A creative mind is never at rest. Idaho artist Matthew Sievers’s increasingly expressive paintings exemplify his restless surge toward perfection. His subject matter ranges from old barns with enormous character to busy urban scenes and landscapes that shimmer with light and a sense of nature’s sacredness. Each artwork echoes a conductor’s path—beginning with a single note, line, or brushstroke; building beat, rhythm, and melody layer by translucent layer; then reaching its finale with a crescendo of details and mark making.
Matthew Sievers was born into a world of art. His father, Gregory Sievers, an accomplished professional artist, mentored him from an early age. Although Matthew acquired formal training at Brigham Young University and Utah State University where he experimented with various media and subjects, he credits his father and their years together in their own gallery with the inspiration to fearlessly explore and discover his own personal style.
The gallery was an important stepping stone in establishing Sievers’s career, but after a few years he felt called to travel, to expand his connection to art and culture in other lands. He loved studying pieces from the European masters and learning their timeless techniques, bringing them to bear in his own work: “Elements of those adventures each find a voice in my painting and it’s very rewarding to see the influences and memories coming through.”
“Memories are what I paint,” says Sievers. “Art is about emotion and the evocation of feelings. I start a painting with an idea that you could call a ‘vision.’” I have always been able to draw from memory really well and it helps me to bring an idea to fruition. When I paint on location it is to capture accurate light and color references. Back in my studio, once I have a small color study that I love, I go straight into a large composition. Large sizes are fun for me!”
Over the past year, Matthew has gravitated toward slower development of his signature style, exploring mediums and their various effects, pushing abstraction, alternating transparency and opaqueness, and employing splatters, drips, scraping and glazing to achieve ever-richer texture and complexity. Sievers has grown into a fine, sophisticated colorist; his limited palette creates subtle harmonies and unity within each composition.
The future of this artist is bright. His openness, curiosity, and willingness to push traditional themes with contemporary abstraction and unique brush and knife work are drawing attention far and wide.
