Welcome to the Art section and Commissions page, showcasing Matt's recent commissioned work and finished art pieces. Matt is available for small and large commissions and will work with any idea you have or can create something new. See some recent requested work below. In most cases, these were specific requests and in no way reflect any sort of limitation to what can be created. The final original art pieces are available for purchase as is the high rez print* of any of the original works. All prints selected are encompassed by a white border for easy framing and are hand-signed by the artist upon request.
*Note all prints are professionally scanned from the original artwork at 600 DPI resolution and professionally colour separated so that the print colours and resolution are 99% exact to the original. Cost does vary depending on the size, or if the art is full colour versus black and white. Please also note that in all cases the print size can not exceed that of the original art as quality may be lost. In some very infrequent cases clients have requested commissioned work using certain artistic mediums that reveal colour variances and small reproduction limitations. These will be specifically disclosed beneath the piece. Estimate cost for a full colour, glossy 9x12 print is $65.
**CLICK TO ENLARGE THE IMAGES SHOWN BELOW**
"Join the Revolution". Propaganda art poster commission incorporating iconic pop art images. Above is the final under-drawing...
...and the finished work above. Dr. PH. Martins Hydrus Black Carbon ink with velvet finish. Colours are Dr. PH. Martins Hydrus Deep Red Rose and Gamboge. Greys are Dr. PH. Martins watercolour inks. These inks are the finest English reproduction inks which Matt uses exclusively as the colour separation and reproduction is almost 100% exact to the original. On non-repro blue line double stock. A great example of fine art, design, and typography harmoniously fused. Image available in high rez print.
"Man Drinking Wine in Top Hat". Gouache on Mayfair. Black and white only with hand mixed greys, focal point being the eyes. Image available in high rez print.
"Winter". Carbon black Gouache on double sketch water stock. Image available in high rez print.
Artist's reproduction of the Ramones "Too Tough to Die" album. Warm blues. Gouache on water card stock. Image available in high rez print.
"The Incredible Hulk" commission. Dr. PH. Martin's Synchromatic Transparent Water Colours on sketch water stock. Online image does not truly show the depth of color in this work. This image can not be reproduced*. (*Image courtesy of the collector.)
"Push". Hand painted and crafted Dr. PH. Martin's Hydrus ink with FW acrylic ink hand mixed greys on double water stock. Influences of Cubism and Minimalist Avant-Garde. Each of the four above images are available in high rez print.
"Push"; the piece combined as originally painted before separation. This image is also available in high rez print.
"Untitled" Artistic and creative influences come from varied angles. In this case a Time Life image by Morse has been altered in subtle yet quite significant ways. The face has been distorted and stretched making it less human, the neck has been elongated and the chest cropped out. The image has been coloured with powerful and bold colours. The face is now confined by a restrictive border. Most importantly in this case it is not a photograph but a hand drawn and painted piece providing many proportion variances. The intention here was to determine whether something as iconic as Morse's image could still be recognized based on prolific use and familiarity to us even after all the alterations by hand. Did you recognize the image? India ink and Dr. PH. Martin's Hydrus Magenta with Hansa Yellow border on double water stock. Image available in high rez print.
"Women". The original idea for this piece came from two sources of inspiration; both completely different individuals with their own life stories, one known and the other anonymous yet both conveying the same struggles.
The tiles on the floor and two adjoining walls reveal fragmented diary entries by seven different women of seven different age groups who have shared personal thoughts on whatever came to mind. Although the entries are all by different women the journal itself is given one name - Kitty, of course a reference to Anne Frank. It is only fitting we provide an entry quote here from her diary selected by the artist. Tuesday, April 11th, 1944 - "If God lets me live, I shall attain more than Mommy ever has done, I shall not remain insignificant, I shall work in the world and for all mankind."
Dr. PH. Martin's Synchromatic Transparent Water Colours Vermilion, Sun Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Chrome Yellow, Viridian, Cadmium, Deep Red Rose, and Medium Grey. Hand lettered with Prismacolor Sepia 0.05 pigment. Image available in high rez print.
"Tack". Dr. PH. Martin's Hydrus water pigments Deep Red Rose, Phthalo Blue and Medium Grey. Winsor and Newton Liquid Silver for the steel shaft. Image available in high rez print.
The spatter effects shown here are also available in high rez prints to accompany the above piece which look great in a separate three frame sequence.
Hand applied spatter effect made possible using Dr. P.H. Martin's Pen White for pigment mixing which also gives surface texture and depth.
"The Forest". India ink and Dr. PH. Martin's Synchromatic water colours Sepia, Cadmium and Burnt Sienna on single water stock. The tri-colour combination was mixed to derive a softer glowing sepia tone. Image available in high rez print.
"The Cure Up Close" Gig Poster. India ink and Dr. PH. Martin's Hydrus water colour deep red rose on Blue Line water stock. Grey tone effect achieved using Maxon Zip-tone # 201 and 204. Currently on display at Leslie Jones on Queen St E. starting November 15th, 2009. See events section for full details. Image available in high rez print.
