A Portrait: Matthew Martelli

“To be a truly great artist, one must master all aspects of one’s craft,” says Matthew Martelli, self-taught artist of local renown throughout New England. “The learning process, he says, “must be a constant effort towards working to develop new and better concepts while always striving for perfection within the flow of creativity.” In his 20-year career, using a trial-and-error method of learning, Matthew has developed an artistic style that is truly his own.
Since he began oil painting, Matthew has received much recognition for his work. More recently, Matthew’s painting the Esperanto was selected by the Museum of Fine Arts Council in Boston for there building a collection auction in June 2005, and sold with much interest in his latest series of paintings.
He has won numerous awards in many art shows throughout the years, his most popular winnings being with the Audience vote. He was featured in Boston’s local news magazine television show, “Chronicle” in which his work for an outdoor mural is featured. He has also painted murals for many restaurants in the Boston area, as well as artwork for book covers, album inlays, and various illustrations for many types of commercial use. Matthew also stared in his own cable-access television show, “The Mad Artist”, where he teaches oil painting to aspiring
artists.

In the world of sports, Martelli is no stranger. His oil paintings of Tony Conigliaro of Red Sox legend and Cam Neely of the Boston Bruins hang in the New England Sports Museum, while other Red Sox favorites hang in Fenway park. He was commissioned by the New England Patriots to do a retirement portrait of New England Patriot Steve Grogan, in which lithographs were sold for a charity to benefit Cystic fibrosis.
Martelli has also taken on commissioned work in the private sector, delving into realism, surrealism, abstract, sculpture relief, portraits, or whatever he’s commissioned to do. “I love the challenge”, says the ambitious artist.
At the moment, Martelli is exploring different themes and statements derived from a series of paintings dealing with Chiaroscuro (Ke-ära-skooro) the rendering of forms through a balanced contrast between light and dark areas. The technique which was introduced during the Renaissance is effective in creating an illusion of depth and space around the principal figures in a composition. Matthew is using black and white oils only. This series is receiving much excitement and interest in the art world.
“Who knows what direction this will lead me in”, says Martelli, with an easy laugh and an easier smile. “I just go with the flow.”