Valin Mattheis is a Concept Artist, Painter & Writer from California.
The Beckoning Void: Exploring the Intersection of Religion, Mythology, and Art
Bearers of the Mark
Valin Mattheis
Concept Artist, Painter & