Blog | ThirdAndWall

From the Camera Lens of Aaron Matheson

Aaron Matheson fills a dual role at Third & Wall Art Group. He’s a versatile fine art photographer who recently signed on as a Third & Wall artist and has been very well-received by our customers; AND he is also a Third & Wall Production Specialist who applies his keen eye for color and amazing technical skills to creating final product for our Print-On-Demand, Photography and Poster programs. Aaron’s work shows his deep affinity for nature, travel and the outdoors, although he has proven himself to be a city-lover as well with his bold urban photography.

What do you first do when you get to the studio in the morning? First thing in the morning I usually peruse social media with a heavy emphasis on Instagram. I love looking at other imagery, generally doing my own critique, creatively feeding off great images and getting new ideas. I then check my email and strap in for hours of Photoshop.

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How many images do you work on at a time? When I get back to my studio from a shoot I download all images taken during the shoot, then narrow them down to either the best images or the images specified by the client. The amount of images to edit can range from my top 10 to my top 1,000 depending on the how many were shot. I batch process as many as I can, then edit the best one by one.

nature photography rocks cliffs rockclimbing

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Do you have a dream project that you would like to work on? There are multiple locations I would love to visit, but I am a rock climber at heart, so my dream project would be traveling, climbing and shooting images for an extended 6 month trip starting in Western Europe, traveling through China and ending in Australia.

photography black and white mountains landscape

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If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be? I have always admired the work of Richard Avedon and his ability to capture raw emotion and tell a person’s story with a single portrait. I’d be crazy not to mention Ansel Adams as well. He probably did more for photography than any other single person in history. His ability to see light and understand the limitations of the camera, film and printing was incredible. Without Ansel Adam’s knowledge and talent I truly believe that photography wouldn’t be where it is today.

What’s your favorite way of generating ideas and inspiration? I am always looking at social media. There are so many incredible photographers out there constantly putting out new works, it’s really hard to not be inspired to get off the couch and do something. A lot of times I will see a photo or piece of art and I will push myself to try to do something similar only better.

photography coastal tropical island sunset palm trees

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How has your photography evolved over time? I started shooting black and white film and really shot to learn, not so much for art. Eventually I started shooting more people and some fashion. I went down the road of shooting everything in HDR digitally then moved away from that method, but am now re-approaching it using different processes and editing styles. My preference was always to capture the entire scene before me, but recently I’ve started shooting more close-ups and doing more macro photography to explore small details that are often overlooked.

What do you like most about your work? I love that I can go anywhere with my camera and shoot photos. I also love that I can constantly learn and develop new styles and techniques to make me a better and more well-rounded photographer.

What is one word that best describes your style? Colorful.

Is there an idea you would like to explore? I’m always open to new ideas, but currently I have an idea for a floral series that I hope to start working on later this summer or early fall.

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What is your favorite time of day to shoot? I love getting out and being set up an hour before sunrise and sunset. The light in the mornings and evenings is always great.

Do you ever get “stuck” on a piece? If so, what do you do? I definitely get stuck from time to time. I generally get stuck when I have a very particular idea and I can’t make it happen for any number of reasons – location, atmosphere, lighting, equipment, etc.

What is up next on your photo shoot roster? I don’t really know. I have a few trips planned for this year and I plan on going into the mountains as much as possible in between. Only time will tell what comes up next…

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Aaron Matheson’s image collection can be viewed in the Photography section of our website. Some areas of our website are password-protected. If you are a member of the trade but don’t have full access to our website, www.thirdandwall.com, please contact us at customerservice@thirdandwall.com.

Watery Blues – Summer’s Hot Color

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According to Houzz, “watery blue” is one of summer’s hottest interior decor colors. These soft greenish-blues evoke a sense of calm, peace and relaxation, which make them especially popular in spas, bedrooms and bathrooms.

Contemporary abstracts demonstrate the variety of ways artists can employ light blue and aqua tones, whether they’re woven amongst stronger colors or dancing translucently across the canvas in a lovely watercolor.

: “Mixed Signals” by Jill Martin

: “Entice” by Jill Martin

: “Rustic City” by Pablo Rojero

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Sea and sky embody those watery blue hues in a myriad of beautiful atmospheric ways.

: “Aqua Marine” by KC Haxton

: “Via Dolce III” by Sarah Stockstill

: “Serene Scape V” by Lisa Ridgers

: “Del Mar, California” by Pablo Rojero

: “Afternoon Sail” by Lisa Ridgers

: “Sea Spray” by Liz Jardine

Delicate blues can even evoke serenity in these harmonious transitional florals, skyscapes and equine images.

: “Blue Roses” by Jill Martin

: UHAX-123_ALT_V1 by KC Haxton

: OHIB-548_ALT_V1 by Randy Hibberd

: “Refreshed” by Jill Martin

: “Horses” by Randy Hibberd

Third & Wall offers exclusive contemporary and transitional imagery for wall decor and licensing, with a wide selection of Posters, Originals and Print-on-Demand/Licensing imagery. Some areas of our website are password-protected. If you are a member of the trade but don’t have full access to our website, www.thirdandwall.com, please contact us at customerservice@thirdandwall.com. [contact-form subject='[Third %26amp; Wall news | inspiration’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

The Beauty of Summer

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Here in Seattle, where boats rule and gardening is a big deal after a long cold Pacific Northwest winter, summertime is probably the most highly anticipated season. Seattleites crawl out of their buildings, turn their faces to the sun, and begin dreaming of beaches, boating, vacations, and sipping iced tea in abundant flower gardens.

