Graphite & Charcoal Master

Matthew Smith remembers drawing dinosaurs, his favorite cartoons, and video game characters when he was young, being labeled as an “artist” growing up. “I was always creating,” he recalls. “When other kids had a hard time drawing something, I would be one of the other kids would come to.”

Matt’s interest in drawing grew in high school when taking an animation class. “I was always sketching characters and what not, but being able to take multiple drawings, even at a low four frames per second, and putting them together to create a moving character has its own magic that you can’t get in any other art forms,” he explains.

By the time he was a sophomore in college, Matt began to live, breathe, and eat art on a daily basis. “That is when I decided to take art more seriously and work hard for it.”

Matt says he is inspired by the artists of the past that have a strong foundational drawing and painting ability with expert craftsmanship and design. “For the majority of my art, the inspiration comes from the Old Masters, such as John

Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Joaquín Sorolla, as well as the artists from the Golden Age of Illustration, such as J.C. Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell, Joseph Clement Coll, along with many others.”

A self-proclaimed, paper snob, Matt says he has used more varieties of paper than he has different painting surfaces. “I have done plenty of experimenting, both with the materials I use along with the process of creating the finished piece." He credits his ability to make changes and adapt different methods and process approaches to his strong drawing skills. “Sometimes with my approach, I am much more structured and precise, other times I start out messy and build to that structure and precision in the final drawing.”

When beginning a project, Matt usually sketches out the idea first, gathers the reference he needs, then creates a piece of art. “Other times, I have done photo shoots with models where after the shoot, I will create artwork based off the photos I have taken.”

Matt shares that, although he draws with both graphite and charcoal, separately, he does sharpen the pencils quite differently. “Two of my favorite tools to help me sharpen my drawing pencils are the Dahle 133 pencil sharpener for my graphite pencils and a sanding block/pad . . . for my charcoal pencils,” he explains. “The Dahle 133, with some modifications can get a very fine tip on the pencil. The sanding block is a far superior tool for sanding compared to those expensive art sanding pads where you have to remove the paper and don’t last long.”

Matt has some more helpful tips for his fellow artists. He believes art is often a lifelong journey, and it can take time to build up certain skills. “In one’s pursuit of these skills, you will hit walls and plateaus. I will let you all know now, that there were at least two times in my life when I wanted to quit art. I pushed through it, however. So remember to not be so hard on yourself; ups and downs happen.” He adds that artists should not be afraid to receive critiques and not be overly sensitive about their work. “The sooner you can eliminate this part of your ego, the more opportunities for growth will present themselves.”

Matt is currently working on creating multiple pieces based around one of the drawings he created last year, “Disquiet.” The drawing is a nude angel lost in the woods, for a quick description. “I was asked to do a show based on this piece, so I will be creating drawings and paintings similar to this idea. I have been wanting to create multiple pieces akin to 'Disquiet' for a while, so I will probably do the show. I just have to get some things in my life situated first before tackling a giant project.”

To stay up-to-date on Matt’s work, follow him on Instagram: @mattdrawsstuff, or visit his website at mattksmith.com.