Can you tell us about this piece?
I’m forever drawing landscapes and houses, but with Nightlight I wanted to do something a little different in terms of colour. Setting the scene at night immediately reminded me of my childhood when I loved playing with light bricks in Lego. I’d build small towns and the buildings would light up from the inside at night, something I always found so magical. The design also bears reference to Paul Klee’s wonderful painting ‘Dream City’ that I’ve been fond of for many years
If you were to describe your work to someone who’s never seen it, what would you say?
Stylistically my work has been described in relation to folk art, 60s psychedelia, 50s retro, geometric design and that of an obsessive doodler. I guess I must fit in there somewhere, but ultimately I’d simply like to describe it all as colourful!
What’s your creative process?
I always start off line drawing in sketchbooks and/or paper, strictly black & white, before scanning and developing on Photoshop and Illustrator. When working in Illustrator, I’ll trace the line work by hand (which I find quite relaxing and therapeutic) before adding flat colour, gradients and final adjustments. I often enjoy further developing vector work in Photoshop where colour adjustments and textures can easily be added, originating from scanned elements such as paper, patterns, painted paper, etc. I also work entirely in Photoshop to create designs that are a lot more painterly, again from drawings and scanned elements, and something I’d very much like to get back to is painting for real even though I’ve never been a fan of washing palettes and brushes. Having said that, I did a watercolor painting the other day and really enjoyed getting messy
Could you share one of your latest sketches?
By all means. This is a drawing from my current 365 sketchbook. Yup, a drawing a day to keep the creativity flowing.
Would you share three things in your workspace that inspire you?
1: Charlie Brown – my hero, my pot of brush pens… Japan makes the best pens EVER!, And my shrine of bric-a-brac
What’s the art scene like where you live?
Living in London I can’t complain! It’s all on my doorstep if I need a creative recharge. A walk along the South Bank to Tate Modern has become a big favourite of mine
What are you really into right now?
Peanut butter and cheese toasted sandwiches – clearly not a healthy option, but so yummy.
What would be on your quintessential mixtape?
These tunes would be definite choices:
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Helter Skelter
The Smiths – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
The Cure – A Strange Day
Reload – La Soleil et la Mer
Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsalm
Saint Etienne – Nothing Can Stop Us
The Smiths – Reel Around The Fountain
Soft Cell – Say Hello Wave Goodbye ’91
The Black Dog – Cost II
Laurie Anderson – O Superman
µ-Ziq – Ease Up
Sonic Youth – Tunic
Fanu – Poltergeist
Quark, Ruckspin & Planas – Miserere
Angelo Badalamenti – The Pink Room
My Bloody Valentine – You Made Me Realise
Venetian Snares – Szamár Madár
Autechre – Under BOAC
Dinosaur Jr. – Severed Lips
Venetian Snares – All the Children Are Dead
Daniel Johnston – Some Things Last A Long Time
Fanu & Bill Laswell – Transfer Code
Gallon Drunk – Gallon Drunk
Detune – Flying Area
Squarepusher – Lambic 5 Poetry
Daniel Johnston – Story Of An Artist
Of course, you could always download some mixes that I’ve already created: http://www.mediafire.com/c8six
What websites do you check out regularly?
Ffffound – great for bookmarking and browsing; But Does It Float – I love their eclectic creative postings; Flickr – to see what’s going down and read / post comments; Twitter – gotta love micro-blogging!; Society6 – the new Behance, and infinitely better; Kotaku – to satisfy my video-gaming addiction, and support my theory that gaming was better in the good ol’ days; Black Rock Collective’s Board (private) – as a member, it’s good for seeing what’s new or the occasional rant / banter;
What are your vices/guilty pleasures?
Polish beer and red wine, though not in the same glass; smoking, a filthy habit; 16-bit and 32-bit Japanese video games – SNES, PS1, Sega Saturn and MAME; Street Fighter – no other fighting game comes close; Club all-nighters listening to breakcore, dubstep, drum n bass, acid, or anything slightly wonky. Watching EastEnders and Ninja Warrior (aka Sasuke); drinking tea; sausage rolls.
What’s the first picture you can remember drawing as a child?
Wanna see it?! It’s a scarecrow trapped in a magic hole
Any projects you’d like to share?
I’m involved with Tiger Beer’s Tiger Translate in collaboration with artists from Asia, as well as design work for Belio Magazine’s 10th Anniversary edition and exhibitions.
What’s your motto?
‘No sense makes sense’… No, hang on a minute- that was Charles Manson. (^_^)
Matt Lyon
