Matt Stebly has put his mark on the art world through a particular medium: tattooing. Stebly regularly creates masterpieces on skin at his studio, Twisted Anchor Tattoo & Fine Art Gallery in Downtown Ocean Springs. From the point of his needle great blue herons take flight, flowers blossom, and alligators sun themselves on the skin of art collectors. He also paints and draws, often using tattoo ink as pigment.

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Some say that Stebly’s talent is “in his blood,” stemming from the work of his great-grandfather, Walter Inglis Anderson. Although the creative impulse may course through his veins, Stebly has found his own individual style inspired by the talents of his family, his natural environment, and the work of other coastal artists.

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Stebly began his career as an apprentice at a tattoo shop when he was twenty-one. In 2012, he opened Twisted Anchor and moved it to its current location in the heart of Downtown Ocean Springs in 2016. He states that he wanted to create a space that felt safe and comfortable, enabling his employees to progress and develop as artists and tattooers.

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Bloodlines includes paintings, drawings, preparatory materials, and photography celebrating Stebly's unique body or work and the history of tattooing in the Gulf South. 

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Stebly’s artwork, on paper and skin, transcends what one typically expects of fine art. His bold, lively images weave from scenes of wildlife to nautical folklore and become intimate aspects of their person. Through his artwork, Stebly creates perfectly encapsulated worlds of color with the fluidity of a brush and the precision of a needle. We invite you to explore the work of Matt Stebly in this exhibition; revel in the color, explore the lines of his legacy, and expand your concept of fine art.