"The Spectre" commission. This is the grey tone. Available in high rez print.
"The Spectre" commission. The full colour finished version. Dr. PH Martin's Bombay Black india ink, Dr. PH Martin's Synchromatic water colours sun yellow, nile green, and olive green. Dr PH Martin's Hydrus water colours burnt umber, and hansa deep yellow. Iridescent white pearl ink used to accentuate ink wash cloud effects. Available in high rez print.
"The Jesus and Mary Chain" album cover submission. Graphite on mayfair. Digital colouring. Available in high rez print.
"Tweet" AT BAY PRESS promotional post card. Graphite on sketch stock. Digital black. Available in 4x6" high rez print.
"Bodies" study. Graphite on toned mayfair. Available in high rez print.
"This City". Dr. PH Martin's Bombay black india ink, Dr. PH Martin's Hydrus watercolours; alizarin crimson and quinacridone magenta on Blue Line double water stock. Available in high rez print. Click image to see enlargement.
"Hallow Eve". Charcoal and india ink on sketch stock. Available in high rez print. Click image to see enlargement.
"Falling". Micron archival black ink, Dr. PH Martin's Hydrus watercolours; sap green, viridian, and hansa yellow light on sketch stock. Available in high rez print. Click image to see enlargement.
"Messenger". Micron archival black ink, graphite, Dr. PH Martin's india ink and Hydrus watercolours; phthalo green, quinacridone magenta, burnt umber and hansa yellow light on sketch stock. Available in high rez print. Click image to see enlargement.
"The Last Dartmoors of Devon". Artwork for a short story of the same name. Micron archival black ink, Dr. PH Martin's india ink and Hydrus watercolour quinacridone magenta, Winsor and Newton silver ink and Golden Acrylic phosphorescent green on Blue Line double water stock. The "glow in the dark" effect on the ponies of course can only be seen in person and serves as a gentle reminder that despite all their advancements, technology still can't achieve every effect. Available in high rez print (glow effect not present on print). Click image to see enlargement.
"The Last Dartmoors of Devon". The inversed or negative image to be used for an upcoming t-shirt design. The "glow" effect is not present on this version. Also available in high rez print. Click image to see enlargement.
"Black Capped Chickadee". Those stunning Dr PH Marten's concentrated inks come alive in the background while the grey tone markers provide a settling base in the foreground on our little friend. Available in high rez print.
"Man". I love testing the limits of tones with a complete absence of black. Here the use of Faber-Castell 6-shade cool grey tone brush pens truly do an amazing job capturing the mood I was looking for. On single blue line water stock. Available in high rez print.
"Night Plane". Dr PH Marten's Hydrus Watercolour's Matte Black, Payne's Grey, and Phthalo Green on double blue line water stock. Available in high rez print.
"Understanding the Architect". This is the cover to a major forthcoming project. A much overdue honest look into my personal faith and the effects my immediate environment has had on it at large. This is a frank look at the good and the bad, the stark and the rough beauty, the lies and the truth as I see it. Below is a sneak preview of the first page.
"Genesis". Yonge and Davisville at night from the my 28th floor balcony. What you see is the artwork only. Each page of study art will have many bits of fractured prose and other accompaniments. The final layout of course is top secret but for now enjoy the free preview of what's to come.
"Autumn in Algonquin". Dr PH Marten's coloured inks on double blue line water stock. I suppose I became somewhat inspired to do some work on such beautiful subject matter thanks to the likes of Tom Thomson of the Group of Seven who did much of his work there.
"October". Dr PH Marten's coloured inks, Ziptone #1 and #3, on double blue line water stock.
"Nude". A study of the female form. Chalk pastel on double textured pastel stock.
"November". Dr PH Marten's coloured inks on double water stock. This is one of those pieces you need to see in person to get the true beautiful and vibrant effects of the Dr PH Marten's stunning coloured inks.
"Amour a Temps Partiel". Dr PH Marten's coloured inks on double blue line water stock. Film Poster. I've always felt the greatest film artwork came out of the French New Wave film period of the 60's. This is my homage to those gorgeous posters. This particular piece was featured at the Leslieville 'Film Poster' gallery event recently held at Leslie Jones along with 20 other great Toronto artists. I used a Diasic face-mount process to acrylic glass which removes light refraction, a typical and unfortunate limitation in traditional glass framing. Diasec mounts are simply the most stunning mounts in the industry. Please inquire for pricing into this process.
CMYK LOVE painted by hand. Designers gouache cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black).
2011 Christmas card sent out to business partners (and a few lucky friends and family).
2011 Hanukkah card sent out to business partners (and a few lucky friends and family).
Cover to St. Augustine comic book issue #1. A print run of 1000 produced and is has since sold out.
Sneak peak of an the cover art to an upcoming issue of St. Augustine.
