Matt Gil
I draw constantly: sitting at breakfast, always at night, sometimes in front of the TV or just killing time. If a drawing is not pleasing to me, I don’t worry about it. Sometimes things don’t happen the easy way but I just keep drawing and after all these years, eventually something occurs.
I take from my sketchbooks what calls to me and says “make me”. The more I visualize the mood or the feeling of a particular piece as well as the process of constructing a new piece the easier it is to build. Sometimes it feels like the pieces build themselves.
My sculpture-building process is like planning a trip, first I’m going here then I’m going there. If I get a bit lost I look at the drawing/map and I get back on track. You will find notes to myself in my sketchbooks detailing the process and steps I imagine that will work to make a successful new piece. Sometimes you have to be brave and trust that the effort will be worth it. Building sculptures has now become more and more entertaining for me with each and every piece, and I enjoy it when one piece generates many spin-offs. The time and place I grew up is reflected in my work. Each piece has called to me and jumped off the page of the sketchbook as if it was real and wanted to be in the world. All my sculptor heroes call out to me and say build this one, or build that one, or this piece needs more work and thought before you can make it. Or maybe draw this one again and see that it has soul. Build it and give it a soul so that it will survive and live beyond me.
For more information about the artist, please visit his website.