Matt Smith Workshop

Matt finishing a demo for the class.

I recently had the good fortune to take a workshop with one of the best painters in America, Matt Smith.  Matt is one of the 3 best landscape painters in the country (Clyde Aspevig and Scott Christensen being the other).  So I was very excited to have the opportunity to learn from him.  

It has been many, many years since I took a workshop.  I do not like taking them because I often find they are overpriced or the instruction isn't individually geared.  While I did have some frustration with this workshop, it was well worth it.  Matt is truly a great painter and he is a very honest and demanding teacher.
 

 Matt's process of breaking a landscape down then rebuilding it.

Matt really hits the fundamentals hard.  He really stresses big shapes and breaking a landscape down.  I found that aspect interesting.  Matt compares a painting to building a house. Start with the frame and build on top of that.  He believes an artist should take a subject and build it backwards starting with simple masses and geometric shapes.  This isn't anything revolutionary but what I did find interesting was how purposeful he is in his start.  If his start is not perfect  he will not advance (since he's Matt Smith he never has a bad start).  

Example of Matt's color which is spot on!

Matt's color was the biggest surprise for me.  Matt is actually a very colorful painter who really pushes color!  When I would look at his work I figured he was a more reserved colorist like Scott Christensen but Matt is always trying to push color.  He uses a fairly large palette and he is very picky about what colors he uses and thinks students should use (this was the my biggest frustration because I, like Scott Christensen, strongly believe in a limited palette).   It's safe to say Matt hated my palette but a palette is a very personal thing and every ones palette is unique to the painter.  Anyhow, I did expand my palette for Matt and had a lot of difficulty controlling the colors.  I did actually change my palette a little and have incorporated Ultramarine Blue (I typically use Pthalo which Matt hated!!!!).  I have really been enjoying using Ultramarine and have pretty much switched over. 

 Example of Matt's brushwork which is simply better then anyone!

The main reason I took Matt's workshop was to learn about his brushwork. He is an absolute master with a paint brush.  Matt talked about the type of brush, the consistency of paint, how to load a brush, how much pressure to apply, and even the type of canvas to get certain effects.  It was breathtaking to watch him apply paint. It was like watching Tiger Woods hit a golf ball or Jimmy Hendrix playing guitar.  It was amazing. 

 

Example of Matt contrast in his work which to me was very surprising!

Matt also uses a lot of contrast (value range) in his work.  This is something I feel like I need to push a little more in my work and I have been working on this.  

Overall, I would highly, highly recommend Matt as a teacher.  Even though he is hard and demanding (he was hard on everyone) he was very honest and willing to go the extra mile (he gave me a personally critique which I will blog about at a later time).  I would definitely take a class from him again.