beinArt Interview with Matt R Martin

It was frequently said in art school that you could never make the painted surface look anything other than the painted surface, no matter what techniques we used to render up the leanest and cleanest image.  Matt R Martin is one of those few artists who has the mastery down already to create a clean and crisp image so fine it is hard to realise it is a painting.  At only 26 years of age, will have his first solo show at Copro Gallery next year. I first saw one of Matt’s paintings at 696Ink’s Grand Opening Exhibition last year, marvelling for minutes at his piece ‘Unspoken’ which is layered so delicately that you could not see a single brush mark as he took figuration to a new level of perfection.  The composition was so balanced that it took you a moment to realise that there were more than just the usual eight fingers and two thumbs in this painting.

Elspeth McIntosh: Matt, can you remember the moment when art became important to you?

Matt R Martin: Art has always been important to me from a young age, although my interest in it has deviated over the years. As a youngster I’d be copying images out of comic books. I was always drawing and doing creative things. As I got older, as a teenager when you’re making those life decisions that they force upon you at school, I never saw art as sustaining a viable career, but perhaps as more of a hobby. Growing up in Mildura I didn’t get to experience the richness of the art culture that you can experience here in Melbourne, and indeed, the rest of the world. So I thought I had to direct my talents towards more commercial avenues, like graphic art, in order to make a stable career out of them, and so really almost gave up on art for a while. It wasn’t until I moved to Melbourne and started meeting other artists that I discovered my flair for painting and decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life. Since deciding that, I’ve worked very hard to try and understand the art world, not only to be a good artist but also a relevant and successful one.

EM: Who or what were your initial inspirations for making your artwork?

MM: I love movies, I watch them all the time but great movies really inspire me to want to paint. I love when in a movie the visuals, script and score come together and you feel that strong emotion. So I always want to see if I can paint and capture that feeling in just a single image. As far as other artists go, Beksinski and Gottfried Helnwein are big inspirations for me. Jeremy Geddes also, being a successful local artist, adds to my inspiration. He’s just getting better with every new painting he does. And then there are the old masters like Rembrandt and J.M.W. Turner.

EM: Can you name any particular films which have inspired your artwork? Has their aesthetic affected you?

MM: There are a lot of films that inspire me to want to work on my art but if I had to name just a few… ‘The Fountain’ (I love that film!), ‘Hunger’, ‘Valhalla Rising’, ‘The Road’, ‘The Jacket’ and ‘Heat’.

EM: What kind of music inspires your artwork and what kind of music would you have on whilst painting?

MM: I listen to a lot of avant-garde metal bands like Nile, and I love great movie scores or sound tracks like ‘The Fountain’, and ‘The Road’. I also listen to progressive rock bands and my friends have even gotten me into some bluesy alternative stuff. But a lot of the time I find my choice in music can be too emotive and my paintings can be quite labour intensive so I often put on brainless TV shows just to have noise in the background. I hate painting in silence.

EM: What attracts you in the world and how does that affect your art?

MM: There’s beauty all around us in the world but everyone views the world differently through their eyes and in their mind. What I like and find beautiful, a lot of the time I would visualise in a different context, different surrounding, and possibly even with surreal elements. So I guess that’s how it affects my art.

EM: The people that you paint often look really uncomfortable, do you feel that these subjects are being invaded on, or do they contain an energy that represents a part of you?

MM: I have had a lot of people asking the meaning or try to tell me what mood or feeling I have captured. I like to leave it up to the viewer for them to interpret and let them discover whatever they get out of it.

EM: Have you had any interesting interpretations from others?

MM: I do hear a few different explanations for my pieces. And it’s quite amazing, really, that both extremes can be reached within a single image. One viewer may find a painting to be calming and serene whereas another may view the subject as being tormented and in distress. So, even as my art may be a reflection somewhat on me, the individual’s interpretation consequently may serve as a reflection on the viewer.

EM: I have to ask: did anyone teach you how to paint? What kinds of layering techniques do you use?

