Matt Atkinson Art - Blog: Beyond Paint and Canvas

Drawings in graphite and charcoal

9/9/2019

Each of my graphite and charcoal drawings is completely hand-drawn from blank to complete. I use Staedtler graphite pencils and General's charcoals on heavy paper, usually Strathmore. For some shading effects, I use ArtGraf water soluble graphite, either wetted or rubbed on dry with tortillon blenders. For fine white line work, I've used a scratchboard tool to score the paper, engraving white into the drawing. I do not use graphite overlay onto prints, tracing, or transfer papers.
You can watch a video compilation of my drawing from start to finish here.

"Sacred Land of the Ute"

11/29/2018

To complete this painting, I consulted several research books on Ute traditions and ceremonial items. The shirt, leggings, and pipe bag are all based on Ute items from the latter quarter of the 19th century. The bent trees in the background are based on prayer trees in the Pikes Peak region (including some that are on the property of friends). Pikes Peak at sundown glows in the background; Ute pipe ceremonies were usually done at sunset. Buffalo hide robes were used by the Ute, and unlike other tribes that typically wore them hair-side-in, Utes wore them either way, with hair side both inward or outward.

The Importance of Original Subject Matter

9/8/2018

Western artists are known for striving toward historical accuracy and original subject matter. We travel thousands of miles, hire models, buy and make every piece of clothing worn in a scene (every Indian you see in a painting is wearing something that was crafted by hand, rigorously striving for accuracy, as opposed to generic "fringe and feathers" costuming). We hire wranglers who bring horses on-site in trailers, and then spend days from dawn to dusk in temperatures up to a hundred degrees, no exaggeration, before returning to hotels we've paid for in order to rest for six hours before doing it again the next dawn. This is in addition to years of study of textbooks and historians' records in order to become more and more informed about tribal details, historic eras, period accessories, etc. We don't always get every detail right, but each painting is an improvement toward that goal.

That is why I am incensed that in just the past week, I have spotted EIGHT well-known western artists who have simply painted copies of Edward Curtis photographs. When I say "copies", I mean that they have reproduced the figures, outfits, shading, everything, exactly! These are artists who are FAR beyond me in their careers, and who command prices as much as ten times what I get per painting. But despite the strenuous efforts I and other up-and-coming artists put into our work, I'm seeing master-level painters merely re-paint a Curtis photo, frame it, and send it to shows and galleries.

These are not "tribute" pieces, because nowhere in the title or artists' write-ups about the piece is there any attribution or credit given to the original source material. In fact, sometimes the artist gives their painting a title that varies from Curtis' original one, meaning that the artist has actually avoided identifying the work as coming from an earlier source. A buyer who doesn't happen to know the original reference imagery from memory would think they are paying for that artist's own creation.

I've spotted five--yes, FIVE!--paintings in literally the last three days based on the same exact Curtis photo of a specific Indian man posted in right-facing profile. All five were in national juried shows, commanding impressive prices. Another top-tier artist has recently posted a painting taken directly from a Curtis photo of Red Cloud (by an artist who has also copied Curtis' photo of "Young Wishram Woman"). I've seen another painting made from a Curtis photo of an Indian man (Slow Bull) kneeling at a buffalo skull, hand lifted beside his pipe ("The Great Mystery"). Another featured Sioux leader Crow Dog, lifted directly from a Curtis photo and placed into a new background. Moments ago, a very prestigious national juried show posted a painting of a Chiricahua Apache girl, where every single detail of her clothing, jewelry, hair, lighting, face, and pose were 100% identical to the "Hattie Tom" source photograph. Not a single painting in any of these examples included any attribution or comment by the artist crediting Edward Curtis' photography as their source material, so no, these weren't "tributes." They're plagiarized.

