OK Kitten Books
Children's books with the same colourful, character-driven style as the paintings, for young readers and the grown-ups reading along.
How it happened.
1975, Toronto
Matthew Hatt was born in Toronto in 1975 and grew up in New Minas and Gold River, Nova Scotia.
Grade 10, kitchens
He left school in grade 10 and spent years working in professional kitchens across Halifax and the South Shore, rising to Sous Chef. Cooking was his creative outlet before painting existed for him.
2004
He moved in with his grandmother, helping her as much as she'd allow.
2006
Matthew was diagnosed with a mental illness. He kept making art and music through it, and that work became his full time career.
Painting
His sessions move fast. Erratic scribbles, quickly paced strokes, no second-guessing the mark. His work hangs in homes across Canada and as far as China, and it has influenced a new generation of artists. He also creates digital art, carrying the same characters and colour into wearable pieces through Strange Piece Clothing.
Sound and story
Music came along at the same time as the painting. The two are separate practices but share the same instinct. As a producer he works in experimental IDM. He also writes children's books for OK Kitten Books, drawing on things he experienced growing up in Nova Scotia.