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Jim Matthew Artist Statement My non-representational artwork is created by a process of action, and then reaction. In between the acting and reacting is a lot of reflecting and inner visualizing as to what is going on. Not much is pre planned out. I like to have the experience as a surprise to me, allowing the process to somewhat guide my steps, and allowing spontaneity to put down the images, colors, and designs.
I have painted in many different styles and techniques, and so I have some idea of good color and design concepts, which I gravitate towards when I am putting together these types of paintings. I am also influenced by certain artists, and also by the world around me. Artists such as Alden mason, Guy Anderson, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, Mark Tobey, and Bill Mair have really influenced my direction at some point in my life. I enjoy and am influenced by certain objects and scenes, such as the shapes of driftwood, the shapes of corroded metal on old cars or other steel objects, beach environments, also large groupings of people at places such as the Pike Place Market, or at Festivals.
The direction and content of my paintings reflect a desire to create something that is both complex and rich with detail, and also easy to look at and understand from both close up, and at a distance. I work at the entire canvas as if it were just a single object, and by making sure that all of its pieces fit together to make a unified whole. I strive for continuity, and also subtlety in the juxtaposing of both large compositional blocks of color, along with smaller and more intricate design elements. I find this whole process to be one of creating surprising “mistakes’ that in the end seem to work all the more better because of them not being planned out, but instead letting them happen almost on there own.
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