31 Oct ARTIST SPOTLIGHTS: MATTHEW GRANT

Matthew Grant evokes the essence of Western life in his oil paintings that combine photorealism with a finely trained painterly eye. Born and raised in Texas and now living in Lehi, Utah, he describes his approach and style as “abstract photorealism,” executed in “loosely textured brushstrokes that look photo-like from a distance but, regarded more closely, are more abstract.”

By way of example, consider Little Owl. At first glance, the painter seems to have delineated every feather’s barb. Look closer, however, and you’ll note how effectively a single swoosh of paint suggests a wealth of information. “Where I really want the viewer to focus,” Grant says, “I’ll go more heavily on the detail, while in other areas, I may use just a few brushstrokes.”

Such talent has shone from Grant’s earliest days. “In second grade,” he recalls, “I entered a school art contest with a painting of a Penn State football player. When I wasn’t awarded any ribbons, they told my mom that I was supposed to do it without adult help. And she told them I’d done it on my own. That was the first time I knew I had something. By seventh grade, I was selling caricatures of pro athletes in the school hallways.” Later, his dad took him to a Texas Rangers baseball game, with seats near the home dugout, and his artworks were autographed by manager Bobby Valentine; stars Julio Franco, Harold Baines, and Nolan Ryan; and team co-owner George W. Bush. “That moment was pretty amazing.”

After a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Grant earned a degree in European history and Spanish from Southern Utah University, intending to continue into law school. But, with the responsibilities of new fatherhood, he took a job with a flooring manufacturer. Seven years later, coming across a portrait-painting magazine rekindled his old passion, leading him to take further lessons and ultimately earn a Master’s of Fine Art in 2015 from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Chaps | Oil on Canvas | 40 x 30 inches | 2017

That’s where he also learned to paint using a grid system, a process that traces back at least to the Renaissance and the technique the late Chuck Close used to paint giant-scaled, close-up photorealistic portraits. The verisimilitude Grant achieves can be richly appreciated in a painting like Chaps, in which he presents a perfectly composed view of authentic cowboy gear using just five colors: titanium white, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, ultramarine blue, and burnt umber. “The whole time I’m painting,” he says of this spare palette, “I never clean my brush, so it creates rich harmonies.”

Grant’s ambition reaches toward ever newer challenges. “I’m constantly taking risks,” he says. “On the side now, I’ve begun working on large-scale, rugged, textured, colorful portraits of iconic people like Bob Marley and Johnny Cash. I’m hoping to have an exhibition of them soon.”

Gray Wolf | Oil on Canvas | 60 x 36 inches | 2023

Grant’s work is represented by Mountain Trails Gallery in Park City, Utah, Jackson, Wyoming, and Bozeman, Montana; Sorrell Sky Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Durango, Colorado; Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon; and Going to the Sun Gallery in Whitefish, Montana.

Based in Marin County, California, Norman Kolpas is the author of more than 40 books and hundreds of articles. He also teaches nonfiction writing in The Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension.