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.

My Style

As I pass the halfway mark of this project, there are a few things I really wanted to reflect on.
First off, I never thought that I was a good painter. This was the last thing I would have expected to be doing had you asked me back in high school.
I never had much of a handle on craft, or detail. My pictures were always rough and unfinished. They were cartoony. They weren't good. I never saw myself as being able to do this because I wasn't a good drawer.

"butterfly" 2003, watercolour

This was my work in high school. Rough, unfinished. Certainly not what I would consider the early work of an artist.

"Planetoid" 2004, acrylic on canvas board

I remember back to when me and Nathan were little. We used to gather around his families table and draw. And when we did this, he was always so much better than me. He had a natural artistic talent that I lacked. His pictures were always so clean and precise. His cartoons were good. Mine were not.
Out of this came some sort of inferiority complex that settled in me until I hit high school and took an art class with my friends Susan and Bailey.

Soon, I began to improve. I look back at my sketch books from those times and I realize how much I improved just by sticking to my craft.

But in my eyes, even with all my improvements I still wasn't good enough.

It wasn't until I went back to university that I finally realized that I had a talent. I see things in ways others don't. My unique vision is actually my own and through influences, I've realized that I have strengths as an artist that others don't.

This was my work in first year. A silly piece called "Breakfast of Venus" based around the "Birth of Venus" picture by Boticelli. It's silly. It's fun... but it was also a bit of a turning point for me. I started to realize that I could do things for myself.

As my other friends in the program got better, I began to get more experimental.

I played with colours.

"Duality" 2009, oil on canvas

I realized that even though my work was stylized, it brought with it a new set of delightful challenged specifically for me. While my friends were trapped within the confines of realism, I shot for absurdity.

The Vitruvian "Man", 2011 - acrylic on canvas

"By The Gods" 2011- acrylic on canvas

I began to get compliments from the people who I admired telling me what a unique and creative vision I had. Teachers who once came down hard on me began to get excited about my work.

"Drag Queens Last Supper", 2011 - acrylic on board

I've become something I never expected to be. An artist. And it's only now that I dive deeper and deeper into the Human Canvas Project that I'm realizing the incredible impact it is having on my life.

I'm seeing people differently. You know how some people claim they can see people's auras? Like that one is gold, or green? I'm secretly wondering what colour these people are on the inside? Am I truly capturing their essence in a photograph?

And the only way I really know that is if they or their friends respond with an enthusiastic yes.

It's a strange process, but one that I'm growing into slowly.

Now I find that I'm working with a completely new medium, but it makes sense in a weird way. I've always painted my people as every colour in the rainbow. Now I'm turning my friends into the people I would normally paint them as.  Bright colourful beacons to show off to the world.

It's a neat thought that what started as a form of self expression has turned into a form of celebration. A way for me to communicate how I have seen the world for all these years.

As the project moves forward, I'm excited to discover what will happen next.

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 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.