I find myself intrigued by Matte Stephens. His work just plain makes me smile. The consistency of his color palettes and unexpectedness of his pattern choices; the recurring themes of animals and smoking pipes (or animals smoking pipes…); the whole purposefully imperfect retro-ness of it all. The other reason I am intrigued is because he is primarily self-taught. I love finding artists I like with the added bonus of having figured it out all by themselves. The 1950s/60s era of illustration and graphic design is my absolute favorite. I think Matte does a fantastic job of capturing that innocence, simplicity, and fun. It also helps that he is surrounded by that goodness in his home, which you can see in this great interview of Matte by Grain Edit.
These are some of my favorites. Be sure to check out his Etsy shop and Flickr pool for more happiness!
Shoe Portrait
Canal Street New Orleans
Beehive with Birdies
Irving Is an Avid Bird Watcher
