Matthew Richards was born in December of 1978, the oldest of three children. Although he was born in Albany Georgia, he only lived there for the first year of his life. He would soon grow accustomed to moving on a frequent basis. His father was in the Marine Corps. and every three years the whole family would pick up and move--often across the country. Their many homes included California, Georgia, Okinawa Japan, and North Carolina.

Matthew's parents decided that it would be a lot easier on their children if they were taught at home instead of switching schools every three years. Because of this, Matthew and his two sisters were homeschooled practically their entire lives. Their curricula focused on their special interests--for Matthew this was art. During his childhood, he illustrated the stories of his sister, drew numerous caricatures, and created digital art for the family newsletter.

As a boy, his artwork appeared in the children's magazine Highlights For Children. He also won two national drawing contests. One was sponsored by the Sunbeam Bread Co. and Crayola for the best artistic depiction of the State of Georgia. The other was sponsored by AT&T in honor of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games.

When it reached time for Matthew to graduate highschool, he took the high school equivalency test (GED) and began attending Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, NC. While here, he took a class in artistic drawing. His experience was such a positive one, that he would go on to major in art at East Carolina University. He is currently attending ECU, majoring in Art History, with a practical focus in photography and studio arts. He will be graduating in May of 2003 with a Bachelor's in Arts Degree. He anticipates working as a newspaper photographer.

Some of his earliest art appears on this website, including a few illustrations from the story "Life on Planet X" written by his sister Christy. Matthew drew these pictures when he was 11 years old. Later pictures demonstrate Matthew's increasing talent. The photographs represented on this website were created during Matthew's years at East Carolina University.