Terry Nelson’s Painting of a Young Matt Talbot

Artist Terry Nelson has created very popular paintings of an aging Venerable Matt Talbot at https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/search?q=matt+talbot (and http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Terry%20Nelson

Earlier this week (April 1, 2019) Terry released his latest painting of Matt as a young man with the background of the street (Granby Lane) where Matt eventually died at 69 years of age of heart failure while on his way to Mass  https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2019/04/my-last-attempt.html 

Thank you, Terry, for spreading greater awareness of Venerable Matt Talbot around the world through your paintings.

Venerable Matt Talbot Painting Updates

Terry Nelson continues to share his artistic journey with Venerable Matt Talbot in these two recent posts:

https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/10/friday-evening-art-show-matt-talbot.html
 

https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/12/venerable-matt-talbot-update.html

The Journey of Terry Nelson with Venerable Matt Talbot Continues

The most popular artist painting Venerable Matt Talbot today is Terry Nelson. Each year more and more websites, articles, videos, and prayer cards that feature Matt include one of his paintings.

Fortunately for us, Terry is not finished with Matt.

Terry announced a week ago that “I have to get back to painting. I'm not happy with anything I've done. So I'm going to continue to work on Matt Talbot. I'll never be finished." (https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/08/looking-at-art.html)

Needless to say, we wish him well of his continuing journey with Matt.
  
At some point in the future, perhaps Terry will bless us with an in-depth perspective on his relationship with Matt through the years in both words and paintings.

Note: Some additional links for Terry are:

https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/
http://upyourstreet.blogspot.com/
https://plus.google.com/+TerryNelsonabbeyroads

Finished Venerable Matt Talbot Painting (2016) by Terry Nelson

On 19 May 2016 Terry Nelson posted his latest portrait of Venerable Matt Talbot at http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-latest-matt-talbot-painting.html.

In describing this painting he stated, “I finished the Talbot painting - almost...”

On 7 June 2016, the 91st anniversary of the death of Venerable Matt Talbot, Terry posted the “finished work..” at http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/06/anniversary-of-death-of-venerable-matt.html The adjustments he made are posted below:

“This is the finished painting.  I made a few adjustments from the first published image.  The composition remains spare and uncluttered - a few religious mementos and scraps of paper, upon which it is said Matt would make spiritual notes - a small statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and holy cards of Therese and Catherine of Siena comprise the 'still life' of minutia on the mantel. Above these, a very small image of OL of Perpetual Help hanging by a string. Matt stands in front of the tall, narrow tenement mantel, upon which these poor possessions are displayed. Interrupted in his devotion, clutching a crucifix, he looks out at the viewer.  In this my third painting of Matt, I imagined him in the last year of his life. Those closest to him described him as an 'undersized, wiry man,' though strong and able-bodied, he worked as a laborer all his adult life. He died at the age of 69.”

Note: It is worthwhile to check both of Terry’s links for viewer reactions to the almost finished and finished painting.

Terry Nelson's latest Venerable Matt Talbot painting

Terry describes his third (but not his last) attempt to "capture" Matt Talbot on canvas. Thank you, Terry.

Source: http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-latest-matt-talbot-painting.html

 

Matt Talbot

T. Nelson 2016

I finished the Talbot painting - almost, I have some more glazing to do, shading - but the figure and composition is pretty much finished.  I hope to frame it importantly.  I did a quick 'fuzzy' shot of the canvas, as shown above.  It came off a bit too light.

I read that he was an 'undersized, wiry man,' and a laborer.  I read he wore his working clothes everywhere - so I imagined a jacket and collarless shirt, a bit worn - just as I always depict him.  The difference this time is that I have him balding more than in my other paintings.  There are a couple of early paintings, one by a religious sister, depicting him bald, and I wanted to do so as well.  My composition is spare - a few religious mementos and scraps of paper, upon which it is said Matt would make spiritual notes - a small statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and holy cards of Therese and Catherine of Siena comprise the 'still life' on the mantel.  Above these, a very small image of OL of Perpetual Help hanging by a string.  Matt stands in front of the tall, narrow tenement mantel, upon which these poor possessions are displayed.  Interrupted in his devotion, clutching a crucifix, he looks out at the viewer.

As I painted, I had in mind a young Irish man I had met at Lourdes years ago.  He wasn't very tall either - but a handsome man, and something about him reminded me of how Matt might have been at the time of his conversion.  I tried to imagine him in his 60's now, and made a sort of composite of images of Matt Talbot and my recollection of the man from Lourdes.  The face developed rather quickly.  The paint is quite thin - not as layered as I normally would paint - and suddenly this face appeared, which startled me.  I don't know how I did it, where it came from, or how it came together so swiftly.

Anyway.  Quirky as it is, this is my third attempt to paint venerable Matt Talbot.

Terry Nelson's 2014 Image of Venerable Matt Talbot

Terry Nelson unveiled his new image of Venerable Matt Talbot today at http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-little-art-exhibition-for-our-lady-of.html.

      Ven. Matt Talbot by Terry Nelson, 2014

Terry’s narrative about this painting is available at http://upyourstreet.blogspot.com/?zx=ff8dc82b4705d20e, a portion of which is reproduced here:

”In this painting I depict Matt around the age he died, he is holding a rosary indicating his devotion to Our Lady and the means of his overcoming addiction.  I relied upon the sculpture of Matt in Dublin and the only known photo of him to capture the likeness I produced in my painting.  In the background is a facsimile or impression of Newcomen  Bridge crossing the Royal Canal, at the moment when he decided to stop drinking at the age of 28.  On the other side - as if completing the bridge - which symbolizes conversion, we see the door of a church, within Matt being embraced by Christ.  This is suggestive of the doctrine of St. Catherine of Siena who understood the cross - or rather Christ Crucified - as the bridge between men and God.”

His increasingly popular 2009 image of Matt Talbot is below:

Our previous posts about and by Terry can be found at http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search?q=terry+nelson

New Matt Talbot Icon by Terry Nelson Forthcoming

[On this eve of the 88th anniversary of the death of Venerable Matt Talbot, Terry Nelson has announced that he is creating a new icon of Matt at  http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2013/06/matt-talbot-eve.html.  He has previously created the increasingly popular icon of Matt pictured below.]

“Venerable Matt Talbot exemplified the heroic virtue of temperance. He practiced the Christian life more or less as a solitary, although he was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. The spiritual combat Talbot engaged in was associated with alcoholism, which in his case demanded the renunciation of a behavior, as well as an adjustment in lifestyle. 

Talbot overcame his attachment to the disorder through the practice of the virtues, prayer and fidelity to the duties of his state in life, and mortification.  He found support in the sacraments, spiritual direction and spiritual reading.  Although he 'took the pledge' to abstain from alcohol, he did not have a support group such as AA to aid in his recovery.  I especially admire Talbot's fortitude and perseverance, demonstrating that with God all things can be overcome... "In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall." 

Tomorrow, June 7 is the anniversary of his death.  Matt died in 1925.

I mention Matt Talbot today because I just started a new icon of him yesterday.  It is smaller than the one shown above, the new figure is a bust, cut off just below the hands.  My intention is to redo the head and face somewhat.  The image shown here is in a private collection.”