Matti Paints - Subject Amba

It's always interesting co-workers... but it's especially interesting painting co-workers you don't know extremely well yet.
I've been at my new job for over a month now. And there are good days. And there are bad days... And though the staff is large, I feel like I've started to get to know a few of them pretty well.
One of them is Amba.

She's one of the shift leaders there, and I find that we get along pretty well at work so it was nice to have her come and sit for me so she could see me in my natural environment.
Or as natural an environment as you find in a man's apartment. She had to comment on the messiness of my room, DESPITE the fact that I'd cleaned most of it. Just gotta work on my clothes mountain.
So even though I'd painted a lot of my old Second Cup co-workers, it was a very different environment there with a very different group of people.

How would someone from the new neighbourhood react to being painted?
Although I'm sure Amba isn't indicative of the entire population of Bloor West, I was looking forward to painting someone from my new environment.
What I wasn't expecting was for her to be a freaking model.
 The biggest surprise of the process was how her colours turned out. I really enjoyed the unique patterns that emerged on her face and the colour combination, while a tertiary colour palate (Which we all know how I feel about)was easy to work with and complimented her very well. I think the saving grace there was the white and pink which created a beautiful contrast.

The biggest shock from this came after the painting... Seriously. This girl can model.
It was a delight painting her and I am hoping that changing jobs will bring me a boasting of new models. Here's hoping!

Matti Paints - Subjects Seanna and Tarah

So Tarah has wanted to do this project for a while now...

Feel my excitement.

 So I knew right away that it would be an easier and enjoyable session. But then there was her sister Seanna who has been fighting this idea for a while now, despite the fact that I used her in my promo for the Kickstarter.

PS- for those who haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

So when Seanna showed up with Tarah I was very excited at the prospect of getting to paint sisters again. I enjoyed my experience painting Sarah and Caitlin, so I was curious to see how Seanna and Tarah would end up.
However, one thing I did differently was I painted them both individually. Tarah and Seanna each got their own music to create their own pictures meaning I could take more cues from who they were as individuals rather than work on a cohesive piece. I enjoyed this tactic as it made it easier to bring out their own individual colours and features.

Seanna's Playlist

Tarah's "chill" Playlist

 There were many interesting events that happened in this process. For one, Tarah's colours she picked ended up looking much lighter on her skin than she had hoped, but actually ended up complimenting her in a way that dark colours wouldn't have. Plus I ended up doing some very interesting facial constructions on her face that really brought out her mysterious side. I have to say that after photographing her, I feel she looks a bit like a young Paulina Poriskova.

Seanna ended up with a series of bright colours that reminds me more of Avatar than any other painting I've done so far. Maybe it's the colours. Maybe it's her serene expression, but something about this painting suggests that any moment now... She'll see me.
Ok, that's the only Avatar reference I shall make. I promise.
It's funny when they were completed since they really didn't seem to go together until I put them together.

 The deatil on the shoulder was where the similarities really started to shine through. There's a tree-like quality to the way their arm colours blend together.
Plus after hearing how much their mother was a fan of this project, you know I could never turn away these delightful siblings.
Painting them together was a great experience. We laughed, we cried (mostly me and Tarah because her music choices were very... "chill") and overall I like to believe that I captured them in a very sweet, loving way that shows them as the beautiful girls that they are.

Matti Paints - Subject Bob

So this is Bob

So Bob is from Seattle, meaning that he is by far the person who has come the furthest to be a part of this project. (Not including WES or ALAN)

He's a very sweet person, which was something that I think was encapsulated in his painting very well. He chose very bright, excited colours which wouldn't necessarily compliment well, but pull together to craft a very calm and sweet number.

He's also an artist and his drawings always bring a smile to my face. For instance, he's the man who has crafted the logo for the Human Canvas Project.

Which is awesome. (He does a daily webcomic which you can check out at here. I'm starting you at the second one because it begins an adorable sequence I think everyone should experience.)

He has a really great heart and is so full of life that I really wanted to show case him in a creative and spectacular way. I think the painting was successful in a lot of ways as it showed a lot of his most positive sides.

Matti Paints - Subject Kevin C

What do you call someone who holds such a special and beautiful place in your heart that you've only met a couple of times?

Some might say confidant, some might say acquaintance... I would say it's somewhere between a lover, a cousin and a pet. I've had the privilege of having a few friends in my life who occupy this very affection position, and one of them is Kevin.

