This June, Ottawa Creatives is looking at emerging artists in the city. This place is full of incredible talent and we hope this space is an opportunity for our readers to discover new artists. Additionally, if you think there is an amazing poet, musician, dj, or artist that we need to hear about, please email us at apartment613@gmail.com.
Emil. Mateja. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Growing up, Emil Mateja’s favourite thing to do was draw. While other kids had video games and Ninja Turtles, he had pencils, markers, and paper. When not busy with school work, he’d spend hours drawing pictures of the things he saw – a passion that began in elementary, continued into high school, and through university. After university, Emil began experimenting with different mediums and took to painting – something he has done a lot of. Although he continues to paint (as well as get behind the camera for the occasional photo-shoot), his focus over the past two years has been his illustration work. Inspired by some of the remarkable work he’d seen on album covers, beer labels, and gig posters, Emil began creating highly skilled, highly detailed, dot work/blackwork illustrations.
The ideas for Emil’s illustrations usually take root in three things: the music he listens to, old folk stories & legends, and nature. Emil’s illustrations are often a piece of visual storytelling, of the imagery evoked by a piece of folklore, or by a song’s lyrics. In constant wonder of our natural world, it often finds its way into his illustrations. As a child, if Emil wasn’t drawing, he was off in the forest and, nowadays, not much has changed. As such, his work includes many birds, insects, skulls, and vegetation.
When Emil first comes up with an idea, he scribbles it down and fleshes it out. Once the idea is developed, he then begins the process of sketching it out. For Emil, this is the hardest part, because every piece of the illustration needs to work alongside the other. Once happy with how the many parts fit together on the page, he begins to ink in the lines and detail the work with hundreds of tiny dots. The style Emil likes to work in, as well as his preference for larger pieces, means that a more detailed illustration can take a few weeks to complete.
This past year, Emil has created a series of work depicting the life cycles of our world. Growth, life, and decay are represented through a series of dark and whimsical illustrations. In a couple of weeks’ time, he will be having his first solo show at Ministry of Coffee on Elgin, featuring works from this series. He has also produced several cards which can be found at JV Boutique in Wellington West and Boogie and Birdie in Centretown. In addition, Emil has done band t-shirt design work and tattoo commissions. After participating in Ravenswing this May, he will be at the Ottawa Maker’s Market this July, and a group art show later on this year.
In the future, Emil aspires to continue to grow as an illustrator and as an artist and to make a living doing what he loves most. He wants to further develop his own body of work, while working with musicians and collaborating with other artists – a tattoo apprenticeship might even be in the cards. For Emil, there are many exciting opportunities to consider, but what is most important is that he continue to do what he loves.
You can find Emil Mateja at his website, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
