visit to them at the Monte Carlo Café (Lisbon) and quickly decided to publish my art work. That´s my origins on the art field.

 

A Drawing by Ana Santos

Title: The Serpent-Queen of Moon Flowers
Artist: Ana Santos
Technique: Black Ink on board
Size: 10x10 cm
Year: 2008
This art work is exhibited at the Via Aurea Art Gallery in Sesimbra, Portugal

Note: This and other drawings by Ana Santos will illustrate a poetic and phantasy book by Carlos Martins.  

Art and Fruits

Art and Fruits, Art and trees, Art and plants. Something that you can´t see at convencional art galleries. 

Thank you Kirk Douglas! Happy Birthday Van Gogh!

Thank you Kirk. Van Gogh? Spartacus?
A great Happy Birthday and Gratias to you for having remembered Van Gogh in the way that you, ONLY YOU, you knew.

A surrealist drawing by Ana Santos

A Surrealist drawing by Ana Santos

Title: Travel Memories - I
Artist: Ana Santos
Technique: Black Ink on paper (Canson)
Year: 2009

Our professional and business page on Facebook

For those who want to visit our professional and business page on Facebook, please follow the link:

https://www.facebook.com/viaaureaartgallery/

Modern and creative craft by Ana Santos

Modern and creative craft by Ana Santos, the portuguese artist now living in Uk (near Southampton).
You can see more art works and biography of Ana following the link to the blog of Via Aurea Art Gallery at via-aurea.blogspot.com.
Contacts and visits from craft collectors and lovers, will be welcome.
The email of Ana is anaviaaurea@gmail.com

Modern Art on Ceramics

Ceramics are often associated with traditional and standardized crafts. But much of modern artists use ceramics as support for his painting, as was the case of Picasso, Miró and other artists.
For more than five years we used ceramics to try new ways of expressing contents, either through figuration or more abstract (abstract expressionism). Today we use ceramics as a support (usually sculptural dishes and jars made initially by well-known potters and we make our painting with this support and also on canvas, paper, card and other materials.
Our technique is no less resistant than glazed ceramic, although it should be exclusively used (the final product) for exhibition and intended primarily for collectors or appreciators of creative crafts.

Ana Santos
Carlos Martins
December 04, 2016

Special Note: 
Carlos Martins and Ana Santos, the owners of Via Aurea Art Gallery, are both portuguese surrealist artists and created their own virtual gallery at via-aurea.blogspot.com and their own home gallery in Portugal. Welcome to all art and creative craft lovers and collectors from over the world. Thanks for your visit. 
If you are interested in one or more of these art works, please email us to carlosmartins1946@gmail.com .

Berenice and the Black Cat (ded. to Edgar A. Poe)

A sculptural jar dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe "Berenice and the Black Cat". Author: Carlos Martins, surrealist painter and collagist.  
If you need to read the biography of Carlos Martins, please click on the left side of this screen on the link "Biographies". 
If you are interested toi buy this piece of art, please contact us to anaviaaurea@gmail.com or carlosmartins1946@gmail.com . 

Title: "Berenice and the Black Cat" (ded. to Edgar Allan Poe).
Technique: Acrylic on ceramics and varnished. 
Artist: Carlos Martins

One of my recent paintings

I made this paiting when i was so concerned about the dramatic events that are occuring in this world. Art is also a reflection of what we think and what we see around us. The form is different from artist to artist but what matters is whether what we paint or draw is recognized by the eyes of those who observe it.

Title:  They were living like ghosts
Technique: Acrylic on canvas (in some parts of the painting i used the Rorschach method in my own way). Framed.
Artist: Ana Santos

If you are interested to buy this artwork, please email me to anaviaaurea@gmail.com and i will send it to you by normal mail (Express) after the payment by Paypal.

 

 

My studio near Southampton

Some photos of my studio where i live near Southampton. If you need to contact me to know me and talk about my artwork, please email me to anaviaaurea@gmail.com.

My work as an artist and social carer in UK

Below you can see an artwork made by Mrs. N. and myself.
Mrs. N. suffered of the Alzheimer disease and died March 2015. Rest in peace with the Angels dear friend and Mum. More than a patient or a client, she was a friend and a big part of my family as i was considered as one of them (the family). Thanks Sabira for all your support and warm friendship.

Exhibitions

Carlos Martins and Ana Santos, the portuguese surrealist artists that create and manage this blog they exhibited their artworks in many art galleries and museums, national and internationally. We just show some exhibits with more emphasis and prominence in the course of these authors, including some national group exhibitions and especially international exhibitions dedicated to Surrealism and organized by leading members of the Surrealist movement.
To read more information on some of the exhibitions we participated or even organized, please click the link "Biographies" on the left side of this screen.

