Featured Artist: Accident Forces Artist to Learn New Drawing Techniques

The work of artist Taj Mattingly is on exhibit in the BGT lobby at 1 Ward Parkway through the first quarter.

After a 2016 accident that injured his dominant hand and left him in chronic pain, Taj Mattingly left his life of working as a graphic designer and illustrator to pursue new way ways to tell his stories through artwork.

Taj forced himself to learn new techniques he could use to draw ambidextrously. In 2018, he began #DrawEveryDay to challenge himself to make time each day to create one work of art on paper.

The chronic pain Taj experienced after his injury not only influenced his technique but also his expression. He now approaches art in a relentless pursuit, using bold, expressive marks to give his work a sense of movement that is both purposeful and unavoidable. He strives for a balance between overwhelming intention and tranquility. Taj spends most days in his studio discovering new ways to make art that continue to fill him with excitement.

Taj started creating while he was still a boy, taking private lessons with local art instructors in the Washington, D.C., area and attending classes at universities and museums. But it wasn’t until high school, when he was accepted into the Visual Arts Center in Montgomery County, Maryland, that he began spending most of his day creating.

Taj graduated with a bachelor’s degree in illustration and graphic design from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2003. He also attended the Illustration Academy in Richmond, Virginia, learning from internationally renowned artists.