BIOGRAPHY

Kristian Matthews was born in 1978 in Livonia, MI.  As a young child, he showed artistic potential as he regularly entered and won coloring contests.  His artistic interests shifted toward creating humorous comic-style drawings as he progressed through his teenage years.  It wasn't until his first year at a community college that he began to explore the world of fine art, beginning with a class that focused on drawing from observation.  It soon became apparent that he had a knack for realistic, observation-based drawing, and he decided not long after to pursue a career in fine art.  In 2005, he began attending The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he concentrated his efforts on painting the human figure.  After graduating from there with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and suddenly finding himself without a model to paint, he decided to give plein air painting a shot.  Since then, he has created the vast majority of his art outdoors.

Kristian loves to capture the effects of light with paint.  He is drawn to dramatic lighting and enjoys finding the beauty in everyday scenes.