Tell me about your photography/art background?

I’ve just always done art for as long as I can remember. My mother was an artist, so I grew up creating things and had access to supplies. It was always just a part of life for me. I started getting into in photography in junior high. It was just another means of producing images and at some
point in my twenties, photography became a way of supplementing my income. I’ve always had a pretty strong separation between my professional work and my artistic work though.

​What kind of subjects do you shoot? What are you currently working on?

I’ll shoot just about anything. Landscapes, people, objects, moments in myown life. I may not use those images for anything right away, if ever though. Sometimes I have negatives that sit around for years before they ever become something tangible. A lot of my photographic work comes out of unconventional darkroom techniques. So, a negative that I’ve shot may only be a small part of the final image.

I’m always working on several things at once. It would probably be more efficient to simply work a single project from start to finish but I get so bored working that way. Lately, I’d say I’ve been more focused on illustrative work. I’m doing some drawings for a book called, "Republican
Jelly" that is a collection of absurd short stories and illustrations. I’ve also been working on a comic. I have some paintings in the works too.

Republican Jelly Sample
THE GREAT PENGUIN MIGRATION
Sample
BY MATT READ

It was in August of nineteen ninety-six, in the city of New York, when I personally witnessed the rare and unforgettable marvel of The Great Penguin Migration. It was early evening and I was looking out the window of my seventh story apartment and enjoying a glass of strong port when I first noticed an immense black spot blotting out the stars of the late summer sky. Within minutes I could make out thousands of tiny specks looming over the New York City skyline and when these mysterious forms finally came into focus, I could recognize the unmistakable pear shapes of penguins fluttering in hordes through the night.

What inspires you as an artist?

I get depressed if I go too long without making something new. So there’s that. Sometimes it’s an idea that I have or a specific image that I want to make. I might have a theory about how to use a medium in a particular way that I want to experiment with. Sometimes it’s as simple as wanting to
feel ink on paper or paint on canvas. The physical act in and of itself can be pretty gratifying.

Who is your biggest inspiration?  

Well, Van Gogh has always been a big one for me. Vince is my man. The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists really got me into painting. Marcel Duchamp is a big one too. I can have a pretty irreverent approach to making art sometimes so I really relate to artists like Duchamp, Ai Wei
Wei, Rauschenberg.

Matt's art is so diverse. Some of his work is playful, some beautiful, you can tell that he has reached of level of creativity that most artist take a lifetime to accomplish. His fine art photos use color to enhance the composition but there is simplistic beauty in which less is more. As far as his illustrations go his lines are clean and playful and there is this underlying sense of humor in it, both in his writing and in his illustrations. With each piece of his art you get a little piece of who Matt is but he never gives you the complete picture.

Matt is also and accomplished musician playing in bands locally since he was around 12 years old. He played in a band called Fighting 90, more recently a band called Duke. This is where he came up with the name for his comic book. If you would like to check out Matt's music please go to his website which is linked below and there is also a link to a music video he did with Duke.

Please check out more of Matt's work on his website here.

Or you can follow Matt on his Instagram

Matt's music video with his band Duke called The Cruiser.

Every artist that I introduce I would like to inspire just one person.

I would like to introduce you to Stephanie Warren an inspiring artist, activist, plant-lover, photographer, and painter. Stephanie grew up in a military family and was born in Ankorage, Alaska. She attended high school in Sacramento, CA and currently resides in Austin, TX,

I met Stephanie through Instagram. She liked one of my Instagram posts so I contacted her to thank her. I had checked out her photos previously and really loved the energy I felt when I looked at them. She definitely has a natural ability to capture the mood of each moment which you'll see in her photos. Her work is colorful, powerful, but there is this gentleness to them. It could be the light, colors, or just her way of seeing. She has a journalistic approach telling a story within each of her photographs. She also is a painter and you'll see the bright colors mirrored in her painting as well.

