Much of Matt’s work is inspired by a love of New Zealand’s landscapes and coastlines, which is reflected in dramatic compositions and depicted with vivid colour and extraordinary attention to detail.  He has a fascination with the relationship between colour, light and form and how these are perceived by the eye.

Matt’s career began in  high level sportsmanship where he represented New Zealand in Waterpolo at Commonwealth and World Championship level, complemented with a degree in Sport and Recreation. Straight after this degree he went on to study visual arts at Whitecliffe College of Fine Arts in Tāmaki Makaurau. He has been working full time as an artist ever since.

In the episode we have a great chat about his journey from high achieving sportsman to full time artist, his connection to the sea, tramping and the outdoors and how that translates in his paintings, his painting style and process and the laborious screen printing process he sometimes uses in his practice. He discusses how commissions make up 50% of his practice and how he approaches each commission.