The incredibly talented Matthew Stone joined us today, discussing his journey into the NFT market and how NFTs have changed. With stunning pieces like “Radiating Kindness”, Matthew is making some serious waves, with his own colourful and uniquely curated pieces.
Hi Matthew, thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us.
How did you first get into creating digital art?
I have worked as an artist since I graduated from a Painting degree at Camberwell College of Arts in 2004 in one way or another. I was making traditional oil paintings while I studied, but shifted my work about a month before I graduated and started shooting digital photos of my friends in classical poses and draped all over each other. I used Photoshop a lot to composite them all together there. I’d been using Photoshop since I was about 15 though and learnt Rhino when I was 16. I returned to 3D software around 2oo014 and developed my signature figurative painterly 3D style from there onwards.
Your work combines paint and computers to create some truly unique and memorable pieces.
What are your inspirations? This could be artists (NFT or non-NFTs), TV shows, music, or any random thing on the internet!
I always wanted to make religious paintings and was obsessed with Caravaggio’s treatment of the body and his sense of lighting. I am still referencing that sense of embodied drama and chiaroscuro (his use of strong contrasts between light and dark) in my work. I used to be obsessed with Warhol’s factory and the way he presented a scene of charismatic and creative people as a cultural event and living artwork. Some of this energy of playful creative community informs the way I create some of the group portraits I paint.
Do NFTs, as a medium, allow you to explore the tech side of your practice further?
Absolutely. Discovering the metaverse and considering the implications and creative opportunities that come with the existence of digital assets has shifted the way that I think about what I produce and how I apply my creativity. It is inspiring to see what other artists are doing and the ways that the technology, coupled with creativity seems to give rise to and incentivise collaboration over competition, while simultaneously affirming personal sovereignty. So it’s affected me, not just on a technological level. The experience of selling my work directly, has helped me understand that I have two interconnected roles, one as a business owner, with the other being an artist. This was always the case, but these days I feel more empowered to face and shape that in more direct ways. It felt good to have been as shocked as I was, by the speed at which I can learn and adapt to new things. I processed so much fear in the run-up to minting my first NFT! So it can also be measured in terms of personal growth and confidence in more generally applicable life skills.
What is your work process from idea to finish?
I usually start by posing existing models/figures and then build out some basic geometry for the scene. I have some existing textures that I usually rework for the context, but I also will sometimes start from scratch and paint a model with brushstrokes from the archive I have built up. I will do some cloth stuff to drape out the scene. I think that my background in studio photography informs how I finalise the image with lighting and play with crop and camera lens length. From there I render with Octane and then Photoshop to retouch and then create four different files that I use to print up the textured surface, 1/1 unique linen paintings that I make and sell. After printing, I generally show them in galleries and museum shows or in Cryptovoxels if it’s destined to be an NFT.
Cryptocurrencies and NFT have been dominating the world news for the past year thanks to the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, Cryptopunks, and of course, the famous Beeple $69M NFT purchase. What are your honest thoughts on the cryptocurrency and NFT space right now?
Honestly, I look at the underlying energy of it all and see a field of creative potentiality. There is an energy to it all, that looks like chaos to the uninitiated, but I understand it as a transformative space, defined by experimentation. That energy is what I live for. Everything is Possible! I was involved in crypto in 2017, but I began to understand NFTs half way through 2020. And as soon as I had the awareness, I knew that I had to understand it to the best of my ability and become involved in shaping and contributing to the culture in my own way. I am an optimist in life, and can also now say a digital optimist too. Not in the sense that I feel that what is underfoot will automatically turn out well for humanity, but in the sense that a clear opportunity exists to show up for a turning point in human, economic and cultural history and to try to be my best and whole self.
What are your other passions besides creating art?
I had a spiritual awakening that started in 2012 and peaked in 2017. So I meditate daily, and love to speak about the nature of reality with the spiritual friends I have made on the internet. In that time period I discovered a profound love of nature. I live in the countryside and spend a lot of time walking and communicating with the trees around me. By that, I mean quieting the doubting mind and allowing the soft intuitive voices to arise effortlessly. I am so moved by the beauty of what comes up!
This is something we ask new starters in CoinBurp as part of their Q&A interviews that we post on our blog, but the answers are always great so we’ll ask you too; What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
I am never ashamed to love anything! I always loved The Neverending Story film.
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions for us. The CoinBurp team can’t wait to see you grow as an artist!
Post some links to where people can find your artwork and social media accounts. Also, feel free to shout out anything else you wish.
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