Articles

Artist Pat Matthews Paints in the Fast Lane

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It’s absolutely amazing to watch artist Pat Matthews create a vibrant landscape in about 15 minutes. While completed in an unseemly short time, that same painting by one of Little Rock’s premier artists may sell for up into the thousands of dollars. So how does that work? “I didn’t just complete that painting in 15 minutes,” he says. “I’ve been perfecting my craft over decades.”



Still as I watched him using a table as an easel, voluminous globs of paint dispensed from construction-size caulk tubes, and using rubber gloves, he finger painted a landscape, finishing it off with deft strokes of a large spatula. “I started doing this after watching a film about Jackson Pollack,” he says. “I only use this hand-painting technique on small abstract paintings. Some paintings take days or weeks to complete.” His paintings, priced by size, range from $400 to $45,000. “You have to paint like you’re a millionaire,” he tells me. “Don’t be stingy with the paint.”



This 46-year-old whiz was once spotted by Gary Keller of Keller Williams Realty who asked him to do a painting demonstration before a crowd of 6,000 realtors. “I had been doing a painting demonstration and we got to talking,” I told him about how I got up every day and treated my work like a job.” To this day Matthews is careful to keep his home and his studio separate. “I like to have lots of space; I can pull my truck or my four wheeler into here without a problem he says of his North Little Rock studio.



Matthews has three different styles to call upon, contemporary, traditional and abstract, and he thinks about his market. As a registered architect, he understands scale. “These large houses need large paintings. People like texture, color, light and depth.”



Matthews has been back in Arkansas for about a year, after an 8 year stint in Santa Fe New Mexico. He is still represented at the Waxlander Gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, as well as being represented by the Sportsman’s Gallery in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Locally his paintings are available at Local Color on Kavanaugh Boulevard. Online, his work is available at www.buyoutsidethebox.com.



After watching Pat complete his painting I asked him, “When do you know a painting is finished?”



“It’s a matter of feel,” he says. “I’ve ruined lots of paintings by not stopping soon enough.”



This award-winning artist has paintings all over the country, Europe and Asia. He was named by Southwest Art magazine as 1 of 10 artists to watch in 2006. In 2007, he was named Arkansas artist of the year and most recently he was the 2010 Riverfest artist.



Matthews is all about sharing his methods and learning from other artists. This coming year, he and artist Barry Thomas are planning a no-trace elk camp painting workshop in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. “The concept is pretty unique. This is the first time a permit has been issued like this for artists. We’re providing a complete package for artists, including transportation from the Durango airport and we’ll ship the paintings home for participants. Tourism meets art--more details to come.

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