About The Artist
Mattie is an artist and illustrator living and creating in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania. Her work explores the colors and textures of the world around her - especially the natural world. She creates primarily in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil
Mattie's work reflects her inner self and how she interprets the ever changing landscape around her - sometimes bright and colorful, and sometimes dark and moody. And usually with a touch of the whimsical or fantastic.
When she isn't painting, you can find her bird watching, cycling, backpacking, reading or playing video games.
_JPG.jpg)
About the Name
About a mile away from the house I grew up in, the road to town cuts through a large field. On the edge of that road and on the edge of half of the field, stands a tall and strong and oddly shaped pine tree.
We would pass this pine tree on most of our journeys to and from our home. I always loved this tree with its odd shape. Its lack of branches for most of the trunk. I don't know why the farmer never removed it, but I'm glad they didn't.
This tree began to signify both leaving on an adventure - visiting family in the big city of Pittsburgh, leaving for college in that same big city, traveling abroad for the first time (and the second and the third!), and eventually moving to the West Coast - and arriving home again each time.
My parents have since moved away from that little corner of Pennsylvania and my friends have mostly moved away as well so I don't have any reason to go visit my favorite tree. Hopefully someday I will see it again.
Until then, the memory of my favorite tree will live on in my business name and the sense of adventure and the comfort of home will always remain a theme in my work.