Hi my name is Jacob Mattingly. I am from a small town in Maryland called Hollywood. The county its in is the most southern tip of Maryland and surrounded by water. I’m also a senior and my main practice is painting.
+ Could you describe your studio practice?
I have a couple different modes of working.
My main focus for the past couple years has been these sort of cartoonish, biomorphic character paintings which all stem from small drawings which I then paint them. I think of them as a sort of cast of characters from a different world then our own. On the other side I paint these star paintings which I kind of think of them as borders for my paintings. They started out from me being tired of making “bad paintings” which I thought were unsuccessful. I would then paint a black and white star over top of them so I could never make a bad painting again.
But lately I’ve been trying to get into abstraction, so its been a little more difficult.
Tubby Whoooop, Acrylic, and enamel on canvas, 52”x52”, 2020
+ How has your experience been in Advanced Painting? Did it change your work in any way?
My experience in the program has been really wonderful. I think it really let me move forward a lot with my paintings and also just given a small space to have freedom in is pretty awesome and really grateful for it.
Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 40”x38”, 2020
+ Do you look at other artists? What do you like about their practice?
I really enjoy Willem de Kooning, Albert Oehlen, and Steven Parrino.
Albert Oehlen
Willem de Kooning
What I like in de Kooning’s and Oehlen’s work is a lot of freedom, a lot of going back and forth from figurative to abstract but it still being exciting and new also with this painterly anxiety.
Steven Parrino
With Parrino’s work I enjoy his straightforward practice with the re-stretching of the canvas’. His choice of medium becomes much more important between his switch from acrylic, enamel, to lacquer but still coming to the same outcome. Its these small choices that to me really mean a lot to me as I look at his paintings.
+ Do you have plans for next semester? If this was your last semester at SAIC do you have any plans moving forward?
I don’t know. I’m trying to finish up at SAIC over the summer but we’ll see. I’d like to get a job and keep painting. Maybe even bigger paintings would be nice.
+ Any interesting facts about yourself?
I enjoy fishing.
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