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​For photography, I love candid shots. I love taking fleeting moments of life and at the risk of being completely cliché, capturing them. Memorializing them, in a sense, no matter how mundane or insignificant those moments may seem. For my paintings and charcoals, there is less of a solidified approach. Whatever feels good at the moment, I do. My favorite body part are eyes, so draw those quite often and I suppose the emotions that are conveyed through the eyes that I draw reflect what I am feeling at the moment. With that,  I’m in the process of conceptualizing a series of charcoal portraits, playing with different themes. ​

Stephanie attended H.S. in Sacramento, CA and was kind of a band nerd. She played cello, violin, clarinet, alto saxophone, and obo. Although she had this great musical talent and loved the arts she never saw it as a career option. She felt the pressure of going towards a career that would make her money instead of what she loved because of the color of her skin.

In 2004, Stephanie moved to Austin and studied the culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. She started working at a Houston's which is now Bartlett's and quickly realized it just wasn't for her. She also attended Texas State where she was she was studying Art History with a minor in Studio.
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Currently Stephanie spends a lot of her time volunteering by doing community outreach, policy, taking photos for The Austin Justice Coalition where she is the Creative Director. The Austin Justice Coalition is an organization that promotes racial equality. This topic is something that Stephanie feels very passionately about and you can see that in some of the photos below. Stephanie also volunteers for Soulciti as stated on their website is a grassroots phenomenon to disseminate news and entertainment information of interest to African Americans. Stephanie believes that all human experiences are the same and for her she is human first and then black.
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Tell me about your photography/art background?

Started drawing as early as I can remember. Doodling mostly when I am bored. Enjoyed art classes in school and took art class when it was available. It was fun and easy to do. From elementary school to college to professional, I kept at it working on different medias, such as pencil, paint to computers.

I’ve always been a creative person. I’ve always doodled and had a camera around me. Although art never really seemed like a viable career path, art has always been apart of my life. In regards to education, I’m definitely on the self-taught end of the spectrum. Throughout the years I have taken many art classes for stress relief but never as a main focus and while I minored in Art History (which required me to take so many hours of Studio Art classes) I’ve only recently began exploring different techniques and learning to express myself via different styles.

What inspires you as an artist?  What inspires me most to create art is Life. In all of its complexities. Through failures and victories, ups and downs, etc. To show that no matter what socioeconomic status, “race,” belief system, we are all dealing with the underlying acceptance of existence. We are more similar than we are different. I suppose, I want to do my part to make those differences we focus on less important.  

Honestly, my biggest inspiration are people who have the courage to be exactly who they are and live their lives exactly how they want. That ranges from famous people to random people I see on the street. I love me some outliers, lol. As for  famous people? Albert Camus, Angela Davis, Friedrich Nietzsche, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar, Dave Brubeck, etc.
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What are your goals as an artist?  My main goal is to constantly grow. I can’t say that there is an end goal. I just want to keep exploring myself and my capabilities. ​ I’m in the process of really delving into the art scene so I am saying ‘Yes’ to any opportunities. Some of my pieces will be up at local coffee shops and as for shows, if you know of any, my answer is yes!

Check out more of Stephanie's work on her website at www.stephaniedwarren.com and follow her on Instagram at _double.consciousness_ 

Every artist that I introduce I would like to inspire just one person.

"Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud" - Herman Hesse

​I would like to introduce to you an inspiring mixed media artist Marty Lewis.  He currently has a 100 piece show hanging at The Flightpath Coffeehouse in Austin and will be one of two participants at the ART Showdown at Halcyon in Austin this evening January 18th from 7pm-9pm.  Please stop by if you're in Austin and you'll be able to check out his work and meet Marty as well as the artist on my previous blog post Jean-Pierre Verdijo.   

Marty is a Pastors Kid which he referred to as a  "PK."  I didn't know there was a slang way of saying it but now I know.  He is from a very religious family and he is the youngest of 7 kids from California.  He currently works as a nurse and has been for about 20 years.  

Marty loves symbolism in art and tries to put allot of that into his art.   He takes from the past and the present and merges it.  He talks about life, death, sin, resurrection, and color.  The process of cutting for him is almost like a meditation.

How did this art thing get started for you?

