Matti Paints - Subject Brittanie

So I haven't done this before, but I really wanted to for this piece.

Now there are several paintings that I've done that I love. This was easily one of them. My immediate reaction after I finished it was "Wow... I did that?"

I guess a part of this goes back to my own personal insecurities (which I speak of in detail HERE), but when I finished this, I really felt like I had made something special. Something awesome. Something I could REALLY be proud of.

NOW, maybe I should take this back to the beginning.

Look! It's Brittanie!
She works with me at the Hot Oven and we generally get along famously. We've only had a few shifts together, but this girl has already kicked into the mode of surrogate little sister.
We joke. We laugh. Mostly that's about it.

Anyhow when I told her about my project she jumped at the chance and actually pitched me an idea.

"So, do you think you could do something like starry night?"
OMFG
For serious? For true?
I don't think I can properly express how excited I was at the prospect of doing this piece.
Van Gogh has long been one of my major artistic influences. His use of colour and form are incredible and I LOVE working with new material.

So obviously the colours were picked for us and we just had to find a suitable playlist. Turns out she loves Red Hot Chili Peppers so we had a good base to start from. I had to introduce her to Petty Victories because that's just what friends do, and I added Tonight Tonight to the list simply because the song fits beautifully in with the painting style.

Combine this with an extremely photogenic model and we had our shot in a matter of minutes. I am in love with this painting and am so glad that I got to have this experience with Brittanie. She's a really amazing person and I'm so glad that I've got to meet her.

Is the picture an exact replica of Starry Night? Of course not. No one can copy his genius in twenty minutes. But working with what I had, I have to say I am so proud, not only of Brittanie but of myself for being able to do something so close to the original in so short a period of time.

I could go into paragraphs upon paragraphs about this piece so maybe it's best I end it here. But I am SO thankful and proud of this piece and this canvas. Thanks for letting me be your big bro for a day!

Matti Paints - Subject Ben

So Ben is a friend of Kevin's who saw the project and agreed to be a part of it.
And I am very glad he did.

First off, once again I forgot to take a before picture which is disappointing. I really need to remember to do that.

However, one of the most exciting things about this particular canvas is that Ben is number 50.

Yes. I have now officially done 50 separate canvases. Each  more difficult than the last. I've grown. The project has grown. What started as an idea and a very confused expression from Wes has grown into this with momentum still going strong.

So needless to say I was very excited working with Ben. I couldn't have asked for a better canvas. He was friendly and from the moment he entered my apartment, we were both at ease and enjoying the experience. Plus he chose Tina Turner. That made my day.

Ben was surprisingly enjoyable to paint. I ended up creating patterns on him that I hadn't made before. His face ended up with solid line work which is a style I haven't experimented with too much yet which ended up being a pleasant surprise. The back piece featured a giant spiral that was outlined in Celtic designs. His arms were a teal and pink mix of Aztec patterns followed by a chest piece that looked like armor.

So of course we choose a picture that features him as a pose from the side.

Awe well, I'm still very happy with the end product! 

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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 Tenille

Please note that this is not the Captain and Tenille, Tenille. But that was the name of her old dog.

Tenille was stunning. From the first time we met I knew I had to paint her. Mainly because she showed up and my house after a month of exchanging potential painting dates, but it was nice to finally settle down with her and add her to my canvas collection.

 Her colour choices were so far up my alley I couldn't have asked for a better palate. That combined with a random yet fun playlist made the experience seem almost too good to be true.

During the canvas session, our talks went from fanciful and hopes and dreams to heavier talks of life and death. There was a beautiful yet simple dynamic at work. A pushing and pulling of the heart strings that was something I've only got to experience a few times during this project before. 
I really think that in the end we ended up with something very unique and fitting for her. She's so far the only person I've allowed to go back and reshoot her final shot. (I made the mistake of shooting her with her hair up which made the pictures too soft on the focus and didn't do the makeup full justice)
So in the end I ended up with something quite beautiful and I'm happy to say that I got to finally paint her.
So, here she is in all her glory! 

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!