Drawing was a gift that started at a very young age for Matthew Lock with the encouragement of his parents. Like a child with no animosities, his mind runs rampant with imagination that he projects into drawings and paintings. Nathalee Paolinelli interviews Matthew about his inventive work; he tells us how even words inspires his creative process.
(Matthew Lock pictured above)
Why “Koalas in love”?
I wasn’t really inspired to create “that” live journal for any particular reason. I made it in high school because some people I knew I had a live journals, but I treated it like a pastime for about two years. Once I began to grasp the idea of social networking and net friends I used the journal as a way to attract new friends and feedback. I started to use the journal as a vehicle for my philosophy and paintings. My writing was terrible at first but I gradually began to devote more time to writing and using the journal as a means to freeze time. Over the past two and a half years the journal has evolved. I still use it as a vehicle, in the sense that I express my dreams and ideas and inject them into the internet ether. I feel a bit odd about having an online journal if I really just sit and think about the concept. I do like the interaction because I don’t get a lot of that in the real world. Sometimes I wonder why I write about the inner workings of my mind and my memories for anyone to read? I wonder if I’ll get to the point where I can just do it in private and still get the same amount of satisfaction that I do from it now. Oh, and the name “Koalas In Love” was chosen on a whim in 12th grade. I renamed my journal last year, as I found “Koalas In Love” to be completely uncomplimentary to the content.
The content in your paintings are unique. When did these ruff and tumble type characters start to appear in your work?
I can’t accurately remember the first string of instances in which I drew something but I can remember drawing in this book full of ledger paper when I was around 4 years old. I was trying to copy, from memory, some cowboys on a TV show I had just watched. At some point my parents started encouraging me to draw and I would think that I must have been like 5 or 6 by this time. So I drew, mostly just copying stuff and eventually took some drawings classes and bought serious supplies..adolescent infactuation. I was into comics by then and was pretty much burnt out on copying action figure and Star Wars so I started drawing my own super hero’s (they were really terrible rip-offs but funny enough to keep them alive) I stayed with that until the last year of high school where eventually I kind of ended up hating everything.
Sneaking A Drink
Climbing into the past
The Heist
Have you ever tried to teach someone to draw?
No. I don’t know if I’d be very good at that. I don’t really know how I would go about teaching someone to draw, as I don’t think about how to draw when I’m drawing (unless I’m trying to beautiful women or horse legs..these are difficult).
What is your favorite music right now?
Well for the past month and a half all I’ve wanted to hear is Cocteau Twins, early 90′s electronic music, Klaus Schulze, and cold, melancholic black metal. But think albums, not artists. Artists always disappoint, eventually;)
Spitting Off The Bridge
Foolishly Fishing At Dusk
Doleful Shuffle
Do you ever look at other people’s blogs?
Yes! I enjoy looking at several of my artist friend’s blogs, as well as many well-written mystical-conspiracy related type blogs. Sadly I haven’t kept up with many blogs (including my own) as of late, due to my moving preparations. I’ve been racing to finish some nearly completed art projects as well.
What are you reading? How do words influence your drawings?
Ugh..nothing, because I’m lazy! Well, I do read quite a lot of articles online but I’m not in the middle of reading a book or anything. Although…I haphazardly started a Chinese poetry compendium (“Poems of the Late T’ang”), but this can be read for a bit and then ignored for weeks and then picked back up. Words inspire drawing ideas. A particular word or phrase might conjure a mental image: an idea for a drawing. I incorporate words into drawings without much thought at times. I don’t make my characters speak anymore, but rather I inject a word into a piece via signage and shirt graphics-labels. It’s more dreamlike to have words floating around.
No Exit
Skeptical
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