First and foremost, happy New Year to everyone!  Hopefully you all had a good Christmas break.  My Christmas was the best I've had so far.  My youngest is now 4 and my oldest is almost 7 so they were so excited about the whole thing.  We spent a lot of quality time together, which is the most important thing about the holidays.
 
A new year is a good time to reflect on the past but most importantly on the future.  I'm not a big fan of resolutions.  Normally they don't last and why wait for the New Year to change things? I don't think I have ever been so excited about the future. This is probably because 2011 was such a great year.  I'm extremely grateful to see where I am right now as an artist.  I often look back and reflect at what I was doing five years ago to see how much I've grown in my career.  This always motivates me to push the limits and do even greater things.
 
I have many projects planned for 2012 already.  Big things are about to happen in the upcoming months, which I will reveal when the time is right.  

One thing for sure, I will be having another Matt LeBlanc FUSION this fall.  The event was such a great evening and my goal was always to make it an annual event.  Some of you might want to see videos of the event.  The reveal of the big 12x12 painting was really amazing.  The video is only one minute long so make sure to check it out (link is below).   

I will also be celebrating my official five-year anniversary as a professional artist.  That means I will spoil you guys with some great giveaways.  At the end of the day it's all about you guys.  Without my fans and my clients, I wouldn't be where I am today and I'm forever grateful for that.
 
Happy New Year!
 
Matt

I'm delighted to announce that I've been working with the very talented and lovely Lisa Cannings from Toronto on two different episodes for a show call For Rent that is running on both the Canadian and US version of HGTV.  

Each design was unique and offered different challenges but we managed to get it done on time for the big reveals.  The show is running five different times in the next week and the next one is Saturday at 1:30 PM EST.  Click HERE to get all the details about the show.

Lisa was nice enough to provide her thinking process behind this project so here's what she wrote:

As the Production Designer on For Rent on HGTV, it's my job to assist the host Jodi Gilmour in creating great spaces for new renters in Toronto and beyond. When I got to know Bramilee and Bru, young hip newlyweds moving into their first home together (in fact, we transformed their space the weekend of their wedding!), I knew the art of Matt LeBlanc would be a perfect fit.

I gave Matt the sketch below and gave him specific colours in my palette. After giving him an approximate size I let him have free reign on what to create. Opening the painting when they arrived to me at the midtown Toronto apartment was just as much of a surprise for me as it was for the new renters. The colours are vibrant and the abstract design is a perfect fit for this urban couple.

I love collaborating with artists in any space I design- it's especially fun when they live in a different city and they rely only on my concept sketches as inspiration for the artwork. Art can play a major factor in the mood and direction of a room- and you will see what a focal point Matt's art is in Bramilee & Bru's living room. It really is a show stopper!