Matthew Belk

Region: Pacific Coast

 I create an intricate system of open-ended narratives that lodge themselves in a myriad of conceptual drawing and painting techniques. My goal is to use unusual things to shed an unusual light on the way we live. I’m going to make a picture, then I have all these tools and ideas built up and I harvest them. Like a chameleon, I change my skin based upon my atmosphere. I allow for outside forces and source material to enter my work by setting myself up to be in a flow state that allows me to discover different portals through which to enter and explore new thoughts. These methods can be maddening, but for the split second that everything turns on, the lights get brighter and the body and mind tingle, you realize that the struggle is necessary to reach nirvana. Rinse and repeat.