I have known this guy through thick and thin. He's seen me in every stage of my adult life and always been there to lend an ear.

Also it turns out he knows Patrick from way back when. I guess amazing people just run in packs.

 

 

I knew he'd been through a bit of a hard patch lately and as such seeing his playlist wasn't such a surprise. A lot of songs about healing, finding yourself and recovering.

Plus, one song I put in there as a bit of a bittersweet memory. Ten points if you guess which one!

I don't know why I love bittersweet memories so much. I guess they just make life more interesting.

Anyway, as a result I found myself being drawn to a very soft and gentle part of Kevin. I felt like he was wanting something more. He wanted to know that what he was doing was ok. I wanted to show him who he really was. Strong, handsome and powerful. 

Again I'm noticing patterns. I've been associating yellow with power lately. Mainly because the colour dilutes  and blends so easily that to have a solid stripe of yellow is hard, so to block off an entire section of the body in it becomes a challenge. Especially when paired with the green. You need to be very conscious of where the yellow will be, and the fact that the green lines cross over his heart seems to suggest a kind of guarded vulnerability.

Again, I work with a literal tree motif, but this time a strongly realistic approach over a solid grey backing. Why? I'm not really sure. There is something extremely solid and spiritual about a tree. And the fact that it's layered over grey suggests new life.

Am I looking too much into this painting? Probably. But that's what I'm supposed to do, right?

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Thanks for being so awesome. xoxo

Matti Paints - Subject Luke

Luke was an interesting surprise for me.

He is someone who I have known for yeas, although we'd never actually got a chance to meet before. We've been great friends and had many talks, but never got to meet face to face.

It's amazing how quickly that changed when I got a paint brush in my hands.

So this is Luke.

If you're wondering why I don't have a proper before shot it's because I forgot to take one. This is turning into a very bad habit of mine, and one I promise I am trying to break.

Anyhow, meeting Luke was a good experience. We have a lot in common and our conversation was instantly enjoyable. Under the layers of awkwardness he's a really interesting person.

When Luke was 17, he was diagnosed with cancer. As a result, he's become a strong vibrant individual and I really wanted to reflect that. The colours he chose (only three I should mention) were very iconic. Blue, red and yellow. It's the most basic colour scheme you could get. But because of his history I really wanted to capture him in a new and unique way. Considering I got the three most basic colours, the fact that the colours never mix makes this one of the more interesting portraits I've done. It's oddly balanced and the colours on his skin reflect an almost super-hero-esque quality. 

Painting Luke was a joy. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity and I hope he enjoyed the final result as the rest of the process.

Matti Paints- Subject Cassie, Libby and Chelsea

If two of these three girls look familiar, you're probably familiar with THIS picture. If so... AWESOME!

After talking to the girls last night they both talked to me saying that as much as they loved having their picture taken together, it would be nice if I could capture both of their essences as individuals. So, as one to never turn down a challenge, I gladly obliged.

So after Matt Ryan, I set to work on Cassie since Libby was too hungover and since Chelsea hadn't done this yet, it seemed like an excellent opportunity.

Once again my lack of harder music was Cassie's frustration, but she did manage to scrape together a collection of songs that would suffice. However, one thing I have started instituting is a strict time line for the song choices. You now only have ten minutes to pick them and stick them.

BSB are hardcore.

Also, Cassie got the additional challenge of only picking four colours. She picked black, lavender silver and grey. Talk about a challenge!

Her skin picked up the paint well and within a short amount of time we were done. I didn't even need the final song and we simply hopped up on the wall and started the shoot.

Cassie remains as photogenic as ever although the paint job I gave her was a fair bit harder than her previous one. I was happy with how it turned out. Especially since it shows off her mysterious, mischievous side.

Next up was Chelsea. 

 

A new friend. One I just met yesterday briefly, but she's quite the character. She's very friendly but has a very confident manner about her that makes you take notice of her tough quality quickly. That being said, her music choices and colour palate proved to showcase a much different side of her character. 

 I was especially drawn to the song Good Mother by Jann Arden and really felt that song perfectly encapsulated who I perceived Chelsea to be. Anyone who plays that song immediately has my respect. Plus she has lyrics from it on her leg. I guess that's what stood out the most since she reminded me of an old friend who had lyrics from it on his arm. 