Carlos Martins is represented at the Museum of Surrealism in Vila Nova de Famalicão at the collection of the Foundation Cupertino de Miranda and based on the estate of the poet and painter Mário Cesariny, one of the founders of the Surrealist Group of Lisbon in 1947. You can access the site of FCM and the Museum of Surrealism here at Museum of Surrealism. 
Mario Cesariny died in November 26, 2006, exactly ten years ago. 


...  (to be continued)

Creative Craft

As artists we use various supports, one of them pottery (jugs, plates, vases but also wood, glass and others). Aware that the craft is addressed to a different audience (collectors, shops, etc.), we try to be unique and creative, as if they were works of painting on canvas or other medium.
Our pieces are always signed by their authors (Ana and I). Traditional crafts it is equally interesting, especially when it is also unique and imaginative as is the case with the handicrafts of the older civilizations or regions where it is the result of the efforts of several generations of artisans.
Art Galleries and craft shops can contact us if want to exhibit our pieces on a regular basis or for a single exhibition. Our email address is carlosmartins@gmail.com or alternatively anaviaaurea@gmail.com.


The pieces below are in some cases very recent, others were created some years ago but we kept in our studio and gallery.



CRAFT BY ANA SANTOS

                                     Traditional Jar                      Modern Jar 1

                                         Modern Jar 2                  Modern Jar 3
  
                                                                                                                                                    

 

Modern Jar 4

Note: The pieces marked "modern craft" are the same piece presented in "Modern Craft 1" but seen at different angles.

 

                                        Modern Craft - Surrealist Plate

My work as a social carer

One of my favourite professional activities is social and child care. When i was living in Lisbon, the city where i was born, i also worked as a social and child carer and also entertainer and actress. On stage i perfomed various plays for children.
After a long period of economical crisis I decided with the support of my husband to travel to London where i also worked and lived as an aupair when i was studying theater during the sixties. Now i am living and working near Southampton (UK) and i am taking care of a lady that suffer from Parlinson disease.
I am a social carer certified and accredited by various British institutions.

I do a lot of work to give the best quality of life to my clients (which I also consider my family) and always try to apply all my experience as a painter and entertainer to help them to be more active, creative and happy, seeking to reveal their own potentialities in a natural way.
In this section of the blog I intend to talk about my work namely in the aforementioned area (art and craft as a therapy) and also show some of the artistic work done with my clients.
The results are, in many cases, absolutely amazing and positive both for me, human and artistically, as for my clients, who feel more involved and active which contributes largely to halt the progression of their disease.

Note: The names of the persons involved, except in my case, such as the locations, will obviously be hidden or identified with only one initial (Example: Mrs. W. or Mr. P).

Yours, Warmly
Ana Santos (as a social worker my name is Ana Martins)


PHOTOS OF ARTWORKS MADE BY MRS N. AND MYSELF:

 

 A collective artwork made by Mrs N., her daugther and myself. 

 

A collage made by Mrs N. and myself (inspired by Christmas, 2015)

              Automatic painting (Rorschach method) made by Mrs. N. and myself

 PHOTOS OF ARTWORKS MADE BY MRS W. AND MYSELF:

Mrs. W. did it alone. The family was so fascinated.

                          A collage-painting and a naturalist painting

            

                      Painting of a jar with flowers and a naturalist painting

                              Painting based on the rorschach method



 

TO BE CONTINUED.......(Very sorry)

Maldoror 2016

A collage-painting by Carlos Martins. Acrylic on Canson paper. This is a collage-painting dedicated to Isidore Ducasse, the Compte de Lautréamont and his book "Les Chants de Maldoror". A special and unique characteristic of this artwork is that the title is constantly changed according to the current year. 
This artwork was exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition entitled "Trip to Arcturus" dedicated to Mário Cesariny and was published by the main portuguese newspaper "Expresso" and it is edited on the catalogue of the exhibiition. 

Isidore Ducasse, Compte de Lautréamont was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1846.

Quotes

"Beautiful… as the fortuitous encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table."

"Poetry must be made by all and not by one."

You can get a lot of information about the Compte of Lautreamont and his poetic novel "Les Chants de Maldoror" following the link to this Google Search page .

