Collection: Matthew Jacobson
A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE ARTIST
1. What do you do when you’re not making art? (Day job etc...).
When I'm not making art I'm usually still working, I've always worked 2 jobs. I paid my way through college shoeing horses, that was my side-job for 35 years. These days my side-job is painting houses, interiors now and then, exteriors most of the summer, my regular job is at the Home Depot.
2. Why do you make art?
Why I make art? Because art makes me! I'm creative, I love beauty, I feel like my art is one of the deepest expressions of who I am.
3. What inspires you?
What inspires me is color, composition and design. Draft horses that weigh a ton working together. I farmed with Belgian draft horses for 16 years, I had a 3 horse hitch sometimes, the most I ever drove was 5, that's a lot of “snort!”
4. What/who are your influences?
My biggest influence artistically has been John Singer Sargent.
5. If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be?
If I could meet anyone personally dead or alive I would, and will one day, meet Jesus. Besides that I would like to meet some of the Red Wings, Lions, and GR Griffins players, along with some of my favorite theologians like Fr. Corapi and horsemen like Pat Parelli.
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Artist spotlight with Matthew Jacobson
How has your art practice differed from what you originally envisioned when you started?
When I started promoting my art I was looking for galleries to represent my work, I had 5 galleries at one time, and a little bit of success. In practice now, I have no galleries, although I like a few, most of my work goes online to AllArtWorks or my new website, matthewjacobsonart.com. I also have some of my sports art displayed at a local sports bar. In practice I used to draw out my image and then paint, one day I had the thought that I didn't need the drawing step, since then I just scale my image, if need be, and go right after it with paint!
When did you know you were an artist?
I think I knew I was an artist about the time I started school. My work was always head and shoulders above my classmates. My work was in the local newspaper as a fourth-grader making a drawing for the sixth-grade candy sale! We drew and colored race cars to decorate our classroom as fifth-graders, my classmates drew profiles of racing cars, I drew mine in 3-dimension. I used to joke about knowing I've made it as an artist, when I have my own bobblehead! Some of my friends from work reconfigured a bobble head in my image for me, it was so sweet that they thought so much of me.
What do you think the job of an artist is?
My job as an artist is to figure out what my passion is and the best way to portray it. My passions lie in bright colors and painterly (bold) strokes. I love sports, bright colors and big numbers, action! My style lends itself well to painting sports images, mostly football and hockey, 2 games I’ve played. I also farmed with draft horses for 16 years and befriended an Amish man who let me photograph some of my visits. In my Amish works I try to capture the relationship between the horse and man, as well as the power and size comparisons. Another aspect of the job is to sell, finding that balance between what the world wants, what I want to say and can I make a living?
What are you most proud of in terms of your art?
Click to watch Matthew Jacobson’s answer!
Check out the 4 part interview series with Matthew Jacobson on our Instagram page!