That being said, she also chose Lady Bouncer, so she clearly has a fun and upbeat side. How anyone outside of the North Bay nightclub "The Zoo" knows that song is beyond me. 

Man I haven't been there in years. I wonder if they still play it. 

If I know North Bay bars... probably. 

Anyway in the end I think her painting did a good job of showing the person I met, albeit briefly.

Finally there was Drinky Mc-hungoverson.

Me and Libby go way back so it was interesting to see how her mood changed. During her stay here I saw her go from barely capable of moving, to plotting out where our adventures would be taking us tonight. Girl is crazy, but I still loves her.

 This time, I went with a very different approach to Libby. I wanted to keep her painting extremely simple since I find that sometimes simplicity leads to some of the more interesting paintings, and lately a lot of my portraits have been so busy, it was nice to have something SO simple.
The result was a very clean, beautiful portrait, that might be one of my favorites so far. There is something about her picture that was absolutely stunning and I love it.

 Together, the three of them were all very easy to work with. Especially since two of them knew what to expect.
I have to say I'm extremely happy with the pictures I got to create today. It's just been a good day for these things.

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Matti Paints - Subject Matt Ryan

 This is Matt Ryan. I've had the privilege of knowing him for years. He is one of the best comedic actors North Bay has ever produced and will continue to do amazing things in the future.

BANANA!

When we met he was Judas to my Jesus. Literally. He was quite literally my Judas in a production of Godspell. I don't think it's a dynamic we ever grew out of. We have layers and layers of inside jokes that are so full of hilarity that they've literally become joke onions.

In a way I've seen him grow up. Grow from someone with so much potential, to seeing him now as the man who's realized it and is still growing. So needless to say it was a great time and I couldn't be prouder of the final product.

His music choices were pretty interesting. Varied, and surprisingly he chose a lot of songs that although I had them, I didn't really know them too well. (I added "you spin me" based on an inside joke. Seriously. We're a joke onion.) -EAT POTASSIUM BIPED!

Matt Ryan came to me with very specific wants from the piece. He wanted to be painted from the back in a specific position. However, something really interesting is he said "I want gold and purples... but you choose the colours". Brave, brave man.

The process was easy. Right away we were joking away about baby seals and the good old days in North Bay.  It was a real treat and his skin worked very well with the paints. It was a very easy process. So easy in fact I actually finished before the time had finished.

So the piece is a fair bit dark, but in the end he looks really amazing. It's like what would happen if Two-Face and Poison Ivy had a son.  

If you enjoy this piece please consider sponsoring The Human Canvas Project by clicking the link below.
KICK STARTER!

To be a part of the project please feel free to contact me! EMAIL

And as a treat: MASSACRE!

Matti Paints - Subject Alan

 

I know what you're thinking and yes. It's true. I've now officially painted an Irish man. In many ways, he's the first major expansion of my project. Sure I've painted lots of people of Irish descent, but everyone so far has been Canadian. (or American, but that's pretty much Canadian)

Me and Alan met when the power was out in my building and I had no idea what to eat for dinner. As a result I found Alan and he invited me over to a) get out of my building, and b) to eat. It was much appreciated and a beautiful friendship has emerged because of this.

We have a great deal in common which made his song choices a surprise. To him. Not to me. He was constantly asking me how I had so many UK songs on my playlist. As a result we ended up with a lot of songs that we both loved. ESPECIALLY Loreen who I am currently obsessed with. But that's besides the point. The point is we both love pop music. It's fun.
Plus Irish guy picks Sinead O'Connor and Cranberries. What a surprise.

One major surprise in his choices were his colour choices. Again, it's a case of the tertiary colours, but this time they were chosen with a very different motivation at hand. Namely, Alan chose colours that were distinctly "Irish". Green, orange and white (for the flag), and purple and pink because they're beautiful colours.

We started this project after a quick pint at the pub. As a result I didn't really realize how opposed his colours were. That, combined with the difficult nature of working with chest and arm hair I knew I had to do something very different from what I normally did. As a result I painted him entirely with a stippled effect. Instead of using the brush in strokes I would fill the paint brush with paint and then dab at him instead of dragging it across him. As a result I ended up with a very distinct pattern that was very much like flowers or a smoky field on his shoulders. I was disappointed that this didn't come out as strongly in the final photograph. There were many bands of colours that simply blended together just based on the nature of the paint. For instance his face is actually layers of pink, orange and yellow that unfortunately blended together. The fact that a lot of the paint was dabbed on also didn't help matters.

