Meet Matthew Turner | Artist, and Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matthew Turner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matthew, is there something you believe many others might not?
One piece of conventional advice I disagree with is “A college degree is essential for success.” Success shouldn’t be defined by a seven figure piece of paper that most people can’t land a job with. Most people are more successful with trades now a days than the majority of degrees. I also believe people have many different paths to success and a degree shouldn’t be the only route.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m most proud of my art being a reflection of my inner thoughts, even though the thoughts are random at times. I’m a quiet person but my art reflects a lot of my childhood and interests. My art is like a visual about me page. Honestly, I’m where I’m at today by not giving up. Many times I wanted to so much but having a support system keeps me going. It took many trials and errors and I’m still overcoming them today. My brand is called Faceless Design Prints. The name came from how unknown I was through most of my life in social settings. People knew me or knew of me through other people. My brand heavily gets influence from the Pop Culture world. The Pop Culture world helps me escape the many stresses of life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would encourage my friend to visit during Mardi Gras. It’s like a huge street carnival with floats. It also originated here in Mobile, Alabama. Since some of my favorite places don’t exist anymore we would visit the Mobile Museum of Art, The Lupercalia Art Society, and History Museum of Mobile. I’m a big Museum fan if you didn’t notice. We would then eat at Loda Bier Garten, Briquettes, Moe’s Original BBQ, Mediterranean Sandwich Co. and Pollman’s Bakery. The nightlife we would go to Las Floriditas and Alchemy Tavern. Honestly Las Floriditas would be the highlight it’s a Cuban style speakeasy which you have to use a password to get in. It’s built in a old style bank vault.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family deserves a lot of recognition for my success especially my parents and my sister Heather. My parents encouraged me to take a major (Printmaking) which I didn’t think they would agree with. They were very supportive of my artistic passions. My sister Heather gave me the confidence to not give up and helped me out of a few sticky situations. Honestly all of my siblings played a role in me accomplishing many goals. But most recently my girlfriend who nominated me for this interview has been my biggest motivator, and cheerleader to continue pursuing this artist path. Thank you Victoria!

Website: www.facelessdesignprints.etsy.com

Instagram: facelessdesignprints

Image Credits
Victoria Richardson