This is not okay. Some of these painters get BIG money for their original art, dwarfing what other artists earn who work hard to develop original imagery. Taking these shortcuts and cashing hefty commission checks for plagiarism is wrong. And yes, it is plagiarism; Art of the West's legal advice column has covered exactly this problem, pointing out as bluntly as possible that copying someone else's photographic reference for a painting without attribution is a violation of the law...and as I mentioned, I've caught eight examples of it in just the last few days.

the Curtis works being copied are no longer protected by copyright, and I am not making any claims about copyright infringement. But plagiarism is different from copyright violation, and even a work that has fallen out of copyright should still be acknowledged when used. even when an artist makes creative alterations, such as varying colors or brushstrokes, basing the art on a prior work without attributing credit is plagiarism. It might not be a legal violation, but it takes advantage of buyers who might not know they are not purchasing an artist's original concept. It also spites artists who avoid such shortcuts to develop imaginative imagery through hard work and personal expense. why bother, if we can just re-paint a Curtis photo, give it a new title, and sell it under our own name without credit?

I personally resent struggling for just enough money to pay bills, working to exhaustion to develop my own unique subject matter, based on research, relationships with Native people, study, and curating an expensive personal collection of hand-made historic clothing and artifacts, while someone else earns ten times my income by just painting a photo passed off as original work. I'm an artist who is trying to build a new life after struggling to overcome a difficult past, and doing things right matters to me. 99% of fellow western artists feel the same, including the part about relying on art to help them move beyond former struggles in their lives, too. Being beaten by plagiarism stings, and it also defrauds the customer.

I'm trying to live by this.

5/14/2018

"My message is the practice of compassion, love and kindness. Compassion can be put into practice if one recognizes the fact that every human being is a member of humanity and the human family regardless of differences in religion, culture, color and creed."
-- Dalai Lama

Why I do what I do

5/1/2018

For years, my professional work with survivors of abuse and trauma showed me the worst that humanity could do to itself. Seeing the unkindness of one person to another, and seeing my own failures to live up to to my best moral potential as well, meant I was constantly exposed to the worst of ourselves. Not only was I hearing from survivors about the worst things they had endured, but I had found myself also becoming less kind, less humble, and less connected to others.
My art is what helps me undo that damage in my own life. It helps me focus on what's beautiful in the world, which is why the people I portray in my paintings show peaceful, respectful, and fulfilled connections between each other and creation. You'll see men and women interacting as equals, relationships that are healthy, and reverent interactions between humans and nature. Creating each piece of art therapeutically reminds me to also strive to put myself back into balance, and to work to become the man I actually want to be as well. I haven't always been that person, but I'm working on it. Each painting is another step in my own efforts to become a better person, more humble, more respectful, and more free of my own past failures and regrets as a person.
There have been times that my own life has gone astray, and I haven't fulfilled my own best potential. Art has shown me how to see beauty in things that aren't perfect, and that lesson has helped me understand my own flaws, and how to make progress in overcoming them without becoming completely defeated when I've failed. I've become a humbler person who is focused more today on what I can do to improve the world, and less on what I need from the world, as I used to be.
It's working. Today I am closer to being that person than I was a year ago. I'm more patient, less brash, more thoughtful, kinder, and less materialistic than I was. I'm still working on it, but art, volunteering, counseling, and contemplation have all genuinely helped me change by reminding me what actually matters in life. I hope those good feelings continue in each home where a piece of my work finds its place; creating art has certainly helped clarify my own values.
Today, I'm a better father, a better husband, and a better member of society, and I'm more focused now on what I can do to uplift others than on my own needs from others.

"Trimming The Shanks"

4/17/2018

"Trimming the Shanks" is a portrait of Ray Dorwart of Guthrie, Oklahoma, one of the last traditional cowboy boot makers. Ray works in a historic workshop with creaky wooden floors, stucco-covered brick walls, and tools that date back to the 1800s (including foot-pedal powered sewing machines). When he takes an order to make a pair of boots, the customer sometimes has to wait for years before they're ready, because Ray does everything by hand and is in such high demand.
When I met Ray, we started spending time together so I could hear his stories and learn about the steps he takes to make a pair of boots. It was months before we were finally ready to begin planning this portrait.
"Trimming The Shanks" was accepted into the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Show, and found its home during the 2018 Once Upon A Time in the West art show in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

For more on Ray Dortwart: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sGsr3ks4c

newsok.com/article/2547336/these-boots-made-for-working

"Unity of Spirit"

