Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Wood.
Hi Matthew, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It’s hard to know where to start, I grew up poor in a neighborhood called, Ruskin Heights in south KC in the early 1980s. I guess you could say I always loved drawing and looking at drawings. The first job I ever wanted to do was being a cartoonist, when I found out that was a job. My mother used to give me any kind of paper that was around (envelopes, lined notebook paper, the back of a flyer or bills) and any writing utensil she had on her to keep me busy when we were out. At relatives, church, the grocery store, anywhere and I would happily draw till that paper was full of doodles. When I was young, I struggled to read until my parents gave me comic books, I would read them front to back and when I finished I would draw the heroes for hours. I didn’t have a lot of friends until my teens when I started playing bass guitar and that became my passion for the next 30 years of my life. I was lucky enough to fall in with some really talented bands, I got to tour all over the country, record in a professional studio, and play all the biggest venues in KC. Around my early 30s I decided I had given enough years of my life to music and wanted to get back to art. I bought a tablet and started drawing and painting digitally, initially I thought I would make shirt designs for local bands. I ended up finding out I really don’t like commissions, it gave me a lot of anxiety not having creative control and trying to give clients what they want. I just happened to stumble upon some Horror movie shirt companies online and I loved horror movies growing up. I thought maybe I’ll do my own shirt designs based on these Horror movies, that way I can do something I like for myself.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Unfortunately with that rock star lifestyle, I had fallen into a drinking problem for about 15 years, when I decided to sober up, I did it the wrong way. I thought because I had quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey, I could do the same with drinking, I went through acute alcohol withdrawal. Hallucinations, seizures, extreme anxiety, suicidal ideation and I very well could have died. The worst part was I didn’t know that quitting drinking was the reason that happened to me, I had thought that I had some sort of psychotic break or developed schizophrenia. I didn’t find out that I had gone through withdrawal until about 6 months later. I was very lost until I got help, I started going to therapy, I joined Big Brothers Big Sisters and got a little, which it was nice to talk to someone else that was lost and needed guidance. The most important part of my recovery was adopting an 8 year old Corgi named Faust. I can’t describe the love and the joy he brought to my life, with him I finally learned what it was to take care of another being, which taught me how to take care of myself. What I learned from him probably helped prepare me for the great partner I’m with now, Vee. She has accepted me and supported me in a way I never really thought I would find. She’s my biggest fan, I show her my progress and my art before it’s finished and she gives great suggestions. She really carried me through losing Faust this past February, which really wrecked us both. I guess more related to the art side of things, I had to teach myself the digital art program I use now, also where to get shirts, posters, and stickers printed. Then the was the cost of printing. I just started small with a few art prints, when I sold enough I got stickers, when I sold those I got posters, and when I sold enough of those I got shirts. Shirts were always the goal and they are easily the biggest seller.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make Horror illustrations or designs and print them on shirts, stickers, and posters. I’m probably known most for having realistic, detailed, intricate and very boldly colored art with a painterly style. I’m most proud of the way I push myself to be better or improve with each piece of art I make. I never settle and I never let how long it takes be a factor, I commit and I see it through. I think the mix of experiences and artistic influences I have give me a unique style. Comic books are where I get my sense of action and bold perspective from, I also love fantasy artists like Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, which is where I get my love for painting. I think mixing those influences into the horror movies I love gives them a different feeling.
What’s next?
At my age I’m just very grateful to be able to make art at the pace I do while working a 9-5 job 40 hours a week. I would love to save for a van and take my art on the road, vending at Horror conventions across the country and not have a day job. Or possibly working for an established Horror shirt company making designs for them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mattwoodkc7
