Column: Bev Jackson Cotter, Art Is…

He was going to be a barber. Then he received a college wrestling scholarship and found he liked working with kids and coaching, resulting in a 36-year career teaching fifth- and sixth-grades. Yet when Rory Mattson’s name comes up, we think “wild life painter, guitar player, actor, singer, landscape artist.” How did he get from there to here?

Spend an hour in Rory’s studio and you find yourself immersed in a world of creativity — the subjective and the practical sides of it.

The afternoon of our interview, he was packing and getting ready to do a show. Boxes were everywhere containing originals and prints of his work. His display panels and lighting were already loaded in his trailer and he was repairing the wire mounted on one of his paintings. He paused long enough to tell me how lucky he is.

When I asked him to explain, he first credited his wife, Jan, then went on to describe shows where he has displayed and sold his paintings and the satisfaction that comes with getting a painting “right.”

What did he mean by “right?” He told me that he had taught a class where he was asked, “Why did you use that color?” His answer, “Because it’s the right color.” When asked, “Why did you stop there?” He responded, “Because it felt right.”

How does one define “right?” Jan has asked him, “Why do you use photographs and reference books to start with? Your pictures always go in a different direction.” Rory explained, “At some point, the painting takes over. Some paintings you work hard at and fuss with, but the ones that are my best, the painting takes over.”

He describes himself as a very sequential person, but he would like to be more painterly. I said that I could see his description in the detail and fine work on his bird paintings, but something else happens in the elusive background colors and the composition. Then with so much enthusiasm and excitement, he began talking about Michelangelo’s brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling — “Bev, have you seen any close up pictures? He (Michelangelo) accomplished more in one brush stroke than I can do in an hour, and that’s from viewing his work 30 to 40 feet away!”

He talked about an art show judge who said, “You paint with illustration techniques. You start with an illustration base and turn it into a painting. Everything you do has a softness and a movement and a feeling.”

When I asked him for a chronology of his creative life, he replied. “I’ve been painting and drawing as long as I can remember. I took accordion lessons as a kid and then guitar. In college I appeared in “West Side Story.” Several years ago, I applied for a spot in Dayton’s ‘Heritage Show’ and was accepted along with some of the best wildlife artists in the country. His reaction, “Why am I here?”

Since that time, his style of work and subject matter has changed and he entitles his display “Watercolor Originals.” He has also received invitations to appear in fine art shows in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oklahoma, and “Oh, I don’t know where all.” The list goes on and on.

As I was leaving, we paused to look at some winter scenes Rory will be displaying in his next show. The birch trees, the shadows and light in the snow, the ice on the river, the reflections all made me want to slip into that dream world and to wander for a time in that beautiful space.

When I thanked him for the opportunity to do this interview, he replied, “I am the luckiest person in the world,” then went back to repairing the wire on a painting he was taking to another show.

Rory’s paintings, mostly watercolor, some with gouache added (“Sometimes transparent watercolor cannot take you to where you want to be.”) will be displayed on Oct. 21 at “Celebrating the Arts and Artists” at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club in Albert Lea. Watch for more details on this upcoming event sponsored by the Albert Lea Art Center.

Bev Jackson Cotter is a member of the Albert Lea Art Center currently sponsoring “Look Up, Look Down, Look Around,” an art and architecture awareness event including classes, a detail hunt (find all of the details shown on the brochure and win an ice cream cone from Lakeside Cafe and Creamery), culminating on Sept. 24 with exhibits, displays and an architecture lecture by Ed Shannon of the Albert Lea Tribune. Call the Art Center at 507-373-5665 for more information.