J.RAVEN MATHEWES III
Biography : J. Raven Mathewes III
* most work signed expediently as........J. Raven
** known by friends & associates as just "RAVEN"
Born spring 1945 in Los Angeles,Ca
"I've been an artist since age 6 when I began drawing visions from dreams that seemed to astound the adults in my life and have remained an Idiot Savant ever since". I first became aware that my work might have some value when my art was being stolen from high school, .some of it turned up nicely framed hanging on my teacher's walls years later"
Raven has sold his art locally and nationally and internationally for the last thirty years relying mostly on commissions from patrons familiar with his versatility and wide range of expression. He has been featured in museums, on magazine covers, newspapers, and promotional brochures. In Sacramento California the mayor of that fair city unveiled his finished work amid a crowd of 200 notables with TV news coverage by all three major networks," 5 minutes on each which equals Andy Warhol’s allotment of the Fifteen Minutes of Fame reserved for each of us".
Raven's early work was compared favorably with that of the famous August Rodin, among those of discerning vision although the evolution of style continues. He has also produced jewelry designs for Alaska silver and Ivory', created a line of miniatures on tour with a well-known museum exhibit, and replicas of vintage autos for dealer/collectors. He seems to have no limits or restrictions on style, subject matter or size, from 40 grams to 40 Tons!
He first began to attempt to capture the inner spirit- energy as well as the visual character of his wildlife subjects after spending many years as a logger and commercial fisherman in the Northwest. His occupations brought him into close proximity and contact with Whales , Grizzly , Orca, Eagles, Hawks and countless versions nature's diverse expressions of the vitality of life in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Raven received acclaim for his early bronze castings of human and animal subjects in unusual and graceful postures. He says he tries to capture the inner essence of his subjects and" hopefully compliment their original designer."
Raven seems to have equal ability in many disciplines including modeling for bronze casting, portraiture, jewelry, wood sculpture, junk art, multimedia, steel sculpture, pen and ink, watercolor, book illustration, large acrylic or oil paintings, concrete sculpture, pastels, architectural design and more. “He characterizes himself above all else, a DESIGNER. I know he takes particular delight in solving visual design problems and creating proto-types where aesthetic visual appearance is an important consideration either for appeal or impact. This is a reason to find designing and producing 'site specific art', though challenging , immensely rewarding”. Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to him in the "old fashioned sense" and he makes available care instructions and maintenance agreements on request. "Art, to me, is one long exploratory experiment ; if it were not, I would become bored eventually".
Raven is a combat trained veteran, martial artist, recipient of a Carnegie Hero Fund award, meditator, who's occupations include heavy equipment operator, trucker, logger, commercial fishing ,and construction, when not engaged in art projects, playing blues harp or riding his Harley.
Kent Tudor