: “Beach Path” by Liz Jardine

: “Caprice” by Jill Martin

: “Boat” by Randy Hibberd

Coastal imagery tends toward the dreamy tones of blues, aquas and warm golds and creams, encouraging relaxation and serenity. The joyous bright palettes of summer florals promise life and vitality. We think that both Coastals and Florals perfectly encapsulate the essence of Summer. Leave a reply below and let us know what you think about Summer!

: “Morning Boats” By Brooke Borcherding

: “Rip Curl” by Liz Jardine

: “Via Dolce III” by Sarah Stockstill

: “Coda” by Jill Martin

Introducing new artist Brooke Borcherding!

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We are thrilled to announce the addition of unique Seattle talent Brooke Borcherding to our exceptional family of artists. Brooke is an up-and-coming young artist who creates fascinating deconstructed scapes that are both familiar and mystifying. Her mesmerizing contemporary works are conversation-starters and wonderful focal points for all kinds of interiors.

What do you first do when you get to the studio in the morning? I organize my work area to give myself mental space to get me into work mode. Sometimes this is half a day’s work, other times I get ready the night before work so I can get right in there.

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“Madison to Pike”

How many paintings do you work on at a time? I currently have 13 unfinished paintings in the studio! I’ve learned to have a bunch of canvases to choose from to match my mood. I think paintings and life have a lot of overlap, so in those moments when I’m energized I may start 3 new pieces. If I feel grounded and calm, I may focus more on detailing and finishing so I can check one off my list.

Do you have a dream project that you would like to work on? My dream project sounds exhausting so it’s kept as a dream, but it would be really cool to collaborate with an installation artist and a computer programmer to make one of my paintings into a 3-D walkable place. I envision slabs of colored paper hung on strings across a sidewalk that would emulate the blocks of colors I have in my pieces, going down the street so that at the end of the street you look down and see a cohesive scene. I play with idea of perception and space in my paintings and would love to see it come to life.

“Morning Boats”

If you could paint with anyone, who would it be? I’ve never considered this possibility because I find studio painting to be such an introverted activity – everyone has their own way of doing things. But I suppose I would watch some of the masters who come out of San Francisco’s Academy of Fine Arts.

What’s your favorite way of generating ideas and inspiration? There’s too much inspiration so I make lists to limit myself. I travel to natural and urban places, paint on site, and take photos. Once I start writing stuff down I can see that there’s obviously too much to chomp on. But sometimes I abandon the list and just throw some paint up on a canvas anyhow and add it to the pile of works in progress; that way I can’t abandon that idea.

How has your art evolved over time? I’m a cyclical person and see that sort of cyclical pattern in my work. I originally started painting with blocks of color as an experiment in college. Then I went the other direction and took the traditional approach to painting by studying from nature with my easel outdoors. Last year I got back into the studio and started to play with the blocks again. This year I’ve been tweaking this new style.

Brooke Borcherding, seattle art, seattle, transitional landscape, cityscape, urban

“Remember the Eve”

As a young artist I’m super curious to know how what I’m doing now will affect my future work, or what it will look like.

What do you like most about your work? I like that I’m doing something unique – the people who walk into the gallery are drawn to my work because it’s something they haven’t seen before. I think by not taking any workshops and being fully self-driven, my independence has enabled me to have work that is truly my own, something that is unteachable.

Brooke Borcheding, seattle art, seattle, urban, transitional landscape, cityscape

“Morning Red on Madison”

What is one word that best describes your style? Deconstructive.

Is there an idea you would like to explore? I’m already doing it.

What is your favorite time of day to paint? Late at night (or early in the morning depending on how you look at it). I love when the city is asleep because I finally feel the freedom to do whatever I want and truly focus with no distractions.

Do you ever get “stuck” on a piece? If so, what do you do? Just walk away and let it sit. If you don’t have a definitive idea of where to take it, just put the brush down. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

What is up next on your easel? A Canyon scene of Eastern Washington– it’s a challenge and experiment after working on so many recent urban scenes.

Brooke’s image collection can be viewed in the Print-On-Demand section of our website. Some areas of our website are password-protected. If you are a member of the trade but don’t have full access to our website, www.thirdandwall.com, please contact us at customerservice@thirdandwall.com.

: “Cutting Through”

: “Marina Memories”

Surtex 2015 Recap

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Brian Henn, 3&W President & Melody Minarcin, 3&W Acct. Mgr.

We recently returned from the 2015 Surtex licensing tradeshow in New York City. Aside from the fact that Manhattan is a great place to visit in the Spring, Surtex is a fun and fascinating business event – three full days of image overload!

Our in-house Production team furiously worked in collaboration with our artists to create new designs appropriate for textiles, wall coverings, stationery, and much more. It is so fun to be part of a team that can step outside the familiarity of wall décor and find new ways to create opportunities for our artists.

Escaping from the office to be part of a New York City event was fun and insightful. We saw a bounty of designs, colors, and concepts that will only inspire us to continue to introduce new artwork to grace your walls and products.We learned that there is never an end to creativity – beautiful artwork and design is a constant that continues to grow and evolve. Be prepared for so much more coming out of Third & Wall Art Group in 2015 and beyond!

~ Brian Henn, President