Classical Drawing & Oil Painting Instructor | Atelier-Trained Artist with 10+ Years of Teaching Experience Offers Rigorous, Technique-Focused Art Lessons in Ottawa

Matt is a good teacher. I spent three months in Ottawa during the winter and took art lessons for the first time in my life. I am now retired and it was a good experience to try doing something brand new.

I found Matt’s school through an online search and am very glad I did. Matt helped me prepare my portfolio for art school and was an invaluable mentor throughout the process. He is professional, friendly, and has a great sense of humor, making every class both productive and enjoyable. His knowledge of art is extensive, and under his guidance I greatly improved my sketching and oil painting skills. I highly recommend Matt to anyone looking to develop their artistic abilities.

I found Matt’s school through an online search and decided to take classes with him. Matt is a highly professional and knowledgeable instructor, and I learn something new in every lesson. He explains concepts clearly and provides helpful, constructive feedback. He is also kind, patient, and has a great sense of humor, which makes the classes enjoyable and engaging. I would highly recommend Matt to anyone looking to improve their artistic skills.

Matt has taught me more about the basics of oil painting and the visual arts in general than I've learned in dozens of other classes. He is passionate about the academic approach to art and is willing to explain the fundamentals, by demonstrating or in plain language. If you are looking for someone to teach you portraiture -- he's your guy.

Great teacher and very talented artist. He focuses on a traditional and academic approach to visual arts, but these approaches can be of immense value to all artists regardless of style. Encyclopedic technical knowledge of art materials. He can convey complicated concepts in easy to understand language and illustrations usually with the right dose of jocularity, which makes taking classes with him all the more enjoyable. Ive been taking courses with him on and off since 2017

I have known Matthew since 2020, but only started taking lessons since 2023 in his studio in person. I love his approach to teaching, where he really gives you full context of the concept you are stuck on and offers a demonstration that is easy to comprehend and replicate. He is also willing to tailor his approach to your needs and guides students to getting the best result. I really struggled with seeing values and hole filling my drawings, but Matt was understanding and patient enough to help me see where my struggles were and together we came up with an approach that was tailored to me to move forwards! You can't ask for a more understanding and dedicated teacher to both his craft and his students!

I’ve been taking drawing lessons in person with Matt since November of 2025. He breaks down academic drawing into the fundamentals easily and has been excellent at critiquing my work in a way that helps me fix my mistakes, get better at seeing them myself, and improve as an artist. I would highly recommend Matt if you want to improve your drawing or painting.

I've been studying under Matt since October 2025. His knowledge of drawing and painting techniques is unmatched, and what truly sets him apart is how much he cares about his students' success.

Matt doesn't just teach you how to draw or paint what you see — he trains your eye to truly observe. His mastery of representational realism comes through in every lesson and his ability to meet you at your level and guide you through the process has been extremely helpful. I've grown more as an artist under his guidance than I ever expected. Anyone would be lucky to learn from him.

Matt is a wonderful instructor with a wealth of knowledge in his discipline. I took a Charcoal Drawing Workshop with Matt and he showed me how to approach a drawing slowly and with patience and care. I don’t usually hang up my own artwork in my house, but I did hang up the portrait study I completed in Matt’s class.

I've been a student of Matt's on and off for many years now. With his help, I started oil painting (something that felt very intimidating on my own) and have significantly improved. His lessons are always tailored to each student's current level and goals, but always based on traditional drawing and painting techniques.