Matthew Engel

This is my first landscape in roughly 5 years. I sorely miss it, and I think with a little bit of practice I could become quite skilled. These watercolor’s were aquired in Summer ‘08 at Riebe’s Artist Supply Shop in Huntington. The set was extremely expensive, but worth every penny. I’ve already produced three works with them, and have many more to go.

The scence is from my backyard in Northport, NY. It was a gorgeous summer afternoon, though I was feeling slightly melancholy. My dear friend Carolin had recently departed back to Germany, after visiting me in the US for the past month. I decided to compose this work as a way to lift my spirits, and I began to get excited about the proposition of relaxing outside with my new paint brushes. One brush in particular proved especially dexterous and I applied it to many details. It is quite extraordinary to wield.

Today was a momentous day! Not only was it full of successful acheivments, but I was able to see several groups of close friends as well just in time for the holiday season. In celebration, I will be posting a series of pieces my Claude Monet, one of my favourite artists and master impressionists. This series is a study of the Rouen Cathedral in Northwestern France which were painted at his study in Giverny.

This fall, I was invited to attend the wedding of a good friend of mine. It was one of the most spectacular displays I have ever witnessed, with extravagant foods presented over 12 courses and enough flowers for 3 weddings. It was truly amazing, and I will try and post some photos.

As a wedding gift, I painted him a watercolor piece depicting the first line of the Shema, a Jewish prayer. Alex met his fiance in Israel, while studying at Yeshiva.

Below I show the evolution of the piece starting from my inking, to the watercolored layers, to the frame. Enjoy!

This is currently hanging in my dining room at home. It took about one summer to finish, and is based on an original oil painting by Salvador Dali.

Recently, a friend gave me an idea to start photographing my works in progress, and it is a really fabulous one. Its a shame I did not do that earlier, so I could really look at the evolution of my work, but will try for now on. I think it would be also a good idea to try and learn how to make prints so I can reproduce the art. I think this actually a really tricky accomplishment, and requires learning a whole new skill. It’s probably something like etching and filling in your cuts with various inks. My friend does this with wood! Etchings would not be possible for pastels, and should probably be designed separately, I imagine. If anyone knows a good link let me know!

This a recent piece which I sent to my friend Tia, in Alaska. It is a brown bear, and therefore I thought it was completely appropriate and that she would love it. I was right!