Matt Cauley 7/23/12 Matt Cauley 7/23/12

NEW PAINTING: GRETA

Hello, everyone!

This painting has all of the ingredients of what I don’t like in a painting assignment: being asked to paint the portrait of someone’s child and being reliant on using someone else’s photographs as visual reference. I can be pretty finicky when it comes to that, and yet I couldn’t have had more fun with this project. Greta was a joy to paint!

This painting was commissioned in exchange for some design work I was in need of. I have always been a little hesitant of painting children, mainly because it doesn’t take much for a child to look unnaturally evil. Simply having too many teeth showing or too big a smile and all of a sudden you turn what was supposed to be a sweet angelic image into something dark and uncomfortable.

Still, Joe had gone above and beyond for me, and I wanted to not only repay him, but to prove to myself that I could use my artistic style in a way that would do justice to the subject. Plus it was an interesting challenge.

Working from several of the client’s own photographs, I took on the project and ended up having a blast with the project. I was fortunate enough to have some amazing photos to work from, and it didn’t hurt that the subject totally lights up the camera.

You can find this painting, along with others in the Misc Painting series, by clicking HERE.

And, here she is with the finished project:

Special thanks to Joe and Greta for allowing me this wonderful opportunity.

Matt Cauley
July 22, 2012

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Matt Cauley 6/3/12 Matt Cauley 6/3/12

FROM THE VAULT: CLAUDIA

Hello, everyone!

This painting dates back to 2007. At the time, I was developing a series of paintings that had a Southern-Fried, Thelma & Louise meets Justified flair to them. Each painting featured a scene taking place in the deep south during the middle of summer in a place without air conditioning. The paintings were filled with heat, sweat, and often the grime of a dingy environment. Almost a crime noir for the South, though I certainly wanted them to be fun as well.

Several paintings were started, and most came near to completion. I have never shown them publicly before, as I had intended on developing several more and release them together as a series.

Flash forward a few years, and I began to realize I had a substantial body of work around the studio that had yet to be unveiled to the public. This piece, though, always stumped me a bit. I had originally planned on having a neon glow creeping in from off camera, and maybe have some take-out Chinese food containers scattered on the floor. I wanted the scenario to be this woman on the run, plopped down on a bed watching late-night tv in a gritty motel room. I never got around to adding in all those flourishes, and looking at the piece with fresh eyes now, I’m glad I didn’t. I think it would have complicated the image, and there is a more subtle approach to the story as it stands now.

At this point, I’m focusing more on portrait painting and exploring a more natural palette, but I’ll always have a soft spot for these bright vibrant works. They were fun and adventurous for me, and represent a time when I was still transitioning from an illustrative approach to painting.

Special thanks to Claudia for actually putting up with me saying “It’s almost finished” for close to 5 years. Who would have thought it was finished all this time?

You can find this painting, along with others in the Misc Painting series, by clicking HERE

I am extremely grateful for everyone’s support over the years. As always, I would be grateful for any feedback you might have.

Matt Cauley
June 2, 2012

Matt Cauley 3/12/12 Matt Cauley 3/12/12

NEW PAINTING: FLORENCE WITH FAMILY

Hello, everyone –

I would like unveil a recent commission: Florence with Family.

Florence was in her eighties, and is easily one of the most impressive people I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. She was funny, world-traveled, tech-savvy, and just a genuinely kind and warm person. The same can be said for her extended family. They are all kind and outgoing, but also quirky and amazing in their own unique ways. There was never a dull moment any time they invited us over.

Eventually Florence passed on back in 2010, and shortly thereafter her daughter Sue approached me to see if she might commission a portrait of her departed mother. I was deeply touched by her asking, but admittedly I had concerns regarding the logistics of such a project. Though there were a substantial amount of personal photos available, I prefer not to work from snapshots for a variety of reasons. In this case, translating a 1″ tall face in an old photo into a full-blown painting seemed daunting. The last thing I wanted was to deliver a painting that didn’t live up to Sue’s expectations.

After batting around a few ideas, I asked Sue if we could proceed with an alternate, expanded approach. Since Florence was so well-loved by her family, as well as being constantly surrounded by them, it made sense for me to include the extended family in the painting as well. We began a photoshoot in November of 2010, with my wife sitting in for one of the granddaughters who was away at school, and Sue posing as both herself and as a stand-in for her mom, based off a small but charming photo we had found. This would allow me enough visual reference to fill in any blanks that might be missing from the original tiny photo. The following month, I went back for a few reshoots, as well as to photograph the granddaughter who had been away. With all of the reference photos together, I was ready to dive into the painting.

The painting itself was pretty straightforward, though I was surprised how complicated it became to paint. Any color decisions on one figure needed to relate to all of the other characters shown in the piece. It took several months to complete, and I’m overall very pleased with how this turned out. I did eventually abandon an ideas I had for large scale plants and other items in the foreground; this would have shifted the family to the mid-ground, and would created even more depth to the painting. In the end, though, it felt an unnecessary addition, and I wanted to deliver the painting for Christmas of 2011.

My many thanks to Sue and her family for sharing this opportunity with me, and to Florence, who inspired us all…

You can find this painting, along with others in the Misc Painting series, by clicking HERE.

Matt Cauley
March 11, 2012