INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE

#1788 Early Light in Studio 4-26-21

Interview by H. Candee

I think of you as a relentless and very focused artist. You work deeply at translating what you see onto the canvas. Has your thirst for painting accelerated over the past year? Matt: Hi Harryet, thanks for giving me this opportunity, and thanks for the show of confidence right out the door! I guess I am relentless and focused, although I’m also a scatter-brain slacker and I’m not painting right now, so I’m slacking. I’ve been on this path for a long time, and the times I haven’t been, I’ve wondered, “what the hell’s wrong with you?” So things are in a constant change, but I couldn’t say that I’ve accelerated, I think I have actually gone into a lower gear, that my work has gotten more introspective and I’m more contemplative, I want to make better paintings, not necessarily more paintings. Are you taking your painting on site work to new destinations? I sense you like to capture locations that are somewhat isolated, where life exists unbothered and unoccupied. Matt: Trying to do anything new feels futile sometimes, who said “there is nothing new under the sun” was it G*d or do I have that attribution wrong? I’ve recently co-opted the term “Prosaic realism” to define much of what I do. The tenant of which, is making nothing into the subject, on the surface I depict common places, the mundane, the overlooked by most, even myself and I embraced the random as a way of finding a subject. This does not require world travel to find, I really should be able to find it right in my hometown, or even right at home. Being freed of having to take place seriously, I can turn it into an opportunity to paint for paint’s sake, it can be an arrangement, an expression in paint application, and I can set up tension between the subject and the means of depicting that subject, and let them duke it out.

What gratifying results do you find when a painting is finished? How do you tell if what you have made works for you or not? Matt: I’m never gratified, and if I feel gratified I’d be mistaken. And “finished” is really more like “done”. I spend a lot of time looking at work I bring back to the studio, thinking “what works, what doesn’t, what can I do better, and why”. Painting is a verb, and the paint flows like a river.

During the painting process, Matt, can you describe some of your feelings that take over? Matt: Paint is dope. The highs, the lows, the withdrawal. It’s an addiction. Then there is the tedious side of being an artist. The self-promoting of one’s fine art. There is endless art to be seen and buying art can often be a daunting experience. In some ways we have to have some luck. How do you educate your audience on your work and what you do? Matt: Sure! There are hours and hours of prep, I make the panels and I wear out brushes, I clean my pallet. Then there is marketing. I started to work with a web marketer, a coach, really. He’s guided me in getting a sales website, a newsletter, and a Facebook Art page. He’s also encouraged me to go live on social media and to make videos and put them on my Youtube channel, all in order to “get myself out there” I’m talking about the paintings like I’m having a gallery talk. It has been a little daunting, I’ve been an introvert my whole life, so it’s a lot. But it’s also thrilling, once I start talking I never know what I’m going to say, sometimes it’s brilliant, sometimes idiocy, but it’s definitely out there.

Tell us something about your art making that we would not typically know unless you mentioned it. Matt: I embrace ritual. I have a routine, I check

#1789 Purple Hyacynth 4-28-21 10x8 inches

Photo of #1867 Johnson City NY. #1777 First and Fifth 3-1-21 16x18 inches

#1819 Parking Lot in Clifton Park 6-23-21 12x16 inches

the weather. I take to the road, I wander, I let my thoughts go from one to the next, then find myself in a parking lot. In technique, what tools do you favor, and what kind of brush strokes do you try to achieve onto the canvas? Matt: Painting is paint in action, a stroke is the body behind it, large smooth areas spread on with a pallet knife, contrast with small rough brush strokes that contrast with globs of paint mushed on with an old splayed out brush. None of this is accidental, it’s a statement in it’s own right, and it either works or fails.

What reasons do you think people are drawn to your work? I think it may have to do with, I would say, ‘your-painting-on-site-crop-a-section-put-it-on-the-canvas-Matt style’…. Watching you at work on location can be very hypnotizing for onlookers, do you agree? Matt: Hypnotized onlookers? Now that’s something to feed my paranoia! The “painting-in-thescene” where I’d line up the painting in the scene so it fit, sometimes quite convincingly, was popular, but ultimately a dog and pony show. Embracing prosaic realism is almost like saying “real” realism, I don’t sugar coat anything, I’m not romanticizing and I’m not idealizing, I paint what I see and let the poets write what they feel. I think my collectors get that.

I always have loved your painting of the two blue glass bottles. What online presence do you have where I can view this and other works of art and possibly buy as a gift for myself, and maybe for someone I know that just bought a new home? Matt: The first place is www.mattchinian.com

Do you have any special plans in the works for 2022? What do you want to explore that may be a new experience for you? Matt: I did a series of mostly black and white paintings that were painted from drawings I did from life, they were all interiors. It was very introspective work, very quiet work. I love drawing and feel guilt for not drawing. So I’d like to have some time to draw, and see where that could go. I also want to travel, but you know, covid.

“It’s all about the ------- that makes art worth my while”. Can you fill in the blank, Matt. Matt: Money.

What do you hope for in the coming year that you can share? Matt: I'm hoping I can get a handle on all this marketing stuff and it opens up more time to spend on my creative work.

Thank you Matt!

