Matthew Norman About the Artist... I think I always expected at some point to set up my studio in Nags Head and make paintings of the Outer Banks.  I grew up in Plymouth and my mother's and father's families lived in the flat farms and swamplands of the Albemarle area from the time of the first English settlers.  So, although most of my life has been spent in a number of other places, I always longed to return to this area and brought my family here for our vacations most summers over the years. My mother, herself an artist, encouraged my early inclinations to draw and paint, and I studied with a local artist as well.  I chose a working career of business and computer technology, completing an MBA at UNC, but continued to paint and work in other media, including pottery and stained glass, and to study art.  I studied portraiture at the National Academy of Art in Washington, D.C., drawing with Howard Regovan at the University of Iowa, and visual design with painter Joe Cox at NC State School of Design. My computer career presented opportunities for long-term assignments to design, install, and serve as administrator for computer systems for the medical school hospitals of the University of North Carolina and of the University of Iowa.  After these assignments I completed a Master's in architecture at the School of Design, training which gave me a stronger sense of structure and perspective and which greatly enhanced my perception of detail. Subsequently, having studied Arabic in college and the Army Language School, I ventured to the Middle East, where I lived and worked in Kuwait, consulting on computer systems, and painting.  After returning to Raleigh I had two shows, a major retrospective in the Beckanna Recreation Room and an exhibit of paintings on the theme of Gertrude's Garden at the West Side Gallery.  (Gertrude Jekyll was the landscape designer for many projects of English architect, E. L. Lutyens.)  I also did a show of paintings of Old Towne at Riverview Gallery up in Portsmouth, VA, in the winter of '99.  For several  years I also had the fortunate opportunity to teach various courses in the Art Department of the College of the Albemarle, including drawing, painting, art history and computer art. Since moving to Nags Head I have been excited by the endless subject matter here, the ocean and all the activities surrounding it, the old cottages and Nags Head landmarks, the wildlife, especially the birds, the wonderful people, and the beautiful light and color of the Outer Banks.  These are the things I have been painting.  I have continued to do portraits over the years, and am happy that they have been well received here also. I work in various media, though mostly in oils, including monochrome portrait sketches, as well as full color renderings.  My work on the Outer Banks has been represented by entries in a number of shows since my move, in several of which I have won prizes. Contact PO Box 478 Nags Head, NC  27959 (252) 573-9699 matthew@normanstudio.com Studio/Gallery (by appointment: mid-September thru mid-May) 3110 South Virginia Dare Trail (11 MP) Nags Head, N. C.