Heartfelt, Whimsical, and Sometimes Elegant
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Andrew's Magic Puppy | © Matt Johnson
I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt just as he was wrapping up his month long studio workshop in Canada at Imaginism Studios. After learning about his intense workshop, I wanted to share more about Matt, his talent and his learning experience. Click here to watch his video.
For painters just starting out in the industry, what advice can you offer? Oh, wow. There’s so much I wish I knew when I started! I think the biggest piece of advice I wish I had when I started was to have an ultimate goal in mind. Imagine what you would want to do if you knew you had no limitations and could not fail, and then figure out how to get there. You’d be surprised how few limitations really stand in front of you!
A lot of people enjoy making art, but that doesn’t mean that you can make a career of it unless you’re directing your efforts at a specific audience, client, industry, or job. Try to get inside their heads and ask yourself “what do they want to see?”…. on the surface this may sound like pandering, but if your goal means something to you, this is just a great way to focus your efforts. In my opinion, art is made for three basic reasons – to achieve something, to learn something, or to enjoy/express something. Simply being aware of which category your work falls into will keep you from neglecting the others.
Walnocerus | © Matt Johnson
If I had a second piece of advice (I know, I’m cheating!), it would be to read Bobby Chiu’s new book “The Perfect Bait”….I had an overnight change of attitude after listening to the entire audio version in one sitting. Truly amazing.
When did you start becoming more involved in painting and when did you realize you wanted to make it a career? I think I realized I wanted to make art a career after I spent some time as a video editor after college and then decided to take a figure drawing class after some coaxing from a fellow art graduate…what can I say, I was nervous. I had the opportunity to learn from the great Barrett Bailey, and I owe a lot to his work ethic and drive to make me into an excellent figure draftsman. The zen of drawing as well as the alertness of problem solving on paper while working toward something beautiful….it was just addicting! I set a goal for myself at 24 to be as good as Barrett by the time I turned 34. I still have several of those years left on the clock and his ever-improving skills keep me from catching up, haha…. but I think that goal set a lot of things in motion for me.
Glowing Scout Lemur | © Matt Johnson
Just recently you participated in a workshop with Imaginism Studios. Name ONE (I know, hard!) rewarding learning experience you treasured. Oh, another tough question. Imaginism Studios is a complex organization built as much around working in the industry as they are educating. They are truly evolving the concept of art education through their organization Schoolism.com, and I highly recommend taking one of those classes. It is truly one of the best organizations in the 21st century for learning from industry experts.
The workshop was easily 16 hours a day of pure productivity….very intense, very technical, but also very much geared toward helping us align our goals (or figure them out) and make a plan for how to get there. I think one of the more rewarding experiences was having Thierry LaFontaine (the main instructor for the 30 days who lived in the house with us) force us to accomplish totally realistic work in a matter of a half hour or maybe an hour. One day after listening to his instruction, he showed us a photo of an apple and said “ok, paint the apple as realistically as possible…. I’ll be back in here in 30 minutes and you should be finished. You can do this.” and after the four of us had minor-freak-outs, remarkably, we did it with amazing results. Then he gave us more invaluable instruction, we did it a second time, and the second time was mind-blowingly better.
It wasn’t just that I learned that I could paint fast if I tried….I learned that we artists tend to take as much time as we give ourselves to accomplish something, on canvas AND in life. It wasn’t about putting down brushstrokes faster, or a supernatural ability to be accurate. It was about organizing the process. The same is true of life, which is where I’m definitely applying this lesson…. I can accomplish a lot of my artistic goals a lot sooner than I gave myself credit for – not by producing a frenzy of work and bombarding my audience, but by focusing and being organized in my thoughts and giving myself a direction in which to go.
Making Friends | © Matt Johnson
Describe your artwork in five words: heartfelt, whimsical, and sometimes elegant. 
What are you currently focusing on now? My next exciting project is a children’s book I’m developing for the iPad. I’ve always had a passion for telling stories and for art, and this is the perfect merger of the two that I can accomplish on my own without having to wait for a big publisher to find me and put me to work. I’m also focusing on developing my style instead of just technical skill, finding my niche, and trying to take commissions as much as possible, getting myself out there so that I can live comfortably while working hard! (wait, all that doesn’t sound focused at all….I promise, it is! It’s all part of the grand scheme of things. Not a minute to waste!)
Where else can we see your artwork? You can see my (pre-workshop) artwork at artofmattjohnson.com, and other art related online communities. There are links on my contact page to all of those other little outlets. I also try to keep my blog pretty updated at mattjohnsonart.blogspot.com, where you can also read a ton more about my last month at the Imaginism In-House Workshop.
Wow! I LOVE Matt’s art! I want to pick up some of those characters and hug them. Laura, great job with the title, “Heartfelt, Whimsical, and Sometimes Elegant”–that really sums up Matt’s work to a T!
thanks so much Jen! HIs work is absolutely amazing!! I hope one day he can meet everyone. The title of his piece is how Matt describes his work but I absolutely agree!
Thank you for the kind words, both of you
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