After several stressful weeks dealing with my court cases in Texas, I have been able to smooth things over with my lawyer, Miles Brissette. I wrote some things about Miles when I was frustrated with the court, yet he is an excellent lawyer and I would recommend him to anyone.
I ordered a new batch of my cards, which will be for sale again on my website on the Ides of March (3/15). I have been busy with my GMC training, so I have not yet been able to finish my George Washington portrait. I plan to finish by next week so I can start working on John Adams’ portrait earnestly.
I have evolved from a tire shop mechanic into a dealership mechanic. I was very sad to leave Larry O’Shea, yet Capitaland made me such a good offer that I could not refuse. I have also decided to stay on probation here in New York and not pursue a trial by jury for the cases in Texas. I have wanted to focus on improving my mechanic skills and Subaru/GMC are both brands that I really enjoy servicing.
My grandfather died before I was born, yet he fought in the war with Japan and so I like to work on Japanese cars. I was also named after him and the original “Matthew Szal” grew up in Brooklyn. This is another reason I wanted to go to Pratt so much was on account of him. I also like GMC vehicles, which are really good American family vehicles, and utility cars/trucks.
I may still do graphic design work for Adirondack Tire, yet I may have to stop working for them entirely and stop running Magick Mechanic. I hope to start a family soon now that I can support one and I have never been more hopefully for the future.
After a year of lousy treatment on probation, I have decided to return to Texas to take the charges from the case with Timothy Szal to trial. I will take a bus to Texas at the end of the month. It is clear now that I need to clear up these criminal charges in Texas if I want to get a decent job or decent treatment anywhere. I have taken a leave of absence from Adirondack Tire until this matter is resolved. Larry O’Shea, Sean O’Shea and Eric Steele have been unbelievably supportive during this difficult time.
I have been working on a new series of oil paintings of the Presidents of the United States. I read the books The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency and The Imperial Presidency to gain some background insight into the topic.
Greg Dow of Dow Art Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas
My old boss and mentor, Greg Dow, instilled my love of America inside my character. His father collected Lincoln pictures and memorabilia, some of which I helped restore when I worked for him at Dow Art Gallery (the oldest art gallery in Texas). I will likely dedicate my Lincoln picture to them both since, after Pratt, it was Mr. Dow that really taught me how to paint on a professional level. He gave me a job in 2011 when Roman was born and I thought my life was over since I had to leave New York City. Thankfully, he helped me realize it was only the beginning. I would never have been able to have my first big show at Fringe Art Gallery without his help/connections.
Video of my oil painting process
This is a video with some process footage of my painting the first picture. George Washington was in the British Army before the Revolutionary War, so I painted him in a younger version and then painted over in the older version. All the pictures are in oil paint on canvas boards, which are 12 inches by 12 inches. I added a hand to the portrait holding some cherries since George Washington could not lie to his father about chopping down the cherry tree. Yet, I have not taken any pictures of this latest stage.
Hello everyone, Larry (Owner of Adirondack Tire) has given me special permission to share the concept for our new logo. This is just a sneak preview, so stay tuned for more updates!
I recently took the e-commerce section of my site for purchasing the American Game decks down since I redesigned the deck to no longer have the city names of NFL teams. The cards arrived on Thursday, and I got positive reactions from my friends and co-workers at Adirondack. The image below is a scan of the cards with major changes from my original designs. I am currently deciding what kind of booklet to put with the cards and finalizing the packaging. A graphic designer’s work is never done, and once everything is nicely designed and organized – it is possible to start planning the next branding update. I have also added a copyright tag with my name on the Capricorn card since that is my zodiac sign.
I have always liked the example of the Pepsi logo, even though I do not like Pepsi or Coke. Pepsi uses a similar red/blue circle differently, as shown in the image below for each logo iteration. It is essential to make an existing logo recognizable so an old, loyal customer will still have a positive association. Thanks for everyone’s patience while I finalize the particulars of the new cards. If you want to buy a special edition deck from me, email me at mattszal@gmail.com. I will post another update when they are for sale on mattszal.com.
In honor of my presidential portrait series, I have decided to make the secret page of designs I created for President Biden – public!
I will not say if I liked him or Trump better, you will have to wait and see how I paint them at the end of the series. Also, check out my political designs on my portfolio here. I will post some process shots of my Washington portrait soon.
These are some animated .gifs that I created with Sequana and Ace Malagurio, my representative character in The Flying Dutchess.
I have also completed some new animated backdrops, which will also be in my updated portfolio. I have been working on several new logo ideas with mountains at work, inspiring my latest animated background creations. It has been stressful at work with our lead mechanic out with a hand injury, yet I have a newfound respect for him since I have been filling in for him with some of the advanced mechanic jobs. All the hardest jobs from other stores get sent to corporate. I enjoy the challenge, yet it can be very taxing. I have also ordered a new batch of redesigned decks with no text and changed several cards. I am not sure if it will still be called The American Game either, yet when the cards arrive I will blog about the new information.
Mount Strimba – UkraineEmerald Chasm – inspired by my new job at Adirondack Tire’s Corporate Headquarters
I was blessed to start a new job at the corporate headquarters of Adirondack Tire a few weeks ago. I am so happy to get to work on cars and do graphic design, combining two of my unique skill sets. I worked at Warren Tire for almost a year and never met the owner. I worked at Adirondack Tire for one day and met the owner plus his son.
I only have my son Roman visit during the summers, so seeing Sean and Larry together makes working for them a pleasure. It is so nice to see the owner preparing his son for his future role in a direct fashion. I gave everyone at corporate unique decks of the American Game for Christmas.
Roman and I (Summer 2024) at the MOMA in NYC
However, I have gazed at the cards on the wall for a few weeks now and have decided to make some minor changes. The Los Angeles card that might evoke a connection with the Los Angeles Chargers is changing completely. A few other cards will have minor edits, and I will update the master portfolio page. If you would like to exchange your deck for the updated version, please email me at mattszal@gmail.com, and I will gladly send you an additional deck for no extra charge. Thanks to everyone who has supported my work and family by purchasing a deck. God Bless you. I used the cards to do a reading for my cousin Ryan on Christmas Eve. We discussed the upcoming book that I am writing to accompany the deck.
My cousin Ryan (the famous architect) and I
This book shall be in the fashion of The Pictorial Keyto the Tarot by Waite.
This is one of the tentative new versions of the LA card #2
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