Matthew Almy

Illinois, USA, What Kingdom?, oil, 34 x 64"

My Inspiration

I am working on a series called Children of Dust. The inspiration for this piece was a question: “What kingdom are you a part of?” This world is fading and all of our works will eventually turn to dust and ash. Do we put our hope and trust in the things of this Earth or do we look outside of ourselves and set our eyes on eternal things that will never fade? This is what I attempted to portray.

My Design Strategy

The design began with the central figure. I usually do some sort of preliminary sketches but with this one, I wanted it to be more immediate and transient with nothing set in stone and to let the painting develop on its own. I hadn’t even decided on what my main character was going to be holding. I only knew it had to be some sort of precious object the man was trying to hold onto as it turned to dust and finally decided on a golden crown I had made earlier for another painting in this series. The rest of the figures were models, friends and students that began to emerge from shapes that were happening in the background as the painting developed. They were painted one by one and my hope was to, by this, emphasize their being part of this group as a whole yet completely isolated at the same time. Even the couple holding onto one another aren’t looking at each other as they fade.

My Working Process

My process of painting is to paint quickly and heavily right from the start, going primarily for the impression of light and atmosphere. I paint with large brushes, palette knives, old forks and anything else that comes in handy. After the first few layers are dry, I sand down the painting, wash over everything with a muted grey, scrape that off in areas and start the painting all over again. I will do this as many times as I feel is necessary until the painting is finished. For this image, it was natural to destroy what was there again and again, watching what was once strong and vibrant crumble into nothing.

Contact Details

Email: matthewlalmy@gmail.com

Instagram: @matthewlawrencealmy