Egrets in Marsh by South Carolina artist Matt Constantine is available in a giclee canvas limited edition.
24"tall x 18"wide stretched canvas, signed by the artist Matt Constantine.
Matt Constantine is a former winner of the South Carolina Conservation Fish Stamp and Duck Stamp competitions.
Matt began painting seriously in 1995 and within only a few years of teaching himself the basics, he had won the 1998-99 South Carolina Saltwater Fisheries Stamp competition. The next year he followed that up by winning the 1999-2000 South Carolina Duck Stamp. In the process defeating nationally recognized artists and also making him the youngest to win either competition and the only artist to win both stamp categories.
Since then Matt's Palette and subject matter has expanded to portraits as well as the Lowcountry way of living. Putting competitions aside, the artist now strives to further develope his style and technique with his prefered medium, oils.
Matt Constantine was born in Charleston, SC in 1973. At the age of two he was running around with a cup of pencils refusing to give them up. His interests and the tools to pursue such seemed to be evident to him from the start. He was a quiet child early on and could sit for hours on end drawing from his Audubon bird books. Matt spent much of his time as he recalls,"in those Audubon books and on the shoreline and in the woods."
"From the beginning wildlife has intrigued me. Among my earliest and fondest memories is of me standing at the front plate glass window of our house and watching the egrets stalk the marsh edge while the mullet would jump as we counted the leaps. Otters would also visit occasionally to eat their catch on our dock." While living on front beach Folly Island, in a house designed by his father, the young naturalist began to emerge in Matt. At age 9 he was carrying a collection of Audubon books bought by his mother. With these he set about identifying everything in sight, especially the birds. Later in the confines of the house he would commence to document what he had seen. At this stage he is only expirementing with paint at odd times. Most of this early work was done with pencils and colored architectural markers.
We hope to have Matt Constantine back to Ashley's Art Gallery.
