Matt’s journey to Hollywood began in Missouri, as a teen, when by chance he met leading Western Artist Bob Tommy, who just moved from Texas. Tommy encouraged Matt to try his hand at painting, and, upon seeing Matt’s “natural talent,” he became Matt’s mentor, teaching him the technique he had amassed from a lifetime of work. In college, Matt studied classical painting then broadened his abilities after graduation, by working for an architectural firm (architectural renders), a greeting card company (painting landscapes and still life), and a television production company (painting animation backgrounds). It was there that Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks company found him, and lured he and his new bride, Michele, a Texas small town girl to Hollywood. There, Matt rose through the ranks at Dreamworks, painting concept art for movies and video games. When Steven Spielberg had an idea brewing about the Battle for Iwo Jima, Matt painted an “epic concept” for him. Spielberg’s idea later became the film, Flags of Our Fathers. Eventually, Matt was named Franchise Art Director for Dreamworks’Medal of Honor video games series, one credited with generating interest in WWII history among young people. Matt soon discovered that he, too, possessed a deep-seeded passion to tell the stories of America’s war heroes when Dreamworks put him on a new assignment, to paint a painting a month for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.Then, in summer 2008, Matt underwent brain surgery to remove a growth behind his eye. He had an epiphany. “It was a wake-up call for me that we don’t really know how long we have on earth,“ Matt explained. “That got me thinking, ‘What kind of legacy will my art leave to the world?’’ Will it tell a story of something important? Valor Studios had long followed Matt’s career and approached him after his surgery, with an offer to publish his work, if Matt would paint the heroes of military past and present. The timing couldn’t have been better, and Matt heartily agreed. “It was an epiphany on a lot of levels,“ he explained, “Spiritually, artistically, and career-wise. Like that leap of faith when I went to paint for Hollywood, I decided to follow my passion and paint the stories of men whose legacies need to be preserved.” 

Victory Salute

Return of The Redtails

Always Into The Enemy

Pride of Our Nations

Brothers In Arms