Recently I made the discovery of a new artist on Steemit, and lucky for me, he kindly accepted my invitation for a quick interview, let's delve in the universe of Matthew Holden Bates and learn more about this American artist that decided to move to Firenze Italy to follow his passion for fine art.
Interview by @edprivat
EP: Hello Matthew. Thanks for accepting my invitation!How is the life in Firenze?
MHB: I have lived in Florence, Italy since 1992. I studied for one year in 90-91, but that was just a college experience, just a taste of what was to come. The first years were hard, Florentines take a while to accept you into their tribe, but once you are in, you are in for life.
I learned Italian,with a Florentine accent, and took in the culture, and boy what a culture.
I think that the first thing to grab me was the food, it is sooo good! Then it was the place, the architecture, it is so beautiful, I am still happy to walk the streets of Florence and just take it in, it never gets old.
Florence has had a profound influence on me as an artist.
The Renaissance started here, and it is so powerful that it still captures my imagination. I am a different painter than I was before I came here, that is for sure.
Of course, what would Florence be without the Florentines! The people who live here are great, always ready to make a joke, or kid around. They are serious about life, but really laid back. It is an amazing combination.
EP: Are you a full time artist?
MHB: Simple answer, no, I help run our family business, a small hotel in the historic center of Firenze. However, I still paint almost every day, my studio is close to the hotel, and I have a fantastic schedule that allows me the freedom to paint whatever I want.
This is an important point, unless you are a trust fund baby, and I am not, the bills must be paid! That makes most painters sell out fast, and they cannot progress into the more important aspects of painting because they have to make paintings that are finished fast and sold cheap.
I get to make whatever I want, as slowly as I need, freeing my artistic spirit.
La Questura by MAtthew Holden Bates
EP: Do you have paintings that you are not happy with?
MHB: Not any that you will ever see đ, just kidding, I would say that every so often, I run into a wall.
It is always just a question of time, if a painting is not progressing, I just put it aside until the wall literally crumbles and I find the answer to how to finish the painting. I have this tiny little painting called âLa Questuraâ which took me 7 years to finish.
Really it didnât take 7 years to paint, I just started it, ran into a wall and put it aside until I finally years later I figured it out.
EP: Yeah I have the same process with songs.How long does it take you to finish a painting?
MHB: A long time! To render an image to the point that it is actually to my liking takes many glazes. With oil paint, you can add layer after layer to build up your painting, rounding the subject, making it look hyper-realistic. Then I tend to have to paint everything around my subject to the same exacting standards. It takes a while, generally between 2 months for a small Still Life to 2 years for the really big cityscape paintings. I tend to work on more than one painting at a time so that I always keep busy.
EP: Where did you learn to draw and paint? Do you come from a family of painters?
MHB: I was really lucky because my whole family is artistic. My dad is a classical musician, he played clarinet for 35 years at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
He is also an abstract painter who is very talented.
My great aunt and grandmother were painters, art has always been part of my life. Plus, growing up in Washington DC, I got to experience the great museums that are there. For an American, I had a pretty good cultural experience growing up.
My first art teacher was Percy Martin he taught me a lot of the art basics at Sidwell Friends School.
We were exposed to painting and drawing, printmaking, you name it, we tried it.
Percy set me up nicely to then go on to Art School where I studied at the Academy of Art College (University) in San Francisco.
I was extremely lucky to study with an amazing sculptor, Thomas Marsh, he taught Anatomy for Artists, a great class where one day, he sat us around in a circle and said âIf you think you are an artist, donât buy a stereo, buy a ticket to Florenceâ.
Then he started giving us directions from the train station to the âDavidâ museum. It was crazy but it made me want to go there, soon enough I did.
The Rejection of Brenda - Percy Martin
Little Voyage by Stephen Bates
EP: Wow that's a rich background! You are new to the platform, how did you hear about Steemit and the world of cryptocurrency?
MHB: Honestly, I think a saw a video on YT about Steemit, and I got really excited. After years of posting on social media, with more and more disgust with each passing day, I just stopped posting.
Then, I came over to Steemit, and have been really enjoying it. I really think everyone should come over to Steemit, we could change the Internet forever.
I am still learning about cryptocurrencies, I am a believer, and I know they are the future, however, I am still very green as to how to use them, but I am very excited to learn!
EPL: I had the same experience with social media đ.How do you define your style? Who are your favorite painters?
I like to think of my style of painting as âModern Realismâ . I use modern techniques, my prep photos are digital, I then elaborate them on Photoshop, I work hard on the computer way before I even think about buying a canvas.
I wouldnât consider myself a photo-realistic painter, but I am in the same ballpark as they are.
My first influence that blew me out of the water was the paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. I donât know why, he just spoke to me, his use of color mostly, but also the freedom in his work, he painted whatever he wanted, even if it meant that he couldnât eat.
Then, later, I was introduced to the amazing paintings by Richard Estes. This is where I got my first really big push to paint in the style that I tend to paint in today. Of course, living in Florence, all of the great masters of the Renaissance, from Leonardo Da Vinci, to Botticelli, to Cellini, and Donatello, with a big shout out to the king, Michelangelo.
EP: Where was your last exhibition?
MHB: I show regularly in Firenze. My last event of note was my one man show at the Florentine Museum, Palazzo Medici Riccardiin late 2015.
EP: Do you paint live or from photos?
BHM:I am a studio artist who paints almost exclusively from photos. That said, I can paint from life and do from time to time.
EP:Have you ever had a special commission?
BHM: Yes!!! All commissions are special, I get to bring the dream of the patron to life! It creates a unique bond between me and the other person, and at the end I am always happy that the painting will be in good hands.
EP: What is the most important quality for an artist?
BHM: I think that it is a certain brand of insanity that you have to have to see it through to the end. This world is not interested in making artists into rich happy individuals. There are so many times that test your spirit, yet I donât know, I just keep on painting. It is what I do. An artist makes art, almost too much art, it has to be overflowing inside of you. The best quality to have is one that just doesnât give a damn, you have to paint, above all else.
EP: How do you see your industry in the next 20 years?
BHM: Well, as long as there are walls, there will be paintings. Technology has advanced so far, yet I have never seen a painting by a computer (AI) that was any good. I think I have a job that will always be in demand, and will never be replaced in the future.
EP: Where can we find your paintings? Your next exhibition?
BHM: Right here on Steemit for sure @matteopaints and on my website.
I am putting together a new show, details will be forthcoming!!
EP:Tell us more about your latest project where you paint directly on walls, are you interested in street art?
BHM: I have been having so much fun decorating the walls of my apartment, it is like a drug, I just canât get enough! It is such a different type of painting, almost completely freehand, practically no reference photos, and very fast. It only takes a few weeks to paint an entire mural. I will be posting on Steemit an article about my murals, so stay tuned!
I love street art, my roommate in college was a graffiti artist, and he really turned me on to that whole world. I am not a street artist, like I said, I like the studio, but I respect it. Street art may be the best form of art of our generation.
Lovers in Santa Croce - by Matthew Holden Bates
Thanks to Matthew Holden Bates for taking the time to answer my question, stay tuned for more of his art on steemit!
Special thanks to @dandays for his curation scouting skills
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