Artist Bio
I was born in Hollywood, California in 1957. My parents frequently took me to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I developed a love for art very early on and continued to make frequent visit to LACMA and the Norton Simon Museum of Art. I was always torn between wanting to be a scientist and wanting to draw. For a short time I even entertained becoming a medical illustrator; however, I soon abandoned the idea to focus on the sciences. After years of working as a medical and technical writer, I became disillusioned with the direction that my life was going. So in 2000, after nearly two decades of watching my wife win countless awards for work, she finally convinced me to take the plunge and start learning life drawing.
Now, I create figurative drawing and paintings whenever I can. My greatest inspirations are Rembrandt, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Kathe Kollwitz, Valentin Serov, and Da Vinci. I am a great admirer of living artists Burton Silverman, Shuqiao Zhou, Mian Situ, and Robert Liberace. I work predominantly in pencil, watercolor, and oil and occassionally in pen and ink and pastel.
I studied life painting with pastelist Chuck Hammond and took life drawing workshops at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts before moving to Louisville, Kentucky. I studied privately with Chinese Master Shuqiao Zhou. Our first stop in Kentucky was Brandenburg. I bought a 13-acre farm with a log cabin on the web. Unfortunately, my wife was very miserable on the farm, so we moved to Louisville in search of more art.
Today, I work with my wife, award-winning figurative artist Sharon Matisoff, in our own private studios. Our favorite subjects are dancers, musicians, performers, and ordinary people doing ordinary things. The only things we really miss about Southern California are the great food and the plethora of art clubs and workshops. But we love Kentucky and the people and hope that, in time, the art will come.
For now, we will continue to paint from photographs and from live models whenr they become available. Someday, we hope to establish a teaching studio and gallery of figurative art.
Marty