4/3/2018

"Unity of Spirit" - Original oil, 48w x 24h, Available
I wanted to make a really big romantic piece, and this is one I'm especially proud of. It's painted on canvas on birch panel.
The scene depicts a Siksika (Blackfoot) couple at the shores of Maligne Lake in Canada, an area which is now within Jasper National Park and which is also the traditional territory of several First Nations, including the Simpcw Shuswap, Kutenai, Siksika, and others.
Everything in the painting is deliberate, and reflects traditional lore of the First Nations people of the area. The small island in the lake is known as Spirit Island, and it is called this in honor of the spirit of the young woman which still resides there because it was a place where she met the young man with whom she had fallen in love. Even the loon is symbolic, because loons are associated with the sound of courting flutes. The site today is dotted with wildflowers, and that bright blue of the water is exactly right for that lake, and the mountains behind it glow pink at sunset; the whole place is brilliant with color.
The piece as a whole is meant to convey not just romance, but tranquility, connection, and fulfillment. The setting and the people all tell the story of loving spirits that remain eternally connected. It brought me such a powerfully good feeling to paint. I poured my heart into this one, and in turn it also filled me with a sense of peace and hope, too. I look forward to seeing it bring those feelings into the home of someone who connects with it.

"Sundaes with Grandpa"

7/13/2016

This is one of the most special pieces I've done yet. It may look so simple--a man and teen girl goofing around at a western diner table over a sundae--but there's a lot more going on here.
In 2014, I was in Sheridan, Wyoming on my way to a photoshoot in Montana when my transmission died and stranded me in town for four days. From my tiny motel room I walked to a nearby diner, and while eating I noticed that at a nearby table sat a classic Wyoming country grandfather and his teenage granddaughter--a weird, punky girl with a leather jacket and dyed hair. Grandpa, a cowboy to his core, could not have been more different from her, but they were talking, joking, laughing, and just enjoying every moment of their time together. There wasn't a moment between them that wasn't pure joy and humor. In fact, I got on my phone at the time and described it all, live, on my Facebook wall!

I told the waitress that I wanted to buy their dinner. Afterward, the waitress told me, "You could not have picked two more deserving people to do that for!" She explained the story to me: the girl's single mother (grandpa's daughter) had died of cancer just two years before. Grandpa had taken steps to adopt the granddaughter so that she wouldn't go into a foster care system, even though it meant that the girl would have to leave her city life and come live with him in "cowboy country." So that's how a punky/gothy girl from the city came to be in a diner with her grandpa. And that's why they looks at each other with pure happiness and adoration. The waitress told me they ate there together 2-3 times every week, and were always that happy.

I waited two years before painting this because I wanted to get it exactly right, JUST how I remembered it. The teenage model is my son's best friend, and the grandpa is a Colorado cowboy/horse trainer I met in a diner here (and yes, approached out of the blue to ask for his help for this painting). For me, this piece is special because of the story it tells, and because it brings the lives of a cowboy elder and a young city teenager together in a way that I was lucky enough to see. I also like the juxtaposition of the young trendy cool teen girl with the older western elder; it shows that even as time moves on, we still find ways to connect to our traditions.

Here are the original Facebook posts I wrote live while watching the scene:

"Messengers at Running Eagle Falls" Before and After

8/18/2015

Preliminary drawing for "Messengers..." on the linen

Running Eagle Falls in Glacier National Park is named for Pitamaka, "Running Eagle," a Blackfeet woman who performed her vision ceremony at the site in the early 1800s. Pitamaka became a warrior of great renown, even keeping a place in her father's warriors' council lodge. Running Eagle Falls remains a site of significance to the Blackfeet people to this day.
This painting shows a group of young Blackfeet men passing in front of the falls, and spotting a red tailed hawk--a holy omen. I love this site in Glacier--the loud rush of the cold water and the rising mist are just amazing. It is almost magical how the slanted stones of the falls turn from flinty grey in direct sunlight to a warm, luminescent blue-orange at dawn or sunset. I often use golden sunlight in my work, and on the sloping shelves of stone it just seemed perfect.

Finished painting, 24x32"

American Plains Artists

8/4/2015

I'm proud to have two new original works included in the American Plains Artists western show, juried by Art of the West Magazine's Tom Tierney! The show runs August 7 through October 15 at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. My two pieces, "Westward with Hope" and "Father's Shield, Warrior's Son" are both part of this tremendous, prestigious show. I am so honored to be among artists I have admired for years!