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spacedog2011
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[16844260]
[2011-03-09 02:45:25 +0000 UTC]
"Matthew"
(United States)
# Statistics
Favourites: 18; Deviations: 73; Watchers: 3
Watching: 3; Pageviews: 3190; Comments Made: 29; Friends: 3
# Interests
Favorite visual artist: Roel WielingaFavorite movies: Star Wars and Star Trek
Favorite bands / musical artists: Currently (10/2012) Mumford and Sons
Favorite games: Civilization 5 and Endless Space
Favorite gaming platform: PC
Tools of the Trade: Painter 11, Photoshop Elements, SketchUp, DAZ3D, Poser
Other Interests: Reading, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, history, learning about nature and the universe, politics
# About me
My name is Matthew. I am budding self-taught artist who has a lovely wife and three children (two boys and one girl). They are my rock.I have TAR Syndrome (look it up on Google) where I was born without the radius bone, along with some wrist bones, in both arms and hands. As a result, my hands turn inward at about an 80 degree angle.
I have been diagnosed with Bi-Polar (or Manic-Depressive) Type II [Google it]. I have had numerous depressive and manic episodes throughout my life. I have had many suicidal thoughts during those periods but never attempted it. I have however did some self-harm as a form of catharsis.
I also have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia with unexplained pain throughout various parts of my body, including my hands.
I tell you these things not to garner pity, but rather to say that I am better and stronger in spirit for it. With my family beside me (which at one point in my life, I thought I would never have) I am happier than ever.
I have never thought of myself at being good at anything much. But through the years and with encouragement from my mentor Roel Wielinga and my family, I have come to realize that I truly have a talent for art. I'm not the greatest artist. I have a lot to learn. But I do know that I'm a good artist.
Though I am not able to produce the kind of artwork I use to, I'm learning to create new pieces of art that I have always dreamed of doing, just in a different format. Digital painting has been a great gift for me. When I started out experimenting with art, it would take me weeks if not months to finish a project. Quite often I'd never finish. When my hands started to bother me, it took even longer to complete a piece of work, until finally, I couldn't without extreme pain. Fibromyalgia is a cyclical ailment which is often made worse by prolonged activity. So for long periods of time I would have to stop creating art until my hands felt more free of the pain and then I'd work again until the pain came back and then have to stop all over.
With my exploration into digital art, I have found that it allows me to produce the same quality of work but in a much shorter amount of time which saves my hands from much of the pain I use to have. I still have to stop between projects, but now I am able to actually complete a project before having to stop for a length of time. This has helped greatly to elevate my mood with regard to my always underlying depression. Whenever I am able to create and finish a piece of art, I feel a sense of great accomplishment and happiness.
I started my experimentation into art in junior high in art class. One art class and one drafting class in junior high and two art classes in high school is what propelled me towards my love of art. Unlike most of my fellow students I was always looking to create something different from everyone else. Whereas most of them would try to create only the simplistic work, I'd try the most complex.
Though I was taught various forms of art, I have found that the realistic art form was the most pleasing for me to create. Though I know longer think it now, producing art that looked like it was a photograph was the greatest achievement an artist could make. Detail was everything to me back then. Now it's not only the realism that I look to achieve but also a sense of story, movement, or the sense of a person's personality and vitality.
I have always been interested in two things: science fiction and women. So my artwork tends to focus on these two subjects. Also, I tend to see things in ordinary objects that most people would never dream of. A radio as a moon base, a pen as a star ship, an ordinary stapler as a futuristic flying vehicle, are but a few examples. The list goes on. It should be noted that I have a love affair with spaceships. I collect any and all starship models that I can find and afford. I take photos of these models at various angles to be used in my artwork. But perhaps my best work, at least in the past, has been creating portraits and animal illustrations. But then again, maybe as I explore using the digital media that will change.
Besides my interests in art, women, and science fiction (not necessarily in that order), I have a deep interest in history, for how can we know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. I like to learn about the mechanics of nature and the universe, including quantum physics. I like to learn about politics as well. Lastly, as stated before, I am a father of three. My greatest interest, even more than art, is to be the best father I can for my children.
Current Residence: Augusta GA
Print preference: 11"x14"
Favourite genre of music: Alt. Rock
Favourite style of art: Realism
Operating System: Windows
MP3 player of choice: Ipod Touch
Favourite cartoon character: Garfield
Personal Quote: "He's Dead Jim!"
