ARTISTS THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD KNOWN? Be patient. There’s nothing worse than feeling frustrated early on that you're not as far ahead in your career as you had hoped. There’s no timeline for something like this. It can take months or years before you start getting the jobs you want. But keep at it — keep putting your artwork out there, and be willing to hear the advice that more established artists offer you along the way. Any career in the arts is hard. It’s emotionally hard, as well as financially. But if you give up, you’ll never know how far you could have made it. So just keep going. YOUR DEFINITION OF ART. I think art is — or should be — a nonviolent form of self expression (that is to say, something that doesn’t physically harm others). It’s that fundamental act of creation that we feel naturally compelled to do as humans. I think art is a broad term that encompasses a lot of disciplines and mediums. But, I like to think that art is a very necessary aspect of our humanity — and through the experience of art, we come to a better and richer understanding of ourselves. WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT? I’m not sure to what degree I can ever talk about client work … but I have some superhero-related paintings in the works that I’m looking forward to revealing next year. And in the film world, I’ve just started writing the screenplays for a horror trilogy that I’m really excited to delve into. WHAT’S YOUR GOAL FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR? I’ve booked most of the year already with projects, so for me it’s just a matter of trying to stay on schedule and slowly get everything finished up on time. My goal is to get everything wrapped by early December to hopefully take a few weeks off around Christmas. It’s always great to start the new year feeling refreshed and ready to go. ANYTHING ELSE ON THE HORIZON? I’m very slowly starting to layout the first issue of a comic that I created … which is fun because I haven’t tackled sequential (interior) art for many years. I have to try and fit in the work between my actual client projects which can be difficult. But I’m hoping to have something finished by early next year that I’m able to start sharing. ART TITLES IN ORDER AS THEY APPEAR: FINAL GIRLS: LAURIE, GET YOUR GHOST, OBEY, HUNKY BOY, NES "GHOST", SPIRIT OF HADDONFIELD, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE, CREW EXPENDABLE, SHAPE OF EVIL, ZEDD, ASSIMILATION, THE TRILOGY, INHUMAN, THE GATES OF HELL BLU-RAY ART (CAULDRON FILMS), SHE'S ALIVE 13 ANYTHING I MISS? I think you covered it all! Thank you so much for the chance to talk about so many diverse topics and also shed a bit more light on my process and career. I appreciate it! HEAD TO OUR SITE TO READ AN ADDITIONAL ROUND OF FUN BONUS QUESTIONS WHERE MATTHEW TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITES IN FILM, COMICS, ART AND MORE: BIRDYMAGAZINE.COM/FEATURED/INTERVIEWWITH-TORONTO-FILM-AND-COMIC-ARTIST-MATTHEW-THERRIEN FOLLOW MATTHEW THERRIEN FOR MORE BY TALENTED WORK: IG: @MT_ILLUSTRATION | X: @MCTHERRIEN | MCTHERRIEN.COM
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