Photos by Jamie Plain
Matisse Dalton was destined to be an artist. With creative parents who named her after French visual artist Henri Matisse, there was little doubt she would follow in their colorful footsteps.
At 19, Dalton is pursuing a graphic design degree at Kentucky Wesleyan College with the goal of one day becoming a graphic novel illustrator. She currently works in both traditional painting and digital art.
“I think I like doing digital more just because I can take it anywhere I go,” she said. “When I do painting or something, I have to set aside like a couple of hours specifically to do that, and then clean it all up. It’s just a lot more work.”
She was introduced to art at a young age.
“Both of my parents are into art, and then they both encouraged it,” Dalton said. “My dad had me doing splatter paint, like a Jackson Pollock kind of style, when I was younger just to figure out color theory and what colors go where and stuff like that.” She then got into drawing and sketching and soon found a love for painting and mixed media.
Her parents were her biggest inspiration, taking her to museums and exposing her to different kinds of art. She also credits her art teachers at KWC for mentoring her, as they’re her first real art classes.
“I just like to create and make things,” she said. “My work is kind of more in the eye of the viewer; however, they want to interpret it. I just love making things.”
She gets creative inspiration from other artists, she said, “Seeing their work makes me ‘like, oh, I need to draw because I love whatever they’re doing.’ So I kind of want to take influence from that.”
You can follow along with Mattise’s art on Instagram at @matey.mj.art.
She also has a piece on display at Niko’s Bakery and hopes to have more there soon. Matisse also showcased her work at The Strawberry Festival at Cottage Farm Stand & Baking Co.
