Orca Studio
Artist's Statement
from www.orcastudio.com
John R. Matthews
Photo by Al - Bellingham, WA
"When I get back to crayons, frogs, and skinny dipping, I'll have, once again, realized my youth"
Art has always been a personal freedom of choice, and adaptability a passion. Challenge attracts my attention. Along the way is a desire to pick up old crayons, catch frogs, and run butt-naked for a skinny-dip on a hot Summer day. It's a matter of serendipity ("a propensity for making fortuitous discoveries while looking for something unrelated"). My mind, and my painting, tracks along that same rational, often with surprise.
Needless to say, the studio is a workshop for experimentation and construction, all the while a sanctuary for reflection and refreshment, where I can work in a pair of boxer shorts (Pablo Picasso did it). My agenda (if I must have one) is to get lost in the process of creating. I do art to please myself.
(Part of the physical side of Orca Studio)
I might be categorized an organic abstractionist, leaning toward landscapes. Primarily self-taught, I refuse to be boxed in by "genre". Rather, I am absorbed with notions toward composition, value, and hues. Subject, and detail, are often secondary. I am a positive existentialist, not suffering from angst, but enjoying each day as an artful romance with life, on my way to somewhere, being between here and there. For me, doing art is a journey - hang the destination.
I live with my wife, Sheryl, and our cat, Doofus, in the Lincoln Heights area of Spokane, Washington. I divide time between my day job and doing a bunch of other stuff. I enjoy Scotch on the rocks and naps.
email: orcastudio@comcast.net
Musings
Past visitors will quickly notice the website's new format, and a whole lot less to look at. That's by design.
I've not put price tags on my artwork in recent memory, because I loath marketing. Marketing, to me, is the antithesis of doing art, and a major reason why I pulled out of galleries some years ago. I don't like the culture. Call me quirky, naive, or whatever. I don't care and I don't believe the general public cares either. With that in mind, I've wandered off the trail to enjoy doing art my own way. So?
I am concentrating on doing my artwork and, from time to time, will add images of pieces I consider worth showing for the sake of showing. I hope you enjoy what you see.