received all different types of feedback but I guess the best would be that my work is scary or chilling. What do you think is the most important thing when becoming an artist? Being yourself and becoming the artist that you want to be. Regardless of your skill or technique, create art that you love, art that makes you happy. Be creative in all aspects of your life, not just when it comes to putting paint to canvas. Keep an open mind about everything. the start I knew this piece was probably going to be pretty gruesome and more disturbing compared to work I’ve done in the past, so what better person to use for it than my dad, someone who doesn’t even like Horror. I picked him up on his Birthday and we had a nice breakfast, and then headed down to Baltimore City so I could shoot the right backdrop. We ended up in East Baltimore on a stretch of two full blocks of abandoned homes. It looked like this neighbourhood was left for dead, a real ghost town. However, it was ideal for what I wanted. I got the shots I needed and then headed back to my father’s house. That’s when I let him know that his head was going in the box. I thought he would have issues with it but instead he was a good sport about it and was even a good model. I really love how the artwork turned out but I have to admit, it did kind of freak me out a little while creating it, to stare at my dad’s severed head for so long. What’s the most frustrating thing about being an artist for you? I believe that all artists and creative individuals alike have moments of creative block - moments when the ideas just aren’t coming to you and you feel stuck. That is the most frustrating part of being an artist for me. It comes and goes. In situations like that, I move onto another project or just try to clear my head for a bit. I have found that when you keep working on the same piece that is already frustrating you, your work tends to get a lot worse. What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience? When someone from my audience is affected by my work emotionally, that is the best for me. I have
Do you have a particular audience in mind when you create? I would have to say that my main audience are individuals who are interested in the Horror genre. The majority of my work has a dark aesthetic and deals with elements of death and other situations that can make the common person feel a little uncomfortable. Creating artwork is something I love and enjoy very much, so in the end I do it for myself. It is an added bonus that others enjoy my work as well. I am genuinely grateful and thankful for all of my audience and anyone who appreciates what I do. You do a wide range of artwork, including the design of websites, adverts, etc. Is that because your artwork naturally lends itself to these areas or was it a more commercial decision? I think it’s a combination of both. I enjoy creating artwork as a standalone medium, but I also feel that creating adverts, websites and other promotional or marketing materials is a way to get my artwork seen and to stay creative. I approach every project I work on like an individual piece of artwork. Everything that I can work on that is visually stimulating to someone else is considered artwork to me. You run an artistic production company. How and why did you start that up? Matthew Freyer Productions has always been a dream of mine. I wanted to create artwork for people to use to promote themselves and their products or services. I originally started the company because of my love for Haunted Attractions. I have been a fan of, worked with and volunteered at Haunted Attractions throughout my life. I thought these