Up-And-Coming: Matt Dyck

Matt Dyck is a 31 year old illustration, tattoo and T-shirt artist currently living on the outskirts of Toronto. Matt completed an Interpretive Illustration program at Sheridan College and uses a wide range of influences to inspire his work. He recently took the time to answer a few questions about his business (Last Chance Apparel) and his art work.

Name: Matt Dyck

Age: 31

Hometown: Whitby, On

Current Location: same

Tell us a little about how you became interested in illustration & art?

I was always drawing as a kid and always enjoyed it. It wasn’t until probably around age 12 where I realized that I seemed to have a knack for it. Once I hit high-school I was a full on “art-geek” and worked pretty hard at getting better and better. I took every art course that was available at the time. At that point I was almost exclusively drawing comic book style art and cartoons with the ambition of one day working for Disney. Once I was attending Sheridan College in the Art Fundamentals course, I realized that I really had no interest in animation anymore. Illustration was calling my name. In comparison to animation, illustrations have a certain magic to them in that they are a ‘one-shot’ piece. The story is not played out for the audience to just sit back and watch, it requires the viewer to think about the piece and in many cases with my work, make their own story and meaning. One of my favourite things is watching someone’s initial reaction to one of my pieces, and watching them stare at it, knowing that they’re having some sort of emotional reaction to it – positive or negative.

Your personal work is really creative and original. Where do all your ideas come from?

All over the place. Some are literally conceived right before I fall asleep only to be remembered a few days later. It’s an amazing thing when I’m fading into sleep, it seems like my mind is not really restricted by anything and just thinks all these images that are probably some mashup of what I saw that day. Some images are on the total opposite of the spectrum with a lot of conscious thought put behind them as well. I’ve always said that the majority of my personal work is totally open to interpretation. That’s the great thing about art, the artist’s motivation behind an image is just as valid as the viewers reaction, even if the two are completely different.

What’s an your iPod right now?

Music is always playing while I work so I love this question! Here’s some artist’s I’m really digging right now, and if you don’t know some of them go search them out on youtube or itunes or whatever! Seasick Steve, Jay Sparrow, Muddy Waters, Mystery Gang Rockabilly Trio, Amos Lee, Social Distortion (one of my favourite bands), Raphael Saadiq, Aaron Gillespie, The Black Keys, Cancer Bats, Mos Def, I could go on, and on, and on. Music is key to a good piece of art from me.

Blackberry, Apple or Android?

Currently I’ve got a real old iphone, but the Android’s are killing it right now. Blackberry has fallen behind.

On average, how much time do you put aside to work on art each week?

As much as possible although sometimes it’s tough with commitments with LCA, being a dad of two, life, etc. I’d say on average I’m messing with something at least 10-20hrs a week.

Describe what your company “Last Chance Apparel” is all about?

I started LCA back in 2008 with the idea that the fashion industry was too caught up in overly priced, poorly designed, clothing for the average person. If you recall at that time “Ed Hardy” was blowing up and quite honestly I hated it. Pop culture grasped onto it, and they didn’t seem to care that the company was taking nice traditional old school tattoo flash, and adding gold, silver, and sequins, and then slapping a huge price tag on it. Even huge mainstream companies are charging thirty dollars and up for a plain cotton T with nothing but their logo on it. My initial goal with LCA was to produce a good design at a reasonable price. Since then it has kept this initial goal, and grown to also be the brand that represents people that work hard to achieve greatness – even if it’s on their own without major corporate money. As cheesy as it sounds, we have one shot at this life, so live it to the fullest. Currently we are sponsoring musicians and athletes who are keeping this true in what they do.

Do you run the business yourself?

For the most part yes. I get occasional help from my amazing wife when it comes to finalizing women’s designs. She has better taste.

What are some of the difficulties you’ve experienced with starting your own company?

Patience. You have to realize right from the start that the term “starving artist” is no joke. Keeping something like LCA rolling is constant work and takes a lot of dedication and funds. Very few artists/companies are overnight successes.

Any vices?

I’m big into cars. I’ve been told by local law enforcement that certain modifications to my car are not quite legal….and I don’t have any intention on changing it. hahaha.

Who are some of the artists you look up to? (dead or alive)

There are a lot of artists I like. I personally try to not look at any one too much because it starts to effect my own work. Banksy, Scrojo, VonDutch, Nikko Hurtado….google those guys. Stuff from the 30′s-50′s, anything with texture I love, rusted metal, worn out wood, decaying buildings, peeling paint. I love anything that looks like it has a story behind it.

What’s next for Matt Dyck Studios?

Hopefully another contract to fill!