About the Artist
Matthew Alan Chapel, known by friends and family as Mac, is an American oil painter living and working in Wonder Valley, California.
Born in 1990 and raised in Laguna Beach, Matthew developed an appreciation for creativity, craftsmanship, and the natural world at an early age. Growing up along the Southern California coast, he spent much of his youth surfing, exploring the outdoors, drawing, and building things by hand. While painting remained a constant throughout his life, the pull of adventure often led him toward experiences outside the studio.
After attending Laguna College of Art + Design and studying art through independent coursework and community college classes, Matthew chose a less traditional path. Rather than pursuing a formal academic career, he continued his education through experience, travel, work, and daily practice. Over the years he worked in commercial fishing, carpentry, equipment finance, and served four years in the United States Marine Corps before ultimately deciding to dedicate himself fully to painting.
In the summer of 2025, Matthew left the corporate world to pursue oil painting as a profession. Although relatively new to the professional art scene, creating has been a lifelong pursuit. His work draws inspiration from people, landscapes, faith, memory, and the enduring relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through large-scale oil paintings, he seeks to explore both the visible and invisible forces that shape our lives.
Matthew is particularly inspired by art’s ability to create a positive ripple effect beyond the canvas itself. He believes that a single work of art can spark conversation, inspire reflection, build community, and ultimately contribute to causes greater than the artist. This belief has led him to support organizations such as The Art of Elysium and Folded Flags Foundation, whose missions align with his conviction that creativity can be a powerful force for service, healing, education, and opportunity.
Since retiring from the Marine Corps and purchasing Sky Fire Ranch in 2020, Matthew has lived in the Mojave Desert, where he paints from his studio while continuing the restoration of a 1957 desert homestead. The property itself has become an extension of his artistic practice, with much of the work designed and built by hand. The solitude, vastness, and quiet beauty of Wonder Valley continue to influence both his artwork and his way of life.
Today, Matthew continues to develop a body of work inspired by faith, craftsmanship, service, nature, and the contemporary American West, with the hope that the work he creates will leave a meaningful impact both inside and beyond the gallery walls.
