Matt James
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Having grown up in an entirely different culture, I did not grow up playing cowboys. There were no lassos, no toy guys, no horses (or rocking horses), no saddles, no Stetson hats, no cigarettes, no Midwestern drawl… But I would often read about it in books. This society - it made me curious. It all seemed so foreign yet so intriguing. Matt James’ work captures that allure. Perhaps this is why I find his work so ravishing.
One thing all these paintings have in common is smoking. All this smoking lends a kind of antique quality which is weird , I really dig it. I recently kicked that habit after 20 years, so I am kind of living vicariously through my characters.
Text and images kindly permitted to be republished on this blog by the artist himself. Please visit his site to view more of his work.