Creative Edge - Matthew Hasty Belt of Venus

Matthew Hasty has lived most of his life in the South, beginning in Memphis in 1969 and moving around the area with his artist mother. Art was a part of Hasty’s life from an early age and he continued to pursue his creative interests at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He earned a BFA in 1993 and moved to New York for a period of three years.

While New York had much to offer in the way of museums and fine art galleries, Hasty knew his true inspiration came from his Southern roots. He traveled the country, working as a builder, painter, and musician, in search of the meaning and inspiration for his art. He found peace in family life in his native town of Memphis. The subject matter of his work changed during this period, from angst driven figurative paintings to serene, spiritually charged landscapes mostly devoid of human activity.

Inspired by the luminous colors of nature, he creates hauntingly beautiful landscapes of the South. He is strongly influenced by nineteenth century landscape painters, as well as artists of the Hudson River School, Barbizon School, Dusseldorf School, and innumerable painters from Russia.