That being said, Alan is a lovely and enjoyable person, and I hope he enjoys his final shot. It's quite intense, but I think he looks good.

On a side note, my official Kickstarter has been launched. Please help to support the Human Canvas Project by visiting it : http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebigshibam/the-human-canvas-project

Also to become a part of the project please send an email HERE

Matti Paints - Chris and Alex

Some of you might recognize Alex. And as a result I imagine you will probably recognize his brother Chris. 
Yes, I got a pair of twins to do this project.

I was quite excited at this prospect. Not just because of the fact that I love Alex and Chris to bits, but also because I was so fascinated to paint them. I wondered how different they would end up looking. Would it effect the outcome? Would I even be able to tell them apart at the end?
The task was simple and exciting so when Alex suggested it, I jumped at the chance and began to formulate a plan.
I was also curious to see how Alex would turn out again. He's the first person other than myself who I've now got to paint more than once. I was curious to see what would change about the painting. Would the painting be the same? Would there be emerging patterns? Exactly how much of the art is driven by the circumstances and how much is situational? How much of the person am I really capturing?
It was a daunting but exciting challenge and I couldn't wait to start.
About an hour before we started, I got a call from Alex telling me that him and Chris had got in a fight and he wasn't sure he could go through with it.
Excellent, I thought. An added level of tension. I was getting really excited to paint at this point.
For a million different reasons I could've taken any part of this and turned it into a painting. Anger. Brothers. Twins. It was an exciting prospect and just getting better.

In the end, I liked the palate they chose. I felt the music and colours really reflected who they were. Alex, the slightly more uptempo one, and Chris the one who is slightly more serious and natural one.
Around song 8, I was running out of paint and so I ended up thinning the paint I had left considerably and working with them in much sheerer coats. As a result they both look a lot more natural than some of my other ones and a part of me really likes that about the image.
They both look like brothers still. They share the same dark eyes and cheeky smirk, but each is reflected with their own character. Chris slightly more sophisticated, Alex, a bit more structured. Or maybe they're reflecting each other's characters just a little bit too well.
In the end I was thrilled at the experience and would gladly paint them again if given the opportunity.

Matti Paints - Subject Ryan

Ryan is another person I met through Statlers who agreed to be a part of this project.
I feel that needs to be said.
Without Statlers I wouldn't have had close to half of my participants.
So thank you Statlers! I appreciate it!

Anyhow, Ryan came along and when we began he immediately started by choosing green, purple and orange. I knew that there would be issues. In the end I was right but all in all he's been one of my most fascinating challenges.
His chest hair was very dense and as a result, like Nathan and Scott , I decided that I would try to work around it and just try to focus on the areas of least resistance.
Fortunately it made me focus a lot of my time and efforts on his face and as a result I think that his face work is some of the best I've done in this entire project. I love the British feel of it. I love the amazing detail I could put on him and on his skin.
In the end I found that a lot of the details were going into playful swirls and an almost science-y vibe to his chest which looked something like a refraction mixed with a prism.

Pictured: Height of maturity

I really enjoyed the experience, and despite the challenge I have to say I really liked how the canvas turned out.
In the end though, as we were selecting his picture, I had one choice and he had another. His choice showed him in a nice way with a smile, but I didn't feel that it truly captured who he was. The Ryan I met was inquisitive and humorous, and it almost felt like he was testing me as much as I was discovering him. There was a friendly friction between our choices and while I (of course) went with my instincts (he eventually conceded of course. They all eventually concede)
I really feel that my choice for his picture showed him as he really is. Kind, caring, curious and introspected with just a touch of defensiveness to keep you on edge.

I think Ryan was one of the most complex characters I've got to work with so far and I greatly enjoyed the experience. 

Matti Paints - Subject Petty Victories

So it all began when I met Colleen at my friends cabaret.
I showed her my art. She loved it. I asked her to be a part of the project.
And then things got interesting.

I was lead up to what can only be described as a very, very large house in Toronto. There I met Zoe and we went over the details on what we were going to shoot.

I've never done a music video before so getting the chance to create one for a song as beautiful as "Concrete and Rosy Cheeks" was an amazing experience. I'm crazy over their music and I feel really humbled and blessed that they let me create this for them.

I really hope you guys enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed making it for them!

