“Family” is Everything

This is a custom piece I created working with my client Robin. She wanted a special painting for the master bedroom in pretty blues and grays. We decided on a personalized painting with a medallion layout incorporating all things special to Robin. First, she comprise a list of everything she wanted put into the painting starting with her “family” to the P-3 airplane she piloted while in the Navy and every wonderful thing in between.

 

 

 

“Just the Way You Are”

I was recently commissioned to create a very special painting  for my client Amy’s home. This piece needed to capture her families love of music and the memory of Amy’s “first dance” with her husband Tim on their wedding day. She was originally thinking a mural, but after we discussed other options we decided on a dyptich style painting. This piece would be featured on their living/music room focal wall.

We started by listing everything she wanted incorporated into the painting. The sheet music from their first dance, “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel, the scroll patterned on Amy’s gown and wedding cake, the keyboard from the family piano, the roses from her bouquet and the harlequin pattern and colors from the rug grounding the room. from there I drew up a rough black and white sketch and color palette to review with her before I put the first brush strokes into the canvases.

Amy, Tim and their children love the new addition to the room, capturing their love of music! This was the fourth project Amy commissioned me to create for their home.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with Amy and I always look forward to our next collaboration!

Intersection of Lines

When interior designer Becky Wein of Design Trade Resources of Devon, PA asked me if I would be interested in painting a design in her foyer, I jumped at the opportunity!  We decided to just “go for it” and use her foyer as my biggest canvas to date.  So I went to work, free handing a series of lines intersecting along the walls and up the staircase.

 

This project was so much fun for both of us! There’s nothing more exciting to an artist, than your client having the confidence and belief in your talent and giving you the space to create something magical.

Grand Staircase views 

The Christopher Kennedy Compound at “Villa Golightly”

I was thrilled to receive a call from Allison and Liza of Trellis Home to discuss a project for The Christopher Kennedy Compound Show House for “Modernism Week” in Palm Springs, California. I was even more excited to find out that my work would be featured at “Villa Golightly”! Kelly Golightly is a social media sensation! With Kelly’s a sparkling style guide for modern-day Audrey Hepburn’s of the world, celebrating the art of living a colorful life. visit Kelly at www.kellygolightly.com

This show house event celebrates the appreciation of mid-century architecture and design represented in Palm Springs. The “#1 Must See Event of Modernism Week” – The Hollywood Reporter

This master bedroom has been featured in Traditional Home magazine “Color Me Modern” issue.

For this exciting project, I took my “vibe” from Florence Broadhurst, a distinctive Australian wall paper and fabric designer. I was inspired by her design legacy and bold style. I was attracted to a particular bold at her “peacock” motif printed wallpaper and decided to create a large peacock silhouette, filling it in with hidden names, places, patterns and even a illustration of “Villa Golightly”. Working with Allison and Liza’s color palette of cream, soaring sky blue, aqua and teal, the monochromatic colors work harmonious together. I rotated the canvas to 45 degree’s to create a diamond shape to highlight the peacock and give the painting a mid-century feel. This piece is completely custom, from the composition to color, and I’m proud to have it included as a showcase piece in this fantastic event!

 

University of Pennsylvania Campus “Mondrian” Style Custom Art

Jeffrey J Mattia Penn Mondrian

These “Mondrain” style canvases were created for my client Patrick’s, Soho loft in New York. He commissioned me to create artwork that would be featured on the focal wall just inside his foyer.

Soho loft

I started the process by having Patrick send me pictures of his space. After looking through the photos, I was drawn to the grid on the beautiful floor to ceiling windows highlighted by Colbert Blue panels across the top framing the breathtaking city skyline right outside his windows. At that moment I knew I wanted to paint two large Mondrain style panels. This iconic abstract composition includes differing line widths and assorted blocks, creating rhythms that ebb and flow across the surface of the canvas — I felt like this was the ideal inspiration for this project.

Penn Campus Jeff Mattia

The next step was to share my vision for this artwork with Patrick. During our conversation, Patrick talked about his Alta mater of the University of Pennsylvania along with the international cities he has lived. After submitting a few sketches we decided to use the campus grid of the University of Pennsylvania as the inspiration for this piece.

Mondrian Penn Campus JeffreyMattia

Next I worked to create the perfect color palette balancing both the warm and cool colors of his space.  We landed on blues, yellows and oranges which work brilliantly in contrast to each other and with the space.  I finished the painting and delivered it to Patrick’s apartment. It was thrilling to see my work in this beautiful loft overlooking the energetic city of New York.

