[Marvin Mattelson]

The opinions I express are those of my own. I'm entitled to have them and express them. The thing that is both wonderful and baffling about painting is that there are multitude of approaches and paths to follow.

In my thirty plus years as a teacher I have developed a method of working and teaching that has allowed both myself and others to feel they have reached levels of competence that at some point seemed inconceivable. That's a pretty exciting thing, as far as I'm concerned.

Generally my students are very loyal and appreciative based on their appreciation for the knowledge they've received from me and the growth it has spurred.

My methods may run counter to the theories and philosophies of other very successful and talented artists. It is my theory that its the tremendous innate talent of most successful artists which allows them to succeed in spite of their technical and theoretical approaches.

More importantly, I see the vast majority of artists struggle, to a large degree, because they use too many and too powerful pigments on their palettes. So I have devised a teaching strategy based on giving the greatest number of people a the best chance to succeed.

There are obviously other aspects of painting that come into play so what I've tried to do is break down every area involved in painting into what I call an "idiot proof" approach.

I really don't care if I am perceived as someone marching to the tune of a my own drummer. Many of the truths I've found have come as a direct result of seeing what most people do and then looking the opposite direction for a better answer. I see that a great number of what artists do today fly in the face of what previous master artists seemed to do. I take nothing for granted in my quest for the best answers. I also don't care to play the gallery game and be in who's who or anything else. I let my work speak for itself. I'm only interested in being the best artist and teacher I can be.

Just a side note, this past summer Steve Assael, one of the most respected realistic gallery artists in America (Forum Gallery) sent his son to my workshop to "get him started on the right track."

I do, however, enter portrait competitions because it gives me status in the portrait community and most importantly, with clients. I am, after all, a portrait painter first and foremost, which is why I participate on this forum. Even though I have been one of the top award winning portrait artists in the last four years it doesn't make my paintings one drop better or worse. At the end of the day my work is what it is.