Matti Paints - Subject Chad (2!)

Chad is a gentle soul.
He's a very close friend of mine which is funny considering it feels like we've known each other for much longer than I realized at first.
There are many similarities between Chad and the the other Chad I got to paint. Both are in Toronto, both are lawyers... I figured that alone was worth mentioning! But the fact that they both wanted to participate in this... I just find that amusing.
So here we are, I've just finished my 15th canvas and by now I'm starting to notice patterns. A lot of focus on blues and purples, a large amount of wavy lines, and lately I've developed the need to reflect certain traits about myself. However, as a whole, I'm finding more and more I can begin to work on things that at first I didn't think I could do. I've been working on patching- making the skin look more like patches held together by glue, or adding details to lines that before would look flat and uninteresting.

However, one thing I've noticed is that everyone who walks through these doors is usually put at ease pretty quickly. Within the first few strokes of the brush I could feel Chad relax, and as such I was able to create something unique and lovely. 
Overall, I'm quite happy with the results.
Presenting Chad, (The second):

Matti Paints- Subject Georgia

This is my fabulous friend Georgia

She is fantastic. I love her. We've been friends for years ever since we were both going to school in North Bay as part of Canadore's theatre program. I knew if there was any woman who would be excited to do this project, it would probably be her.

I've drawn Georgia before, but this was my first time painting her in this way, and I have to say I think the experience was one of my favorites. Her song choices were interesting, and interestingly contrasted almost perfectly with her colour choices. While the colours were simple and bright, the songs were heavier and almost melancholic. In retrospect I'm surprised that they didn't have much more impact on the experience. I'm not sure why a heavy playlist played so heavily with our emotions when I painted Mark, and for this time to be so much more light hearted and whimsical. Maybe its our previous relationships, maybe it's that she's a girl, or maybe it's because of our shared experiences in the frozen North but this time there was something really light hearted about the whole experience.

The pink stands for "drag queen"

I was very impressed with Georgia's lack of inhibitions. So far she has been the only female to go nude and it's a very brave choice. It takes about a minute to be comfortable with each other when you're fully exposed, but it was a good experience none-the-less. Once we warmed up we found ourselves laughing and joking about the entire experience. There was something just... fun about it.

I'm really proud of her, and I  believe that we managed to create something magical.
I have to say there was something to be said for the simplicity of this piece. It's to the point, gentle, and I have to say has an air of beauty to it. I'm quite proud of this one as I feel it makes her look almost like a fish. I mean that in the best way.

Inferno - Chapter One (Continued)

It was raining. Just like it had done in every cheesy movie Jake had ever seen. The ground was wet and splashed all over his fanciest shoes and slacks. He was soaked, from his head, to every element in his tux. He shifted uncomfortably as the limo waited for him to bring him to the reception. Everyone else had left, but he needed to get something off of his chest.

This was the way it always was, right? The son, alone at his father funeral, standing in the rain above his father freshly buried casket. It was a beautiful tombstone for what it was. A large seamless piece of granite big enough to house a family. It was polished to a brilliant shine. Everything about it was like his father had been in life. Large. Majestic. Intimidating. Cold. Dead.

As Jake clenched his fists, he stared at the large slab of stone that had once been his dad. He wanted to tear it down. He wanted to smash it. He wanted to kick it down and grind the pieces into a dust so fine that no one else would ever need to see it. Anger bubbled inside of him until it was too much to hold in. Climbing upon the base, and with a brutal force he kicked the granite tower causing a burst of pain to reverberate through his leg. He clenched his foot in his hands and cursed the tomb before collapsing on the larger than life words that announced his fathers life to the world.

He couldn't win a fight against a tomb. He had never won a fight against his father in his life, and he certainly wouldn't win any in his death. With a quivering sigh, a burst of anger and sadness overcame him and he whispered the last words he would ever say to the man.

“I hate you so much.”

He stood up. Wiped the wet off of his slacks as best as he could, and walked over to the limo. Giving one final look up at the tombstone, he spit on the ground, and vowed never to return.

I've been in a strange place lately. Trying to get over past relationships by covering them up with new ones has proven to be a very self-destructive tactic and I find one of the best ways to release them is to revisit poetry. This poem is dedicated to a singer who I recently discovered and find her music is extremely soothing. I've become a little obsessed with her truth be told, but I'm hoping that she chooses to take that as a compliment!

Ave Maria - Matti McLean

Ave Maria

Sing me a song

And soothe my soul with this bottle of wine

Though I am restless

And indecisive as the wind

I feel my heartbeat like a razor blade

I've covered my scars with relationships

That lasted as well as the wind

I've held onto the issues

And discarded the cures

I hold the urchin in my hand

And feel the spines

As venom envelopes my mind

Your voice helps heal my soul

I hold together pieces but the soul still beats

I try to connect with myself

and don't recognize my face

I turn my ears skywards

but don't hear the comforting words of the sky

so I listen to the voice

of Ave Maria