Patrick Mathews Artist’s Statement:
“A very good friend, an artist I honor as a mentor, Robert Moore, made an interesting analogy about painting. He compared painting with another artist to the energy of two burning coals. If separated, they still produce heat and light; when placed together, their synergy creates a hotter, brighter, longer-lasting fire. I’m something of an adventurer when it comes to nature, and most of my painting trips are solo treks into the least-disturbed, most inspiring places out there. It recently occurred to me that I consider nature to be another coal, my easel to be another, each color on my palette to be another, and so on. Each of these coals is a perennial teacher, always offering something up to this committed learner. I keep learning about structure, illumination, shadow, reflection, and atmosphere in painting. These concepts have so many possible permutations for an artist. I have enough coals for a really hot fire. I can’t say what I like best about painting. Being outdoors, being overwhelmed by nature, being able to express that in paintings, sharing the excitement of the experience—these all count a great deal. It’s probably the constant learning about the things I love.” Patrick Matthews, Santa Fe New Mexico, 2007

Pat Matthews Resume

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