By Barbara Frank
Skyline
As people wandered their way into “The Space” at twofour54 as per their usual routine, everyone was surprised to find a man’s artwork scattered across the room. Most of the regulars, myself included, took a few moments to admire the beautifully painted canvas – all belonging to Matthew McCobb. McCobb is a British painter who delightfully presented us with his work over the past 3 years.
Broken Pot
Many are curious as to how someone as successful as McCobb’s life was before he achieved recognition. In his younger years, McCobb was told he really enjoyed painting and crafts. It wasn’t until he hit 17 when he really considered art as a career. He attended an art based college in London where he really grew into the painter he has become today. Different from most colleges, the one McCobb applied to was academically loose and was really focused on guiding their pupils to discover their own style putting focus on their strengths, what they liked so that they’ll learn which things they weren’t comfortable with as well.
Snapshot
The first thing people notice when they walked right into his exhibition was color. Whether it was contrasting colors or bright detail, it really made for a cool looking piece. He uses a lot of color for the purpose of the emotion behind it. He explains that his main theme is about color and composition. His paintings are very Middle Eastern inspired. He finds his muse wherever he is; the environment plays a big part on what he decides to base his art on. McCobb is known for his paintings however when asked about if he would branch out to another type of art, he replied back that he quite liked looking at three dimensional pieces such as sculptures or pouring paintings. He admires people like Egon Schiele who is known for his figurative work or the famous Picasso for his style. How long do these art pieces usually take an artist? The fastest McCobb would spend on something would be an hour. However, that hour turns into four weeks when it is laid out to dry. Some bigger projects can even take up to 8 months to be fully ready for sale! McCobb admits that he normally has 3-4 projects going on at the same time.
Matthew McCobb with one of his works of art: “Peacock”
When asked what would be his message to aspiring artists today, McCobb had a few pointers “Do your own thing, notice your strength and weaknesses and never copy from photographs!”. We hope to have the pleasure of meeting Matthew McCobb later on in the future and wish him the best of luck!