Custom Living Room Centerpiece Painting

This piece was created for an art collector client to be the centerpiece of her living room, bringing together all the various textiles, artwork and colors around the room.

Diptych custom centerpiece

I worked with this client, Haley, over the course of a few weeks.  I first met Haley in her home to discuss this focal point piece for her living room.  She shared with me some of the stories behind the various pieces in the room including a beautiful elephant painting from her grandmother’s home. We also discussed ways to incorporate the layers of textiles she had custom made for her room.  This helped me choose a coordinating color palette that would work to draw everything together.

diptych-inspiration-custom

The final layout of my piece was inspired by a mosaic fireplace in a Yves Saint Laurent’s vacation home.  Using this as my inspiration, I combined some of the patterns found in Haley’s drapes, rug and elephant painting.  The result is a pair of large acrylic paintings in the Diptych composition.  These conversation pieces are hung above the sofa and really do complete the room.

diptych-process-custom

Custom Celtic Cross Medallion

Celtic-cross-custom

What I love most about this painting was actually the process of creating it — it was a true family collaboration.

Celtic Cross Custom DesignMy client Amy, enlisted her husband Tim to give ideas of want he was looking for in this painting. He suggested a Celtic cross to represent their faith along with meaningful words that were important to him and Amy.  Family, love, faith, loyalty, compassion, courage and joy.  These are all traits Tim said he wanted his family to have and wanted incorporated into the painting.

With that in mind, I went to work and painted this medallion with the family’s names, dates and “family values” hidden in the vines around the cross. I painted it in custom colors that would bring the room together and it is now the focal piece in their family room.

Celtic-cross_inspiration

 

Custom Golf Design Painting – “Vision of a Golfer”

“Vision of a Golfer” is a large, square abstract painting of golf clubs that was designed for a client as a Christmas present for her avid golfer husband.

Custom golf painting

 

As I worked with my client, Jen, we discussed her two main “objectives” for the piece.  First, she wanted to honor her husband’s passion for golf through this gift.  He enjoys playing a round of golf every chance he gets so she knew he would love a golf-inspired painting.  This brings us to the second objective — she wanted to create a piece that could hang proudly in their living room (as opposed to a den or office).  It had to match the current colors and style while still capturing his “vision of a golfer. ”

customgolfinpsirationmattia

From my visit to Jen’s home, I was able to create an unexpected color palette that would fit her living room’s style so we landed on an abstract layout of vintage golf clubs and tees.  I also wanted to create movement and energy — inspired by the swing of a golfer — that would pop and become a focal point in the space.  I created the design with vertical brush strokes and acrylic paint to create that texture and movement I envisioned.

The final piece went beyond the expectations of my client and her husband absolutely adores his gift.  In fact, he actually GOES in the living room to admire the piece.  For me, what I loved about this project, was being able to create something that the client couldn’t envision or really describe but trusted me to create.

Greek Wrought Iron Inspired Custom Painting

This wrought iron print collection was inspired by my client’s honeymoon in Greece.

greek-gates-jeff-mattia

My client was looking to create a collection of prints for her family room inspired by all the beautiful, hand-crafted wrought iron she discovered on her bike rides throughout the Greek islands during her honeymoon.  My client wanted to create a keepsake that would mirror her graphic, modern style and provide a pop of color to her tonal family room.

With inspiration from her many photos, I first illustrated detail work in India ink to share with the client to get an idea for the final composition.  I then painted several options in both gauche water colors and India ink.  The options were narrowed down to two paintings that would frame french doors in her room.  She loved the initial India ink detail work that she ended up framing those pieces and interspersing them with her photographs to create a gallery wall opposite my paintings.

wrought-iron-custom-painting

I loved that my process of creating the art pieces ended up inspiring my client to create her own gallery which wasn’t the original intention.  She is thrilled with the final outcome of both of the projects and loves that it captures her honeymoon.

custom-greek-gates-mattia

Whimsical Illustrations of Children’s Names

Customized children's art

These are a fun set of four watercolor illustrations depicting the very different personalities of each of my client’s four children.

Watercolor illustrated kids names

While taking friends on a tour of this client’s home, their eight year son exclaimed, “this is my favorite part of the house!” These are a wonderful keepsake of a special stage in the children’s lives.