MM: The universities rejected me, so I was doing a TAFE Fine Art course but I learnt very little to nothing there. So I changed over to an Illustration course where I learnt as much as I could on colour theory from the rendering teacher as oil paints were a kind of frowned upon medium due to the time it takes to produce finished pieces. So I learnt mainly to use oil paints outside of school. This came somewhat more easily to me as a result of my years of studying life drawing . I was lucky enough to meet Beau White, a fellow artist, in the Illustration course. We used to bounce ideas and techniques off each other all the time. He also introduced me to Karl Persson, who I then talked a lot with about painting techniques and methods. As far as layering techniques go, every painting I do is like problem solving of how I’m going to approach it and the layers I do. But most of the time it’s pretty standard: sketch/ under painting, mid tones, darks, high lights and glazing- but I do these multiple times. I find the more layers I do the closer it comes to that look I’m after. But I’m always looking for ways to speed up and improve my techniques.

EM: What kinds of mediums do you use to glaze and layer up?

MM: I use Windsor & Newton Liquin pretty much all the way through my painting. For me, this medium works well from start to finish because I paint my layers so thin. It’s great for glazing also as it allows me to use all colours for glazing, not just transparent ones.

EM: It is very much up to the individual to push their work these days. It is sad, but the majority of art schools in Australia do not teach technique nor practical technical knowledge to make sure that the work conserves well.

MM: I agree, things need to change there, it’s a bit of a joke really.

EM: How long did ‘Unspoken’ take to produce?

MM: Hard to say. About month and a bit overall.

EM: You have a solo show coming up at Copro Nason in 2011, how are you feeling about that at the moment?

MM: Not too bad- still a lot of painting to be done around the commissions and other works currently on the go but I’ll get there. And hopefully this will be some of my most exciting work.

EM: Did you have a running theme for this exhibition? Does having the exhibition overseas alter your themes and/or give you new forms of inspiration?

MM: I believe my work is better received overseas so I don’t think much will alter for that reason, but I’m forever evolving and maturing as an artist so naturally themes and inspirations will as well.  As far as a theme at the moment I am definitely playing around with a sense of isolation within the environment and the subtly surreal.

EM: If you could live and create artwork anywhere but Australia, where would you go?  Do you have a particular city that you’re interested in exploring apart from Santa Monica?

MM: It was very important to me have established my career first and then see what opportunities arose to determine where I may live and work in the future. Of course, I’m very keen to work around the world. Santa Monica is the first to have opened its doors to me, and I am definitely looking into London, due to some interest coming in from there. New York is also a place I’d absolutely love to be part of.

EM: You are also working as a full time artist, what advice would you give to those aspiring to take on this vocation?

MM: I can only advise on the path I’ve taken really: go into it one hundred per cent and believe in what you are doing. I knew I wasn’t going to make it if I only did it some of the time so there were a lot of sacrifices that had to be made. Always be looking ahead to the next step to progress your career and if you don’t know, maybe study up on an artist you enjoy or look into what path they took to get where they are. It might give insight and ideas for your next move. And definitely take advantage of the Internet to network and get your work out there.

EM: Can you see any experimentation with your artwork or new approaches happening within the next five years?

MM: Yeah, I’m still new to the painting world so I’m always trying to learn more and improve. Recently, I’ve decided to step up the professionalism and work with a friend of mine, Mark Morris, who is a cinematographer, to help me capture my reference better. I’m really looking forward to it. And I think it will change the way I work from now on. I also really look forward to working large, over two meters. And with my reference being better quality I will now be able to work at these sizes and retain the detail I like in my paintings.

EM: Will these cinematographic shots walk you around the subject?  That sounds like it would be incredibly useful.

MM: Although his profession is in cinematography, Mark is just helping me with standard photography. However, his skills in and knowledge of that sort of equipment will give me a much higher quality reference.

EM: And finally: is there anything more you would love to learn to add to your arts practice over the next few years?

MM: In as far as painting techniques go, I’m always looking to further those I already employ and to stay open to those I will come across. I believe travelling, meeting and talking with other artists will also help with this. I would also like to learn more about photography and lighting to compliment what I’ve learnt from years of life drawing, all in an effort to better capture my references. I’m always trying to see how far I can push myself and the realism in my work, while at the same time incorporating my love of loose painting. Finding a balance between these is definitely a future goal.

Images, top to bottom: Unspoken, A Moment to Breathe, Scarah, Imbalance Sleep & She Walks in Empty Spaces