Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Vargas.
Matthew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
At six years old I had a Crayola light desk that I used to draw money from around the world. Growing up in a military family my father deployed to many different countries and brought back currency. What caught my eye was the colors, languages, and portraits on the cash! Imagine Pakistani, Qatari’, & Iraqi’ money!
My artistic hero growing up was Jack Dawson from the 1997 movie, ‘Titanic.’ It amazed me how he captured the essence of people through drawing and how his art helped reconnect people from the past to the present. Titanic inspired me to experiment with charcoal, acrylic paints and other media as recreation.
At 16 years old, I was commissioned for my first freelance opportunty through a gallery I sold my art in! A popular lead singer & Grammy winner, “Marty Balin,” entrusted me to create a cover for his new album! It still amazes me to this day that I had conversations with Marty Balin and his band! The time spent researching and creating designs around his retro aesthetic excited me to work with more clients and pursue art as a career. During 2015-2019 I began studying Illustration at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, FL. My skill set included; Digital Art, figure drawing, acrylics, watercolors, oil, and charcoal.
Ringling scheduled amazing field trips to places like Art Basel in Miami and South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX where we gained insight into industry trends and inspiration for our work. Following graduation I was selected by Starbucks to complete a mural right across from Ringling College! As a former Starbucks barista of nearly 7 years, this opportunity holds a lot of sentiment to me. It was rewarding getting to represent my love for coffee and my skills as an illustrator in one place for my community to enjoy.
In the Summer of 2019, I began the interview process to become an Assistant Graphic Designer for Carter’s Corporate office in Atlanta. My job would entail creating graphics and patterns for their Target label, ‘Just One You.’ I accepted the position last fall and today I work alongside an incredibly gifted team of designers who’ve helped grow my creativity beyond what I’ve ever thought possible.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Garnering the skills to work professionally as an artist and creating a personal brand identity was challenging.
Educating myself beyond college was essential to standing out among my peers and having a wider range of abilities. College taught me how to communicate my creative voice through my work, create compelling visuals , and many other invaluable skills. However, setting prices for my work and fostering relationships with recruiters required research, trial and error, and industry feedback.
Knowing my strengths has helped me establish an identity apart from the other talented artists in my field. Investing the time and resources into learning what those were was no easy venture. Before enrolling at Ringling College, I spent 3.5 years in community colleges taking Art electives and discovering where in the visual field my passion was. After interning as a set stylist for HSN, acting in film, and exploring photography, I arrived at Illustration. Illustration to me felt natural and less technical.
A challenge I came across in illustrating was having a signature style. A fallacy I used to believe was that I had to create whatever Art I thought people liked. As my body of work grew over time, my style emerged and once I began creating the Art I personally enjoyed, my audience discovered me.
Please tell us more about your Art.
My creative speciality is in painting and what I’m most recognized for is my lettering and the ability to capture the life essence of a person or object. Working as a scenic artist for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, I’ve painting logos, beer glasses, nature, and other subjects. My style is versatile and I’m able to work either realistically or more simplified and graphic.
My proudest achievement came in 2017 when the commander of United States Central Command, (USCENTCOM), was looking for an artist to create a portrait of a fallen 9/11 hero, Lt Cmdr Otis Vincent Tolbert. A ceremony was held in the Heroes Honor and the family and former colleagues were in attendance. Words cannot describe the emotions I felt that day. The portrait is displayed in the building that bears his very name, “The Vince.”
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Growing up, I loved recreating random things from materials around my house. Through elementary school I used to sit at a small light desk in my room and build miniature towns from cardboard. I’d cut out tiny pieces of paper and use them for windows, doors, signage, sidewalks, etc. Once it was finished, I’d add in Hot Wheel cars and share the make-believe village with my family.
At six years old I desperately wanted to own a digital camcorder. Unable to purchase one myself I recreated one using crumbled up tracing paper, staples, and colored pencils. Other things I created were ships, cameras, and dolls. I didn’t need a playmate, just my imagination and “stuff!”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MatthewVargasArt.com
- Phone: 8132106173
- Email: matthewvargasart@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewvargasart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewVargasArt
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