My sister Rachel was an amazing artist and she passed away  5 years ago in 2012. When I went back to California a few of years ago and I got into some of her art supplies in 2015.  That is really where things have taken off for me as an artist.  It was a conduit for my healing with her death and that's where the gates opened up for me.​

What is inspiring you to produce so much art? 

I'm a really passionate person and I might be a little OCD I think.  Once I find something I'm really passionate about I grab onto it and just fucking go with it.   

 What type of material do you use to create your art?  Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Found paper and vintage magazines from the 1930's-1970's

Tell me more about how your sister Rachel and how she influences your art?  Rachel has been the biggest inspiration in my art.  I feel that I do bring her with me when I'm creating art although our styles were different we both do assemblage.  One of the first pieces that I did was an assemblage piece.  She worked with oil and acrylics.  

​Is there anyone else that inspires you?  It's so cliche to say your parents but without the foundation that they instilled which is a traditional foundation.  Art, literature, music.....They were the most inspiring because I was surrounded by that. 

Tell me more about what inspires you as an artist? The dadist are some of the most influential artists for me. It is said that Dadaism rejects reason and logic, prizing nonsense, irrationality and intuition. This type of art certainly intrigues me. Collage allows for the aforementioned and speaks loudly to how I feel about much of what are art has become.

Are there any specific artists that inspire or influence your art? Lance Letscherdoc who is a local artist in Austin has influenced my work. Last year there was a documentary released about him called The Secret Life of Lance Letscherdoc check out the trailer here.

"I am interested in as a means of living a life; not as making a living" - Robert Henri

I'm really new to understanding and writing about mixed media but there is definitely a specific skill set it takes to understand composition, shape, color, and story telling.  Each of Marty's pieces is dramatic and makes a statement.  Some are a little shocking but most are playful and humorous.  From what I've learned about Marty over the last few weeks is that his art does define who he is as person.  Most artist do express themselves through their art since they pour their heart and soul into it.  That is the case for Marty and why he is inspiring to me.  Please check out all of Marty's work on this blog and follow him on Instagram where he posts a new piece of artwork daily.

Please check out all of Marty's work on this blog and everything is for sale so please contact myself or you can follow Marty on Instagram here.  

Every artist that I introduce I would like to inspire just one person.

Jean-Pierre Verdijo was born December 29, 1973 in New York City during an exciting time in the arts, during the dawn of pop art, beginning of hip hop, disco, punk, there was also a huge underground party scene. It was when being an amazing artist was equivalent to being a rock star. A time period that Keith Haring was creating graffiti art all over New York City and right before Jean-Michel Basquiat started painting. When Jean-Pierre was just 2 days he was placed into foster care.

​After 4 1/2 years he was reunited with his mom and lived in New York until he was 10. Jean-Pierre’s time in New York continues to influence him as a person and artist. One of Jean-Pierre's fond memories was when he used to casually roller skate into galleries on Columbus and Broadway in New York to check out the art. During his childhood his only experience with creating art was in elementary school. After that he didn't pick up any kind of art again until he started painting skateboards with Paper Mate White Out when he was around 15 years old.

At 10 years old Jean-Pierre and his mom left New York and headed to Toronto where they became homeless. From Toronto they went to Chicago, Houston, and Miami all of which he experienced living life on the streets. In Miami his mother was finally able to get a disability check that she applied for many months earlier. The first thing she did was bought Jean-Pierre a skateboard. His mom also asked him where he wanted to live and he said California. This is what he was seeing in the Thrasher skateboard magazine. He read that if you wanted to become anything in skateboarding California was where it was at. This is where he pursued skateboarding a became an amateur competitive skateboarder. Skateboarding played a role in how he dealt with the difficulties he faced as an adolescent and he still skateboards today.

Jean-Pierre's best friend Mike Rafter who happened to be a professional skateboarder gave him his first paint set when he was 20. At 20 Jean-Pierre travelled to Arizona to meet his father for the first time. After this time is when Jean-Pierre really started focusing on developing into the artist he is today. He spent 8 years at Sacramento Community College taking every psychology and art class he could not to earn a degree but to work on himself and overcome his life struggles. This is something that most artist have in common is that they struggled through a life challenge at some point and through art it how they heal.

