Artist profile — Matt Salazar

By Haley M. Walker
Photos by Rachel Bardin

Since he picked up an oversized Crayola crayon as a little boy, art has been the defining part of Matthew Salazar’s life.

Salazar grew up an hour south in Holly Hill, where he spent his early childhood coloring in action figures that his mom would draw for him and copying cartoons off television.

Today, Salazar lives in downtown St. Augustine in a house that currently doubles as his studio. Among an easel, paint, brushes, books and canvases are a wide variety of works including everything from portraits to abstract paintings. He explains how his upbringing has shaped his art, which can’t be placed into just one category. “I use everything,” Salazar said. “I want to do as much as I can while I’m young, so that when I’m 50 I know what I like to do; I will know what I want to do.”

Salazar’s experimental attitude is not only exhibited in his differing styles of art but in his personal life as well. He noted that the time he is currently taking off school is teaching him who he is as an artist.

“I have this time to myself to have my own experiences, and I want to do that before I go into a school where there are many influences,” Salazar said. “I don’t want to fall out of my own; I want it always to be mine.”

He relates this philosophy to Picasso, who stayed true to his own unique style.

Although his art varies greatly, Salazar always keeps shape in his mind. Semicircles are reoccurring throughout many of his works.

“I like shapes a lot because they are not very definable and can be anything,” Salazar said. “I like things that can let the audience choose whatever they want them to be.”

Salazar says his favorite pieces are usually portraits. Stacks of them sit framed throughout the room; all kinds of expressions staring up at him. He is drawn to the immediate moment of a portrait, which he feels cannot always be justified in a painting that is worked on over time. “I like to draw older people that have age and texture in their skin,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to draw a pretty, little thing, because what’s the fun in that?”

Because this is the first time Salazar has lived on his own, he noted that the discipline he has needed for his personal life has also been translated to his canvases.

“You have to know when to stop, when to change things,” Salazar said. “If you find a nice shape or line, you have to know when to fix it and when to leave it alone.”

The abstract expressionism of William De Kooning and pop art of R. B. Kitaj serve as two of Salazar’s greatest inspirations. Spontaneity and good conversation ignite his creativity. Salazar also believes that one of the most powerful influences comes from inside. “People who really want to do it, don’t wait for inspiration to hit them,” he said. “Good things come out of you trying, and only until you keep doing it, will you come out with something that is worth while.”

While much of his work has been shown and sold throughout St. Augustine in Pegasus Gallery and Magnum Tattoo, he hopes to feature his art in Jacksonville as well. He is planning to travel the country to find an art school within a large community of other enthused artists. He is visiting Portland and Chicago soon.

His latest medium is assemblages – three-dimensional works created out of various found objects. The evidence of this undertaking is scattered throughout his room.

Salazar’s success as an artist cannot be measured in the number of paintings he has finished, the people he has inspired, or the works hanging on the walls of a gallery. It is in the dedication of continuing his artistic process.

“I’ve known a lot of people that are really good painters who just don’t do it anymore,” Salazar said. “I think my greatest accomplishment is just the fact that I don’t stop.”