“We began our marriage under the assumption we were going to be artists. The art, however, turned out to be a stepping stone to psychic research. You see, we needed a subject to paint, a good subject, something people could relate to. Haunted houses turned out to be that subject.”—Lorraine Warren
I never stopped drawing, I never stopped being really interested in the supernatural and paranormal. I can regularly be found browsing for sites like AskYourGuide, I’m always keeping an eye out for a breakthrough. This is probably why I’m an artist.
I’m reading A Canticle for Leibowitz because someone said it’s what inspired Anathem (my all time favorite book, all of my Top Ten lists can be found here). I’m reading Authority because I read Annihilation and loved it, another recommendation from a friend (all part of the Southern Reach Trilogy). I’m reading Art as Therapy because we all should read this book and have a better knowledge of the purpose of art and the way that it can enhance our lives.
An interview I did was posted online. I had to make GIFs for it. The questions were pretty abnormal and my answers were pure. Talking about my work is one of my favorite things to do (not as good as making it but it’s up there).
Then it was time for Team Draft League.
Mark stayed around to eat pizza and watch us draft. He’s fascinated by MTG despite having no interest in actually playing. He’s a great artist, too.
The ScryDucks got their asses handed to them, again. Kadar was the 3-0’ing hero this week. I went 1-2 with the worst deck I’ve drafted in ages. Forker 0-3’d. His mana screw based frustration was frozen into his face.
Kadar was back to his durdly all-nonsense combo madness. He was so happy!
Joe Shi took off before I got a team photo. He more or less ran out of our studio building. Forker drew a Joe Shi stand in portrait.
Herbig Shiesters. Best name in Team Draft League.
Fetto, Forker, Longo, Colette, and I piled into Dr. Fetto’s Grand Cherokee and drove to some insane mall in West Nyack for the last Limited PTQ of this season for this Planeswalker. The deck I built was fine. I splashed for Phenax ‘cuz I remember Hugh saying it’s the best card in Limited. The rest of my deck was good green and black cards. Mostly green cards.
I got deck checked after starting the tourney 2-0. The lovely judges, just following orders, gave me a game loss b/c I had one more swamp than forest, a discrepancy with the deck I registered. I was really trying to game everyone by stupidly not putting the right land back in my deck after siding out the entire blue/Phenax package. What a cheater I am. Glad they were able to serve me with the game loss.
After winning game two I lost game three with my hilarious opponent at three life. He swung all in and Aspect of Hydra’d me. Awesome. I shook his hand and tried to convince everyone to leave. They all wanted to do one more round. I sat down to play round four, got blown out game one (mana screw), two for one’d game two and just stopped. “I don’t want to play anymore, no offense,” I said to my opponent. “Ok, man. Good luck in the rest of the tournament,” he said. “Oh no, I’m done. I’m done with Magic today. But thanks! I hope you don’t lose a single match the rest of the day!” I responded. It was said with sincerity but probably sounded crazy.
Eric Deschamps was there signing cards, prints, and making drawings for people. I asked him to draw an ogre on the back of a Courser of Kruphix proof. He did a really great job. It’s one of the best I’ve commissioned. One day I’ll write a post with all the ogre drawings in it. I’ve got at least a dozen now.
Drawings and sketches are my favorite kind of art. There’s so much hope in them, honesty, authenticity, all of the best stuff.
Deschamps asked me how I was doing in the main event. I said I quit when I didn’t have to because I didn’t want to play anymore. He asked why and I said that I go to these things mostly to cast spells, feel like a powerful wizard, and hang out with my buddies that I don’t really get to see in any other way. Seems a waste to get to know all of these incredible people and never see them because I stopped slinging spells. So, I sling spells and laugh my ass off here and there between rounds and on the drives to and from tournaments.
After enough of us lost we all walked to Uniqlo so Fetto could get some socks and we ran into an old friend.
I sent a bunch of photos of Kadar’s Uniqlo in store ads to Instagram because it’s the greatest thing in the world.
CarrieCCarrie replaced Forker who hadn’t died in the tournament, and I rode with Colette and Longo in the back of Dr Fetto’s ride. We laughed a bunch about a number of things I can’t recollect. Longo complained about how little work his role players put into their characters in the D&D campaign he’s running. Colette laughed (she’s one of the lazy players in his campaign). I better get on Knife Fight’s backstory. My RPG character’s name is Knife Fight. He’s a half orc barbarian. He often covers his skin in a blue paint (more like mud, really) to remind himself of the half elf blue mages that slaughtered his entire clan. Never forget.
Once home I bought all the pieces of Affinity I needed. I have been playing in two person events on MTGO. So far, so good.
I’ve only lost to Bogle. Hilarious.
Back to reading and drawing things I don’t understand, things that scare me.
Much love,
Matt
Matt Jones (born 1980, Rochester, New York) is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Matt works between a variety of inter-related genres that explore mythology, archeology, ancient history, theoretical physics, comedy, and the paranormal—all developed and inspired by research and personal experience. Together his bodies of work form a way for Matt to evaluate, negotiate, and play with the world around him. You can check out his art at www.mattjonesrules.com.
Matt’s played Magic since early 1995, took a break for a decade or so, and came back to the game the weekend after the Scars of Mirrodin release. With Hugh Kramer he formed New York’s Team Draft League and is one of the original writers for Hipsters of the Coast. Matt’s been sober for seven years.