Brisbane artists Matt Stewart is a man of many influences, from architecture to fashion, to branding, marketing and painting. His work, drawing upon areas that have had close impact on his world, and yet are often eschewed by “underground” artists, he embraces the commercial and explores the alternatives. This, all wrapped in a melange of colour and form, his pieces sojourning over territory both illustrative, graphical and, undoubtedly, decidedly “now”.

Work that explores this mixing pot of mediums and style are of great interest to us here – as apparently adaptable to the commercial as this kind of work may be, it is this use of modern themes and design innovation in artistic works that really excites us.

Last year, Matt Stewart was invited to paint as a part of the Australian round of Tiger Translate, and, as a part of that, he will now be winging his way over to Mongolia for the event later next week. As curious as we were about both the artist, his work, the event and Mongolia itself, we decided to throw a few questions Matts way to get the lowdown on his art, and his upcoming immersion into the art and life of Ulan Batar …

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Can you tell us a bit about how you got started painting, and what your path to where you are now has unfolded?

I have always been artistic since I was young and took art classes right though my schooling.  My professional career has consisted of creative outputs like graphic design right through to marketing and corporate branding.  I started to sell paintings for a bit of fun on the side of a full time job about eight years ago and it gradually built up to become a monster of a side-business.

So, two and a half years ago I took it full time and haven’t looked back, moving ahead in leaps and bounds,

How about your mural work?  We know that you have some skills with a spraycan.  What is your history with street art and grafitti – is it a long time passion of yours?

Hahaha this is one of the big misconceptions that I get a lot with using a spraycan for some of my works. I actually don’t have a street art or graffiti background.

However, I follow and have a great interest in street art and it’s definitely a strong influence in a lot of my works.

We’ve seen a fair bit of your work, and can see that you have had a variety of influences, design, pop art and street art all seems to play a part – what do you try to channel when you are producing your art?

I have a large amount of influences on my work at different times.

Architecture, Interior Design and Fashion are all major influences in my works, so you will find resemblances of certain trends at times.

What about your views on commercial work as opposed to work for yourself, how differently do these two things present themselves in your work – what commercial opportunities have you had in the past, and what have been some of your more “create shit just for yourself” endeavours in the past?

To be honest, I love the balance between the two.  Commercial work is very focused and precise and my personal canvas pieces are fun and more of a looser expression. I have been lucky to work with some great local and international brands in the past for commercial work and murals.

I’m fortunate that I can sell my “create shit just for myself” artworks to people that LOVE my work and follow my art career, but definitely do keep some of my favourites for my own collection.

We particularly loved some of the wallpaper work you did earlier in the year – this seems like such a unique way to present art ; we want to know more about this!

Yes it a great opportunity!!!   It is a great bespoke way for both private and commercial clients to fit out a space, as it is all custom and made to order.  I have created a single series which has had great response, so am working on a second patterned series as well as a much anticipated mural series.

It’s something different again to mix up my artwork and to apply it to different scenarios.

Tell us a bit about your involvement with Tiger Translate up until now?   How did you get involved at the start, and tell us a bit about your winning the chance to be a Translate artist last year?

My entry into the Australian arm of the competition last year was a last minute entry.  I literally started it and finished it about 2 days from the deadline….the rest is history.   I was invited down to Sydney for the Tiger Translate event in November last year, where I painted several murals and had a chance to meet some amazing visiting artists from Korea, Mongolia and Singapore.

It was an intense few days, but very rewarding and my first look into the world of everything Tiger Translate!!

You have the trip to Mongolia coming up really soon, tell us a bit more about what you will be doing over there, and why you are looking forward to it?

Sure do!  I will be collaborating with other international and local Mongolian artists on several pieces.  These collaborations are fun and challenging especially when there is a definite language barrier.  The process of using colour, shapes and style take over as a way of communicating that is universal, making the pieces work.  I personally love collaborations as they force you to work outside your usual barriers and thinking and adapt to and merge your art and style with another artist who might have different thoughts on what ‘works well’.

Do you know much about Mongolian culture and it’s art already, and what about its cultural heritage are you most looking forward to, and what do you hope to take with you to share with lovers of art over there?

I know very little about Mongolian culture, art and cultural heritage so this will be a very rewarding trip for me!  I am looking forward to taking in every second of the trip and event and making the most out of every opportunity that I get over there. I will definitely be taking Mongolian influences home with me and applying them to some of my artworks and I’m hoping to bring to Mongolia and Tiger Translate, my personal style and mix it up with some of the local artists to create something different and unique.

So, what happens after Mongolia and TT?   What are your plans for after the journey, any shows or other projects you are working on?

I have a very busy few months ahead…I will get back and start working on my next canvas series almost immediately.  I also have a clothing range in production which is part of a side business that I’m working on, so that will be ready to launch upon my return.

The week that I return I have a couple of large commercial murals to paint, followed a couple of weeks later by several private ones, so it’s fair to say that I will be working pretty hard …

Check out Matt Stewart at his blog, as well as more info on Tiger Translate – Mongolia!