H.C.B THE HELPERS, PASTEL 2019

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE

PUBLISHING SINCE 1994 Wishing everyone a really great New Year. Keep the inspiration going so we can stay creators and visualizers. I am so pleased at how The Artful Mind magazine has brought people together through networking, socializing and all things Art, Music and more over the past year, and now more than ever. We will keep representing and selling your beautiful art and ideas! Enjoy this issue, and please share! Check out issuu.com for issues past and present. —Harryet C. Bynack Publisher / Graphic Designer

SUMMER PARADISE SHARON GUY

CONNECTING WITH NATURE ART TO TREASURE

My purpose as an artist is to connect with the healing power of the natural world and to encourage others to do the same. Nature is alive and infused with spirit. I constantly seek to reconnect with this spirit of nature through creating art. While I quietly observe and study land, water, and skies, the ordinary world around me is transformed by light and shadow into the sublime. I enjoy painting birds, wildlife, and scenes from the Gulf Coast to New England. My work is in private collections in the United States and Canada. Sharon Guy - sharonguyart@gmail.com, https://www.sharonguyart.com, 941-321-1218

"Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen." —Pablo Picasso

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12 @4PM THE ROARING TWENTIES--BERLIN, PARIS, NEW YORK. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC

LAUNCHES 30TH SEASON Close Encounters With Music launches its celebratory 30th season with a signature mix of innovative programs – live, in person and with a virtual option. Café music kicks off the reopening with the upbeat classical jazz fusion medleys; escape to the twenties of the former century in roaring prewar Berlin, Paris and New York. Take a Da Vinci code adventure through secret symbols buried in ancient manuscripts with Grammy-nominated A Cappella Skylark singers; head to Havana for Flamenco Dance and much more. Plus, a fireside concert; collaborations and celebrations throughout the season. Embarking on its 30th year of presenting outstanding chamber music with lively commentary, Close Encounters With Music presents a season that sizzles and sparkles with the widest swath of genres, styles, composers and instruments—and of course, the great performers who share their brilliant artistry. Upcoming guest participants include the most recent Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medalist; first oboe of the New York Philharmonic; a Tchaikovsky Competition award-winning violinist; opera, lieder, and choral vocalists; a hip-hop artist; Flamenco and classical guitarists; dance diva; and returning favorites on piano and strings. CEWM supports the renaissance of the Southern Berkshires by presenting six concerts this season at the landmark Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Situated in the heart of Great Barrington’s historic district, the Mahaiwe offers modern comfort in the nostalgic atmosphere of a 100-year-old theater. A seventh performance is held at the acoustically superb Saint James Place. Tickets, $52 (Orchestra and Mezzanine), $28 (Balcony) and $15 for students, are available through the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center box office, 413-528-0100 and mahaiwe.org. Subscriptions are $250 ($225 for seniors) for the series of 7 concerts (a 35% savings!). Season subscriptions are available on the Close Encounters With Music website, cewm.org.

From Thanksgiving through all of the weeks to Chinese New Year has always been a time of celebration. As is often the case in this plane of existence, things will turn to their opposites, which is why we see so much commercialism, excess, and superficiality during these months in our society. When we return to the original purpose of these months, we understand that this is a time meant for deepening our reflections and often grappling with finding/discovering/knowing what sacred and holy in the world around us is, in those we encounter, and within ourselves. We emerge from these inner ponderings with new insights and inspirations for our lives and have cause to celebrate our gratitude for all that we have found to be sacred and holy. Food always has a place in the reflection, as well as in the celebration, because food, when utilized at its highest form IS sacred and holy. We think of the various forms of mediative practice and lifestyle where food is conducive to those practices. Certain foods are left out of the diet such as the allium family as they enhance the root chakra and can create cravings which can detract from the spiritual practice for gaining enlightenment. For those on a different path, those same foods can strengthen and ground one to be more present in life. No matter the intended goal, it is food and its nourishment and healing properties that fuel us to move in the direction of our potential. With that in mind, we can be in “right relationship” with food, or we can become out of balance from our food choices. Most food “allergies” come from a life out of balance from earlier and ongoing food choices that are working against the natural flow of health and vitality. This is why dieting and cleansing have become part of mainstream vocabulary. All of the dieting and cleansing one can do will never help to achieve balance if one does not come into “right relationship” with the food one eats. When we understand that food is sacred & holy, and we create a lifestyle that fosters this understanding, we also understand our own sacred holy nature. One does not need to become a monk to create this lifestyle. The simple acts of taking time to prepare our food with intention and to sit mindfully to eat our food with gratitude, is life changing. So, during this time of year, consider celebrating your own sacred, holy being and take the time to nourish with gratitude the temple that you are. If you would like support in finding your “right relationship” to food as well as the specific foods to enhance your potential, please reach out to www.elixirgb.com offering nutritional, herbal, lifestyle wellness consultations, food preparation instruction, and private cooking. With blessings to you during this beautiful time of year. Elixir - www.elixirgb.com

WHISTLING TROUBADOUR

In October, 2019 after returning from a magical trip to Ireland Nina was inspired to begin painting portraits of the people she met along the way. This new and different body of work hung, basically sight unseen at the Gallery at 510 Warren Street in Hudson, NY after temporarily closing due to the pandemic in February 2019. By the time it reopened 5 months later in July, 2020 Nina had begun painting abstract meditations in mixed medium on paper and canvas. Hopefully this portrait of the Irish Troubadour, Larry Beau (Declan Burke) a mysterious, long legged, whistling Irishman will be seen again in the not too distant future. Please visit my website- ninalipkowitz.com