Born in 1977, Matthew Holt is educated and trained as a Medical Illustrator. His education includes Bachelor degrees in Art and Biology from Augustana College (1999) and a Master's degree in Biomedical Visualization from The University of Illinois at Chicago (2001).

Along with his career as a self-employed medical illustrator (since 2001), Holt has continued his passion for traditional art. Representational art is where his roots lie and it is within this broad spectrum for which he feels he can explore endlessly with his creative process. Often described as a tonalist and/or a naturalist, Holt actually utilizes a modified split primary palette of colors, mixing and searching for a harmony of greys. He feels that within the greys lies the poetry and magic in a piece.

Holt is most passionate about painting and drawing the figure but the challenge and joy of painting the landscape outdoors is a close second. He finds himself producing more plein air studies than anything else. This is mainly due to the availability of the outdoors vs. the availability and expense of a model. Exploring the abstract shapes and quiet subtleties in the midwest landscape, combined with a full four seasons, is exciting as it gives Holt the inspiration to paint outdoors all year round.