They said it- not me . . .

"Your work is truly wonderful.." Mamie Van Doren, 2002

"Syracuse's Top Rock n Roll artist. " Larry Hoyt , Syr. NewTimes 1999

"Mattice is the demigod of '50's kitsch."Artist Chad Savage , Chicago 1997

Artist Bio - Elliott Mattice

My paintings in the pop/retro style are quite often about taking an image from the past ( for example the wolf ) and simply capturing it forever on a flat piece of canvas. For those born later than me, you have to know that it was an entirely different era in the early 60's and late 50's - when men wore "Lone Wolf" jackets, and you could stick a pinup of a busty babe up at work. Women wore heels and stockings and bras that made missles out of their boobs. The carnival had real human freaks ( not like today, it's considered politically incorrect to let them earn an honest living, and now the "do-gooders" have managed to put them all out of jobs ) and I happened to catch the tail end of these things, being born in 1960. It's now history, hardly noticed in hindsight. I think it's worth capturing that essence of the times gone by and with each passing day I think it's even more important. It's not in fashion and not politically correct, but it existed and I think it had some value that our modern day culture denies and would like to make believe never happened. My belief is that sex, vice, freaks and exploitation will always lure us in, entice us, and hold our attention - after all we are all only flawed beings with curious souls.

My influences are all over the place; Warhol (for his amazing way of turning art into cash and redefining art as we knew it ), Fifties and sixties pinups and mens mags (real women surrounded by cheap tag lines-VaVaVoom!), Hot Rod Culture ( From Big Daddy Roth to Hot Wheels, drag racing on the local highway during high school, customizing my pals Ford in his driveway in '78, model kits-Monogram was my fave company, etc. ) Playboy with it's big curvy women of the sixties and seventies, Carny art, Comics, Mad Magazine, Wacky Packs, Lurid Film posters and whatever else grabbed my brain on the way by. My grandfather, John Hyvonen Sr., planted a seed in my brain with his stories of the early days of motorcycling and travels to France during the first world war. I was able to go to France in '91 for a month and remember thinking how lucky I was not to have a war to send me there. I now do work for a local custom cycle shop along with other "fringe" related businesses along with the more"respectable" clients. ( Guess which are more fun to do artwork for. )

Born in Syracuse, N.Y. 1960, I have lived in upstate New York my entire life, attending Mohawk Valley Community College to get a two year degree in Advertising, Design and Production. I worked for various screen printing companies after college and gathered some useful skills ( hand lettering the old fashioned way, early computer experience on a Mac) and learned that I didn't ever want to work for another shyster posing as "The Boss" and complaining about me being two minutes late. ( I don't even begin to think before noon, much less produce artwork for thankless, power hungry jerks who happen to own their own businesses.) I also ventured into the corporate cubicle scene at The Syracuse Newspapers. That was horrible, after taking more drug and fitness tests than I care to recall, I was allowed to work for this idiotic company. It was Dilbert in real life- a sterile dull drone compound that forced you to be "culturally diverse" (They had one of everything there, token employees who may or may not have been good enough to work their jobs) If you sense a bitterness and a jaded, cynical view of my work experience, you are not imagining it.

And don't even ask me about this horrible, racially tense, economically crippled city I call home.

(Flashback...) In the very late seventies, my cousin, brother and I formed a band before we knew how to play our instruments. We called ourselves "Dress Code" and played local clubs with the punk/power pop bands that were around. We did a punk/garage mix that didn't rely on our musical skills and had a blast. Other local musicians we shared the stage with were Bobcat Goldthwait (Shakes the Clown fame) and Tom Kenny (The voice of Spongebob). The culmination of our efforts was a 45 extended play vinyl disc that goes for about $35 dollars nowadays, if you can find one. (I have only one copy myself, so don't ask.)

After that I began the difficult process of learning to sing. This was the mid eighties - I joined three other more musically inclined guys and formed "The Unholy Wives". We wrote our own songs and I tried to be Syracuse's answer to Iggy Pop ( It wasn't a good gig unless I had an injury that bruised or bled ). We played at CBGB's, Woody's (Ronny Wood's Club in NYC), and some gigs in Rochester, Buffalo, etc. along with the local shows and eventually we all let our typical musician egos get the best of us and split up. (Same old song and dance, my friend...) We put out a marginally successful CD on Blue Wave Records that pretty much erased any great live memories anyone had of the band. I decided at some point that I was better at art than music (despite enjoying the rock n' roll lifestyle) and that brings us up to the latest chapter of my life. (Y'know, it's hard to encapsulate your life like this, and not a lot of fun to be honest with you.) The art has always been there in my life, right through the band thing but me losing my hair probably made the transition easier.

Odd item - I had an unpaid " extra" part in "Freak Talks About Sex" with Steve Zahn ( filmed locally, on HBO lately ) It took about two hours to shoot and in the film I am onscreen for all of a half second. (it's at the very end, I have a black bag under my arm ) I guess that's what you get for not joining the SAG.

I have been doing freelance art for the past 15 years and despite the uncertainty of the money, I would have it no other way. If I have a difficult client, I can simply choose not to deal with them. End of story. No two week notices, no back pay withheld- I just won't do business with idiots anymore. Life is too short for eating crap from anyone.

Odd Item- I met Iggy Pop after his "Brick by brick" tour show at the Lost Horizon here in Syracuse, he signed me a smiley face. I still have it framed

You might notice that my online galleries have only a few images to view, but be aware that I have been creating art for over twenty years and what you see is only a fraction of my arwork. Many pieces were done prior to the digital or computer age and were not photographed or chronicled in any form. (Maybe that's for the better in some cases, haha.) Currently most of my new work is quickly purchased by local collectors of my work so I do not have a large inventory of my art. I will offer new pieces for sale through my site as I do them so stop back by or bookmark this site if interested.

Thanks for your interest, it means a lot . Elliott