My name is John Mathias and I am an artist from Long Branch on the Jersey Shore. My art has taken many twists and turns into illustration, songwriting, graphic design and performance - but at the center there is always painting.
Born and raised in Chevy Chase, MD and DC, I grew up surrounded by art and culture from the Smithsonian galleries to the artists in my own family. At age 14 I began to paint the figure with oils in the traditional studio setting under teacher Walt Bartman, focusing heavily on color theory. During my teen years I learned to paint landscape en plein air, setting up my easel on city corners, or atop a parking garage. This classic foundation combined with my interests in photography, graphic design and comics to form my personal style. I went on to earn a BFA in Illustration from Washington University, St Louis. I then moved to New York City where I’ve worked as an illustrator and graphic designer in while continuing to show and sell original paintings and commissions to private clients.
My wife Ellie, who I met in art school, is a designer as well as the model and inspiration for many of my pieces. We live with our daughter and small dog, surrounded by creative projects in our 1907 New Jersey shore home. My paintings are hanging locally in the two locations of The Mermaid Haberdashery and at Main St Gallery in Manasquan, NJ.