Week 1 is in the bag!

Hello!

Well alrighty. We are off to the races, aren't we? I'm almost used to writing 2013 on stuff. I was talking to my friend, Muhammad, before the new year and was remarking that I had a really good feeling about 2013. He cautiously reminded me that I had said the same thing about 2012. In fact, I probably say it every year (I'm alright with that optimism). And while 2012 was a challenging year for me, it was also a really good year. Lots of growth. But this year! Oh, 2013, you have started off right!  Thorton Wilder once said, “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” And I must say that I feel so very blessed and aware of my treasures. The Rogues were blessed with a donation that enabled us to get a (semi)permanent space, I get to go to my first ensemble meeting tonight! I'm working with great people over at the 24th Theatre on their productio of "Walking the Tigtrope". I'm serving with a great board for the theatre advocacy group THEATRECHANGESTHINGS.org. I'm excited to start work on the remounting of "The Songs of Bilitis" with the Rogues. I'm working on a cool zombie comic. And I start teaching design next month! I'm going to stop listing stuff now. I have too much on my plate to list it all. But I am very pleased to be of service. It is a tremendous blessing.

That said, I want to aknowledge my friend Kris Bicknell who has joined me in the Year of the Artist. For January, he is doing a series of portraits (one each week). The first one turned out pretty damn awesome. I have two other friends who implied that they too were joining in, but I don't have confirmation. I hope they do!

As for my own progress, I'm posting the first 3 (of the remaing 6) TataGala portraits that I've been working on. I hope to finish the last three this week and move onto the "Fool for Love" stuff. Catching up feels good.

I'm also going to be adding the "52 Week Challenge" to personal "Year of the Artist" goal. I've learned that I'm terrible at long-term saving and am trying to do better. This seems like and awesome way to get myself to do it. Below you can see the chart and how it works.

I think that is it for now. I'm really excited to share the TataGala portraits. The first two (Amy and Marissa) look like better versions of the first 10. But Hannah actually looks like I know how to paint. Haha! I'm super happy with the way that one turned out. Maybe it helps that I didn't watercolor Hannah first. She is pure digital painting. I do like however a bit of the mess of the watercolor that comes through on the others.

Anyway, if you are curious about the TataGala and what it was, go here: http://tatagala.org/. I'm super bummed they are doing it again. It was a really cool event for a really great cause.

Alright. That's enough writing. Onto the pictures!

Cheers!

Matt

52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE

TATAGALA

2013: The Year of the ARTIST

Hello, my friends!

I hope the New Year finds you well and ready for the continued adventure ahead.

It is in that spirit of adventure that I write this blog post. I must confess that my heart races as I write this. I am a bit scared, very anxious, and full of wonder at the thought of what I propose. Which is this: 12 small art projects (1 per month) for the year. The projects can and will range any medium (poetry, painting, theatre, animation, anything). For me, they will be things I either have been meaning to do or simply want to try. I cannot help but feel that I will fail in completing all 12. I have a busy year ahead and that thought of this undertaking frightens me a bit. However, I felt the same way about "The Year of the Compliment" last year And it is in that spirit that I am brought to this cliff. And I'm going to take the risk; I'm going to jump.

And you know what? I dare you to jump with me. Take the plunge.

Here is the layout and rules I will be following. The map, as it were:

• 1 year, 12 months. Beginning today.
• 1 small project per month.
• An obligation of 10 minutes per day (it can of course be more, but 10 is realistic given my experience with "The Year of the Compliment")
• The projects can range any medium or format and must be realistic in terms of goals
• I must work everyday on that month's project (just as I did a compliment a day)
• I will post progress as often as possible (probably weekly on here and Facebook)

Here are my thoughts on 12 possible projects, some big and some small:

• write one poem everyday for a month
• finish a traditional painting (oil or acrylic)
• design one superhero a day for a month
• draw one friend everyday for a month (figure drawing exercise)
• participate in National Novel Writing Month
• Act in something
• Direct something
• Write a short story
• Finish a screenplay in one month
• Create a short (15 sec?) animation
• Create a title sequence in AfterEffects
• Scuplt something
• finish a 3d model (texture and all)
• Tell a monthly story in comic format doing one panel per day
• Participate in Inktober
• Design a creature everyday for a month
• Learn the harmonica

I have no idea which of these I'm going to undertake. Which brings me to this month's project: Finish two small projects that I keep pushing aside.

• TataGala portraits (Hana, Kelly, Marissa, Emily, Amy, Andi)
• Finish the "Fool for Love" watercolors

So there we have it! I invite you both to follow my progress and attempt your own!

Here's to the adventure!

Cheers!

-Matt

51st Sketchbook Sketches

Hello!

Lots of exciting things going on, but I think I just want to share some of the sketches from my 51st sketchbook! Among them is a fun marker sketch of "St. Jerome in Penance" from Goya. I went out to the Norton Simon one day and got to draw in front of the masterpiece itself.

Cheers!

Matt

Callum Dormer & stuff

Greetings!

Alpha Dog Studios is going to be launching a series of 5 webcomics and I will be doing one of them. I've had the idea of Callum Dormer for quite a while. The basic concept is one of "The Wizard of Oz" meets the Book of Job as a Sword & Sorcery story. I'm excited to get around to developing it further. I'm tapped Landon (my co-writer for "Under the Apple Tree" and the Kairos Prize) to write it. He has a wonderful understanding of the Biblical narrative and I think he will do a wonderful job. He is currently on his honeymoon in the South of France. When he gets back, we will get started on the first few weeks scripts. In the meantime, I've been playing with some styles. I'll post a few below.

Also, "Medea" had its first read-through yesterday. I wrote up a little thing on the "Medea" production blog (here) about my friend and the writer, Andrew Castillo. I encourage you to take a look.

Cheers!

Matt

Wowie!

Has it really been this long? August 28th was my last post. And here, I thought I was doing better. Silly me.

The good news is that I have been keeping busy. I was set up with Alpha Dog Studios at Wizard World Ohio. It was a great con and I made some new awesome friends. I hope to be back next year.

My best friend and frequent collaborator married the woman of his dreams and I was the best man. It was a beautiful wedding. They are now off galivanting around the South of France.

We will have some exciting news about our documentary when he comes back. Which makes me wonder if I've posted anything about the doc. Oops! So yeah, we are working on a doc about inter-faith relationships to go along with "Under the Apple Tree". So stay tuned on that.

I got my table fee in for artist's alley at the Long Beach Comic Con next month. And I'm told that I'll be next to my friend THE Mike S. Miller ("Game of Thrones" cover artist), so that is awesome. When I get my table number, I will post it.

Otherwise, I'm just chipping away. I just watched "Cabin in the Woods" while posting some stuff on forum sites, so I'm digesting that. I *think* I really liked it. Haha.

Anyway, I'm out. Cheers!

Matt

Oh, and here is a drawing of Cathal (from "Angels & Demons") drawn by Bat Hilliard, inked by Mark Stegbauer, and watercolored by me. Also, a piece of Judge Dredd fanart (Mark did the inks and I did the pencils & markers).