​Jean-Pierre has an extensive list of solo and group exhibitions in California, Texas, and New York. He also has a collaborative show coming up on Jan 18th at Halcyon in Austin. Please come out and experience Jean-Pierre's work in person. He curates the Soma Vida Gallery in Austin where has several of the pieces in this blog on display.

As cliché as it must be, one of my greatest inspirations of all time is nature, not just its aesthetic qualities like its expansiveness & layers, and penchant for geometry, but also in the way it moves in seasons, the diversity in which it promotes itself, how it just exists without judgment.  Maybe most powerful for me is it’s relentlessness. It keeps pushing constantly, it always wins. I’ve taken notes on modeling myself in that quality.  ​Human culture and individual beings are a constant reminder of our potential for expression and source of creativity.  The friction of humanities reach for it’s dignity in a atmosphere of deadly exploitative political theater, hypocritically divisive religious dogma, and the cooperate choke-hold on our culture is the most fascinating thing I’ve ever had the privilege to be apart of. ​

​Who inspires you as an artist?

​In music I find it in the freestyles of hip hop greats like Black Thought of The Roots and Kendrick Lamar, and also in underground artist like One Man Army and Supernatural. The production of J-Dilla and Kanye West, the old Jazz Masters, the  skateboarding of Mark Gonzales, Tom Penny or John Cardiel.   Honestly it’s everywhere now, It’s unlocked and so many devoted artist, athletes, musician, facilitators, chefs, parents are just taking living to a level that elevates us all.  I enter the state of flow in only a few circumstances.  Most often in my art studio, on the dance floor, in a moment of contemplative prayer or in service to my children or while volunteering with under privileged youth.

Jean-Pierre's work is bold yet soft, it's powerful while adding eloquent detail, it makes a statement while expressing beauty.   When I first observed Jean-Pierre's art I knew it was good but I needed to take a closer look.  He has so many pieces of art that it was overwhelming for me to completely get a grasp on the depth of his creations.   When you look at many of the pieces they have so many layers both in materials used and in meaning behind each piece.   

What is truly brilliant about Jean-Pierre's work is that it takes you as the viewer where you want to go.  He studies the complexity of the world through his art and brings attention to different powerful topics including feminism and racism.   He has may pieces of art that are in multiple pieces including his work called Inheritance which has 108 pieces each with a different religion displayed which is located in the slideshow below.  

​He is also an artist that focuses on sustainability where he uses discarded and up-cycled materials.  Please check out his artist statement to find out more info on this topic.

"The message in art is about creating your life.  Creating your myth, your rules, your community, your sacrifices, your ambitions, your goals, and ultimately your way, your path."-  Jean-Pierre Verdijo

What does being an artist mean to you?  The message is to create a structure to engineer your own freedom.  That structure being high and transparent enough for the public to witness your struggles and your victories.    It also means to take the stage in a sea of actors, and hold true to my authenticity, that's what being an artist means to me.  

The words BEAUTY and POWER are on repeat in my head currently.

​I would recommend looking at each piece of art I have on this blog post and check out his website as well. Pay attention to the detail of each and how elaborate they are. When I started checking out Jean-Pierre's work the geometric shapes the small squares, and big circles, nature, clouds, are what stood out. Many of his pieces include various texts from different languages behind the imagery. You really can't compare a previous piece of art to the next which means that as an artist Jean-Pierre continues to expand and grow.
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What's interesting to me is that by writing this blog about Jean-Pierre and his struggles that you can really feel his transformation.  He started off in the most difficult situation you could possibly be in when you're an infant entering this world and it didn't get easier for him.  He just persevered and worked harder to do what he loves which is make art.  If you like a piece of his art please consider purchasing one since he does make his entire living off of his beautiful creations.  

Check out Jean-Pierre's website here and follow him on Instagram here.   Check out up and coming collaborative Instagram account with exciting things to come called the artisofthebluerose 

By getting to know each artist it really helps me understand their work better but also myself better.  I'm so grateful for each artist that lets me in to understand what inspires them.   

Each artist that I introduce I would like to inspire just one person.