Featured Artist: Angel Matamoros

Let us introduce you to Angel Matamoros – painter.

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Furies Magazine: Do you force yourself to work without inspiration or do you wait until you’re inspired?

Angel Matamoros: I used to wait until I was inspired and I thought that was the way it had to be. These days I try to paint on schedule. I guess that comes from my years in commercial art, and it becomes real important when I have a gallery opening coming up. I’ll prepare 16 canvases or 12 to 20 boards in one shot. Then, they’re all primed, gessoed and waiting for me… very hard to resist!

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FM: How did you go from commercial art to the type of art you’re doing now? 

AM: I actually started out painting in college. Then thought I wanted to be an architect, then veered towards commercial art. I painted all along but didn’t get real serious about it until about 12 years ago. To me, all imagery communicates. And if a fine artist absolutely has to have a day job at some point…at least commercial art is still art!

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FM: Is there a particular theme that you like to return to a lot?

AM: There are a few; I like to mentally revisit places from my youth (I was born in Costa Rica), or historical landscapes from my ancestry. Sometimes my visual direction comes from music I hear or books and poems I’m reading. I’m sort of all over the place, but those are areas I find myself going back to over and over.

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FM: What types of music do you listen to when painting or prepping? 

AM: Almost always jazz, traditional and modern. If the painting is inspired by history then I crank up the classical pieces (esp. Spanish or Italian baroque). There are times when I’m in the studio and I have techno cranked and other times I paint in silence. I identify my mood and run with it.

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FM: What is your work space like? 

AM: I’ve always loved my studio spaces. I recently had a separate studio in downtown Minden, Louisiana, but now we’ve moved to Texas and I’m setting up my studio at home. I surround myself by bookcases, several easels, drawing tables and a large floor space. For me the studio has to be a place you don’t mind going to at 3am when the mood strikes. Other artists will agree, even if you have an overwhelming amount of work ahead of you, the studio is an unbelievable place full of energy and possibilities.

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FM: Who is your favorite artist?

AM: From the recent past: Picasso, Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler and Barnett Newman. Living artists: Lamberto Alvarez, Pamela Masik, Dale Witherow and Anita Kunz. There are so many more I could list.

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You can find Angel’s work on his website.

Furies will be sure to keep you updated, too. Angel is working on a book with a friend combining her poetry with his paintings.