Life & Work with Matt Harline

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Harline.

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Matt Harline has been an artist all his life, but after high school he took a 41 year detour in life as an electrical / computer hardware engineer. In 2016 his life was literally turned upside down while riding a bicycle resulting in a traumatic brain injury. This ended his career as an electrical engineer, and launched him back to the path he had always dreamed of, creating works of art.

In 2018 he lost his art studio to a wildfire in Northern California’s Butte County. These moments, and others, have contributed to Matt’s desire to inspire others approach life with optimism, to embrace the things that they can do, and to stretch their limits.

In 2022 another concussion led to an MRI and finding a benign brain tumor which was surgically removed, followed by six and a half weeks of radiation treatments. During those treatments, Matt kept a journal of paintings to record his experience, which then became a book, “Radiation Road”.

Matt’s experience with journaling led him to a non-profit organization that provides support and programs for people undergoing treatment for cancer or other trauma. He now teaches a monthly class on journaling with pen and watercolor.

Matt’s time is filled with drawing and painting, teaching the monthly watercolor journaling class, and regularly leading children on tours of the Crocker art museum in Sacramento, California. He is also on the board of directors for the Head Trauma Support Project of Sacramento, an organization that provides support group services for people with brain injuries.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is an invisible condition. You cannot tell by looking at me that I have had a significant brain injury or a brain surgery. I look and speak normally… until I cannot. Each brain injury is different. In my case, I have to deal with brain fatigue after a short period of mental or physical effort. While creating works of art, is a calming effort, I find that after an hour, my brain stops functioning, and it tells me when I have had enough by forcing my eyes to close. I need to pause, set things aside, and take what I call a “Brain Break”. It is not always convenient, but I have found that without those breaks, I over work my brain and it can take a day or two of rest (doing nothing) to recover. Better to take frequent brain breaks during the day, than to crash and burn for two days.

This has led to a couple of outcomes. First, I have a collection of paintings that reflect how I am feeling, to help others understand what a brain injury is all about. Second, I am limited in how fast I can start and complete a painting. I have a long list of work that I want to do, but brain strength to do it is limited. Third, I have a desire to help others understand the challenges and obstacles in life that a person with a brain injury has to deal with. The combination of these things is pushing me to prepare for an exhibit focused on my brain injury artwork.

I see obstacles as a path to opportunity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
While going through radiation treatments after brain surgery, I kept a journal, both words and paintings. Each day I would think about what was it about today that I needed to remember. That led to a great deal of introspection, meditation, and mindfulness. Then, how can I represent these feelings in my words and my paintings? It drew me into myself to help me find who I really am, and to represent that in my artwork.

I also find strength in trees. They grow tall, live a long time, and take a beating from the winds and storms around them. The lose leaves and branches, and grow back. Drawing and painting trees provides me with peach and calm. It is how I relax. My favorite tree is the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine. It doesn’t grow tall like the redwood, or create shade like an oak, but it lives a long time (the oldest known tree is nearly 5,000 years old), and it is strong, and it survives all sorts of calamities in a less than ideal environment. It has adapted to where it lives and makes the most of it. That is what I want to do with my own life.

I mentioned before that in 2018 I lost my art studio in a wildfire in Northern California (the same fire that destroyed the city of Paradise). When I returned to my studio to see the damage that was done, I knew that I would have to start over. Everything I had done previously was now my “practice round”. I thought of a song from an old Disney movie about “From the Ashes of Disaster Grow the Roses of Success”, and I thought to start looking for the roses. I collected charred wood from the remains of my studio and put it in a bucket. I scraped off the charred wood, grounded it up into powder with a mortar and pestle, and made my own pigment. I made watercolor paint from that pigment. I have experimented with adding that pigment in with my acrylic paint. It does amazing things. And now, most of my paintings include a little bit of my burned down art studio.

What are your plans for the future?
I have big plans, but struggle to have the brain energy and stamina to do all that I want to do.

In the short term, I am planning and preparing for an art exhibit on brain injuries. In this exhibit I will show my artwork, some of my writings, along with the artwork and writings of others with brain injuries, and to self publish a book, “The Art of Brain Injury” consisting of the art, stories and poems from this exhibit. I hope to invite the community to learn about brain injuries, and to provide resources for those that have experienced brain injuries.

After that, I hope to continue to create paintings that speak to the strength of people and the strength of nature.

I am considering showing my work in a local gallery, and I participate in local art shows and studio tours. I hope to reach more people with my message of strength and adaptation, and provide inspiration to people that have challenges in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.HuesOfTheWorld.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattharline/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjharline.art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-harline/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjharline
• Other: https://www.threads.net/@mattharline

Image Credits
Matt J Harline