Pinot's Palette Staff Spotlight: Mattie!
This month, we are introducing you to Mattie, or as we call him, The Art Tzar! He is one or our most senior staff members and a definite fan favorite! Here is a little bit about Mattie, in his own words:
How long have you worked at Pinot’s Palette?
It’ll be six years in September!
Favorite artist:
Tough question, Frank Frazetta probably. Comic books are what got me into art in the first place, and I think Frazetta is the best of the all-time great comic artists. Even now, after a pretty respectable education in the arts, there is probably no artist that I come back to for inspiration as much as the late, great Frank Frazetta.
Favorite Pinot’s Palette memory:
I entered an art show one time and my painting hung next to a painting created by one of my regular Pinot’s Palette customers. She started coming to Pinot’s as a total beginner and within a couple of years she had the confidence and ability to enter art shows and go toe-to-toe with some of the finest artists in town. She claimed that I was her mentor, that felt good. She still comes to class too.
Other hobbies besides painting:
I’m a historical reenactor. I got to living history events dressed in 13th century attire, I swordfight in full armor and teach people about art in the middle ages.
Favorite Pinot’s painting to teach:
My current favorite is probably Aurora Reflections. It’s got a really nice color palette and there’s almost no wrong way to paint it.
What does being an artist mean to you?
Art is a humbling and character-building endeavor. Every time you create art you have to face the limits of your own ability. It is an exercise in repeatedly facing failure after failure. In very rare moments though, creating art is as close as I’ve ever come to experiencing a genuine feeling of spiritual ecstasy. I’ve invested so much time and energy into being an artist that I’m terrible at pretty much everything else in life. At the expense of everything else, I’ve only managed to become a mildly skillful artist. And yet, there is nothing else I would want to be.