Blue Jay In A Nest of Flowers, pencil crayon

Matt Kantor is an artist originally from Key West, Florida. In his current practice, Matt takes an experimental, mixed media approach, exploring the possibilities of charcoal, conte, oil paint, and other materials across a variety of figurative and abstract subject matter. 

Everything In Life is About Balance, graphite and pencil crayon

I like the wide variety of floral compositions in Matt’s current portfolio. The artist has noted that he takes inspiration from Georgia O’Keeffe, in particular, the way the painter depicts florals in such a way that they balance abstraction with recognizable subject matter. Matt’s paintings of flowers showcase this influence -- the artist often composes his images so that the petals of a large flower flow right off the edges of a canvas, with contoured shading and highlights lending a tactile, three-dimensional appearance. 

Elsewhere in his portfolio, Matt showcases charcoal drawings and sketches, including figure drawings and still life. It’s interesting to view these studies alongside more polished, colourful oil paintings, and get a glimpse into the artist’s creative process and development.

Butterfly