This video was an incredible challenge.
I had TWO canvases to paint in less than ten minutes.
The fact that I even managed it is truly a testament to... something.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm crazy, or maybe it's the fact that I'm overly ambitious.
That being said, this paint style is a lot more hectic than my other paintings. I applied it a lot thicker and rougher than before, but the amazing thing is I actually managed to finish their looks.
Considering the time constraint and how little time there was to do it, I really love how it turned out.
I hope you do too!

Matti Paints - Subjects Heather and Nate

The next canvas came as an incredible surprise to me, but one I was incredibly thankful for.
I was six when I first moved to North Bay in balmy summer of 1993 and the first boy my age I met was Nate. He liked dinosaurs. I liked dinosaurs. A friendship was born.

Pictured: Friendship

Nate was my best friend for many years. We went to school together, we hung out together. There were good times. There were bad times. But the world kept turning regardless and we both grew up. We went to different high schools and because of this our friendship after grade 8 almost evaporated. We didn't really keep contact with each other and we began to run in different circles. As a result we became the people we are today (as is so often the case). But because of this, I always felt that there was some kind of unfinished business that we never really got to get any kind of closure on. Sometimes a friendship just stagnates and after a while you just sort of... forget about it.

This was our fourth attempt at a picture.

Meeting Nathan and his sister Heather at the bar was a great opportunity for me, not just to add to my canvas collection, but to reconnect with them. These were the people I grew up with after all!
Heather has certainly changed a lot since I last saw her. She's quite ambitious and she's planning a rather amazing project that I think you all should check out HERE!

The painting process started in a similar way to the others. They each picked out their songs and colours and then we got down to work. Funny enough they each chose "Strange Days" by Matthew Good Band, which is an AMAZING song of course, but I can't help but wonder if they were commenting on something... Perhaps the strangeness of the coincidence that we were all in town. Perhaps it was just life in general. Whatever it was, it was pretty great.

The first time I sat in front of Nathan and began to paint I felt a well of emotion which hadn't happened before. Nathan is for all intents and purposes my oldest friend, and as a result the process was almost surreal. There were moments I felt that no time had passed, and there were moments where it seems like several eternities ago. The feeling of painting Heather was equally strange and surreal. Here was someone I grew up with but at this point I no almost nothing about her. Now, I feel like I've at least got to begin to reestablish a connection with these two who I was once so close with.

Now something that they might not realize right away, and perhaps I shouldn't mention it, but for the first time the picture we chose together as a group is not the picture I'm going with for the collection. I actually went and changed the picture to the second choice because it really shows off who they are. It shows their relationship to each other in a unique way, and it has a sense of fun that wasn't present in the other one. Does this make me a bad artist? Probably. But no one can argue the fantastic results!

I am currently looking for new canvases! To be a part of this project, click HERE to contact me. 

Matti Paints - Subject Caity

To say my trip to North Bay was a bit of a roller coaster would be a major under exaggeration.
I arrived on the bus to good weather. My sleep was good. Did a lot of writing. It was starting well.
I'd long made it clear that I intended to carry over my project not just to the city of Toronto but since I began I realized it would most likely spill over into every where I go form now on.
So I made an announcement on book-face and ended up with a varied collection of girls who wanted to be a part of it, so I wasted now time and began the next morning.
The adventure began with Caity.

 

 Thanks to Caity I managed to have many shows in North Bay. She served as my loyal stage manager and I eagerly await the day she moves to Toronto so that I know that I'll have someone who knows how to keep me on track and handle the chaos that inevitably comes through in these situations. 

Painting her was a nice experience. There's a lot of love between us and I feel like it came out right from the beginning. She chose a very soft palate which I think elevated the piece in a nice way and complimented who I know her to be. Soft with an edge.

Also noted that our musical tastes are fairly similar.

so apparently this was the colour of her childhood bedroom walls.

 As I began to paint her I began to get a sense of play out of her. I wanted to show her playful attitude sides and really compliment how she is as a person. I put down a base fairly quickly and ended up working with a lot of details. Certain features I really wanted to pop so I added things like the Van Gogh inspired lines, and the pseudo tribal patterns on her arms and face.

This was my first time doing this in somewhere other than my living room. Fortunately the process proved to be just as easy to do elsewhere which was a relief.  The result is the picture ends up being quite different as well, but it worked on a rather exceptional level. I like to think that I got to capture how much Caity has been an impact and a treasure in my life.