Our Facebook page

If you want to visit us on Facebook, please follow the following link or click the link under the image below:

https://www.facebook.com/via.aurea

 

If you want to visit us on Facebook, click here

Collages

I am mainly a collagist more than a painter. I started in 1973 doing it as a legacy from painters of the begining of the XX century like Picasso, Bracque and others. They were famous more as painters but also did many collages - then called "Papiers Collés" or "glued papers". The term "collage" came later with the surrealists who used collage as one of the most automatic and therefore less streamlined forms of artistic expression.

Collage is in itself a more spontaneous form of expression, but this does not create limits to the free expression of the artist. Collage can also express the artist's emotions and not just stick to paper on a surface.

On the other hand the collage is not photo-montage as wrongly many "experts" identify it. This way of expression can even use objects and other things found even in the garbage as did some of the Dada and later by Surrealists. It is also a way of giving back some dignity of these objects thrown into the trash and treated as such (magazines, newspapers, birthday cards, old photographs, etc.).

Some of the collages i show below were exhibited in several national and international exhibitions namely those dedicated to Surrealism:

These two collages were exhibited at the gallery of ISPA (The Institut of Applied Psicology) in Lisbon, the year of 1994.

 These two collage-paintings "Trabalho (work) and "Proximidade" (Proximity) belong to the private collection of the Turkey Surrealist Group and they were exhibited on the Turkey Surrealists event "...". . Not for sale.

  This is a collage-painting entitled "The Audrey´s Smile" and is dedicated to Audrey Hepburn one of the best actresses in the past. For sale.

  

Titles and other notes: Under construction. Sorry.

 

The Surrealists - Between dream and action

Contrary to what some experts say, Surrealism remains alive and active as is easy to prove by the numerous groups and organizations spread across the five continents. Not only in the artistic expression but also in its intervention in multiple domains (philosophical, social, political).

ENTRE LE RÊVE ET L´ACTION

Ana Santos

Hi,
My name is Ana Santos. I am a painter (painting and ceramics) but also am a professional social carer. I am now living and working near Southampton as a social carer mainly for elderly suffereing from different kinds of dementia. You can find below my bio and some of my artworks. You can also visit our Home Gallery (see on the menu on the left) and if travel to Portugal, you can also visit our Home Gallery (a real one inside our small house in Sesimbra, Portugal).

ANA SANTOS

Born in Lisbon in 1950. After secondary school, she became interested in art at once, first as a model and later as a photographer and photo assistant, working directly with the Portuguese photographer Sérgio Guimarães. He lived and worked in the years 60/70 in New York, London, Paris, Berlin and other European cities.
Later in the mid-70s, he was dedicated to the puppet theater, and participated as an actress in numerous festivals of the kind. Following this experience as AS puppeteer was invited to join the independent company of the Iberian Theatre, been the company's lead actress in late 1983. In this capacity participated in numerous national and international representations (Lisbon, Porto, Madrid, Sitges (Barcelona ), Murcia and El Paso (USA). In this last international festival she won the award for the best leading actress.
In the same year cooperates with Mario Cesariny and Carlos Martins (with whom would marry a year later), in organizing the international exhibition "Surrealism and Painting Fantastic." After the exhibition leaves the house where they lived and travels with her husband to the Northeast Algarve and both create the first art gallery in the region. The gallery called "Nova Atlântida" (New Atlantis) and  conducted several collective and individual exhibitions for about five years, and quickly won the recognition of local cultural resources and Spain (see Directory Art Portugal / Spain published in both countries).
Back in Lisbon in 1991 continues to participate in various national and international exhibitions, including the ISPA art gallery with names like Cruzeiro Seixas, Raul Perez and Carlos Martins.
From 1994 to 2014 back to work as a theatrical actress and entertainer acting for children and adults in various kinds of events.
In November 2014 travels to London and then to Southampton where she currently lives and works as a social carer in particular to support and assist the elderly with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson and applying his experience as a painter and ceramist in the creative occupation of the elderly recreational and artistic activities.
Her artworks (in painting and in artistic ceramics), are counted by thousands and are currently part of private collections, particularly in the US, Germany, Austria, Portugal, United Kingdom, Belgium, among many others.
Recently Ana was in Portugal (Sesimbra) to open her own art gallery (called on this blog as "Home Gallery").

Invitation to our visitors and followers

Next May, 2017 we will open our private art gallery to our guests and regular visitors of this blog. Not a public opening. It will be an opportunity you take some holidays and also visit this region called "The three Castles" and the beautiful montains of Serra da Arrábida near the village where we live. We will welcome all of you with a warmly and friendly athmosphere, some delicious dishes of Portuguese gastronomy and the famous portuguese wine. 
If you intend to come please let us know with a month in advance.

A delicoous plate with tuna fish, sardines, tomate sauce and potatoes.