Most folks shy away from the use of pastels, especially men, however Matt Crump’s rich pastels photographic manipulations prove otherwise,  proof he has embraced the use of pastels and is producing some incredible works of art that are downright delicious.

Wikipedia describes; 

“Pastels or pastel colours are the family of colours which, when described in the HSV colour space, have high value and low to intermediate saturation. The name comes from pastels, art media characteristic of this colour family. The colours of this family are usually described as “soothing”,”soft”, “near neutral”, “milky”, “washed out”, “desaturated”, and lacking strong chromatic content.

Pink, mauve, and baby blue are typical pastel colours.”

Everyone knows I’m big on pink and pastels, and if you don’t, well now you do! I feel and believe there is so much strength in these types of colours that paired with black or other colours, shades, and tones of opposite value or slight variation on the colour wheel, they are downright sexy and awe inspiring.

I discovered this guy through Adobe’s Create online magazine of which I subscribe to, and I’m very glad I do. Not only do I get to learn little tips and tricks, but I get exposed to some very talented folks out there in the “cyberverse”. 

It looks as though Matt has truly found out how to utilize Instagram and all it’s features to not only showcase his work, but get contracts through the platform as well. Companies come to him, and PAY him to do real work. A sharp contrast to the barrage of selfies we see plastered about.

As an art director in advertising, his work is fresh and alive, grabbing your attention for a well worth it look. Adobe’s Terri Stone writes of him having “no formal training in photography, he brings key skills from his previous career. He composes his still-life shots as carefully as a designer composes a page. “As an art director, you spend all day coming up with ideas for commercials and advertisements,” he explains, “so I was in the habit of thinking of ideas before I produced something. Now I imagine what the scene will be before I make it.” 

Thankfully he’s into sharing his work with the masses, and with an Instagram account not to far from 200 000 followers, I think those followers would tend to agree. He’s in control of his brand, from all aspects, and the consistency shows in all of his work.

I suggest you have a look at his work for some beautifully bright takes on still life’s that are pretty amazing.