TulsaPets Magazine November 2023

November / December 2023 • TulsaPets 9 PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE Magically Mischievous Matt Moffett’s Dog Is His Artistic Muse by Jennie Lloyd | Photos by Kara Hamilton T he life path of artist, educator, and advocate Matt Moffett changed after one of his first dogs died traumatical- ly. He wanted something to remember his dog by — a painting to commemorate his life after a tragic death. But to his chagrin, Moffett could find no one to help him with this quest. At the time, in the late 1990s, there weren’t many artists working in the Tulsa area at all, he says, and almost none who took commissions for paintings of dogs. “I went to everybody asking if they knew somebody who paints dogs,” he says. “There were a few.” But most couldn’t do the work postmortem or required lots of good photographs — which Moffett didn’t have. He searched Oklahoma City and Kansas City for an artist who could paint his dog and help him honor his life. “I finally went down to Dallas,” Moffett says, “and I found out about this woman who painted dog portraits. I was excited, I went to her studio, and she was like, ‘Yeah, I paint dogs. That’ll be $14,000.’ ” He says, “I was so heartbroken. While I was driving back home, I thought, ‘I’m gonna do this myself.’ So when I got back here to Tulsa, I went straight to Ziegler’s.” Moffett asked the staff at the art and frame shop how to use oil paints and which canvases to buy. When he began his endeavor, he was in his mid-twenties, working as an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa. “My generation was taught you can’t make a living on art. I thought I’d be responsible and get a job as a teacher,” he says. But Moffett had to paint this dog. And when he did, he revealed in himself an incredible natural talent and passion for painting. Since then, he has become well known for his vibrant, whimsical style and as much for his lively animal portraits as his playful renditions of Tulsa landmarks. He believes in creating gorgeous, afford- able, approachable art. Before he took on painting full time, Moffett taught Spanish and then art class- es. Next he cofounded the Tulsa Girls Art School, which he ran for a decade. Now, more than two decades later, “Here we are,” Matt Moffett and Prudence share a life of art and whimsy.