A post about the creator of The Flying Dutchess, Matthew Szal (Magick).
Matt has worked on this animated series for over three years (since April 2020). He was awarded a half scholarship out of high school in 2010 to attend Pratt, the prestigious art & design school in New York City. After leaving Pratt due to his son Roman being born, Matt began working two jobs – one of which was as an Art Restoration Apprenticeship under the famous Greg Dow at the oldest art gallery in Texas, Dow Art Gallery. There he perfected his technique and learned to imitate various artistic styles/ periods.
In 2011, Matt visited the Tim Burton exhibit at the LACMA in Los Angeles. This is where he first thought of moving from oil/watercolor painting into animation. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd are some of his favorite Tim Burton movies. Matt is also heavily influenced by Art History, and the exhibit at LACMA revealed to him the depth of the creative process that informs animated content, such as doing sketches/watercolors before making a stop-motion animation.
Matt’s artwork has been shown in Dallas, Fort Worth, New York, London, Columbia and Los Angeles galleries. He was represented by Fringe Art Gallery in Dallas before taking a brief hiatus during the pandemic. He is also a published art critic and has written for publications such as Glasstire, Aint-Bad Quarterly Photography Journal and 1147. He spends his time between his family estate in Southlake, Texas and Los Angeles. For more, visit his personal website at: www.mattszal.com
