Matthew Mattingly

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Zoe in 5th Annual Celebrating the Figure show

Ink and white gouache drawing on toned paper of nude woman reclining on couch with her arm behind her head

Zoe will be included in the upcoming 5th Annual Celebrating the Figure show at Artworks Gallery in Ware, MA.

ArtWorks Gallery
60 Main St.
Ware, MA 01082

April 11th to May 9th, 2026

Saturdays & Sundays 1 to 4 pm

Opening Reception Saturday, April 11th 3 to 5 pm

Monday, February 16, 2026

Winter show

Tree House and Little House in the Big Backyard have been accepted into the upcoming show "Winter" at ArtWorks Gallery in Ware, MA.

60 Main St.

Ware, MA 01082

March 7th to April 4th, 2026

Saturdays & Sundays | 1 to 4 pm

Opening Reception Saturday, March 7th | 3 to 5 pm

Amid thickly falling snow, the intricate, snow covered branches of tree create a sheltered bower

A dense snowstorm engulfs a blue and red shed against a backdrop of trees and underbrush

Two framed oil paintings hanging one above the other on white gallery wall. Top painting depicts a blue, red, and white garden shed surrounded by blowing snow against a backdrop of trees. The bottom painting shows a tree with intricate branches highlighted by snow amid a dense blizzard.

Monday, December 29, 2025

Rain Walker

A pen and ink sketch from this morning. Walking in the rain and melting snow, saw a lone woman in black silhouetted against the misty background, tried to draw from memory.

Pen and ink drawing of woman in black clothing with black umbrella, walking in snow next to curving roadway leading back to trees hazily visible through mist and rain.

Sunday, December 28, 2025

New shed in new snow in new sketchbook

The sun was low in the sky behind the shed, casting the front surfaces into shadow and creating rim lighting around the roof. The snow on the roof, while technically in shadow, had its own luminosity, collecting and reflecting the skylight.

Black, white and gray pen and ink wash sketch of a backyard shed in snow with back lighting. Trees and mountains in background.

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Time for a new Montanapolitancroptic sketchbook!

Here are a few from the old one that I hadn't gotten around to posting:

Another of those rocks from the UMass Sun Wheel. People gather there to observe the solstices and equinoxes.

Pen and ink drawing of large, jagged rock in bright sunlight.

At first I thought these guys were building a shed but it turned out they were carefully disassembling it. In any case, the light was very striking.

Pen and ink drawing of men working on a shed, with strong sunlight on the wooden roof trusses.

The former Amherst, MA train station. It's right down the street from the old Emily Dickinson place, which apparently was no accident - her family held a lot of stock in the railroad company.

Water color of brick and wood Victorian style railway station with cupola.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Self Service Car Wash

I was initially attracted by the luminosity of the snow and white fence vibing off each other in the sunlight. As I was working I saw several people coming and going on the beaten path leading up the hill. I wondered if there was a name for such unofficial byways and thought that "via vernacula" would be a good one. I found no instances of "via vernacula" on the web but did find a couple references to existing terms: "social path" and "desire path." Results of searching on "social path" got about 50/50 "Did you mean 'sociopath?'" and a k-pop song of the same name. "Desire path" got more legit hits but had mostly negative connotations of environmental damage caused by lazy or impatient people bushwhacking across the landscape. Furthermore, "desire path' sounds like a route for a street car. Neither has the zing of "Via vernacula," so I am hereby nominating it as the term of record.

Pen, ink wash, and white ink sketch of small hill with beaten path leading to a car wash building behind white fences. The snow and the white fence are brightly lit by the late afternoon sun.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Backyard climbing structure

For years I've been drawing and painting this climbing structure in our back yard. For some reason it always cheers me up, like a friendly little being looking back at me and reminding me of happy times with my kids. I've done it in different media and seasons, although with a predilection for snow scenes, and made it my avatar on line. Alas, all things must pass; the structure was falling apart and becoming an attractive nuisance, so today we had it taken away to be supplanted by a garden shed. Here is a little farewell tribute to a long standing muse.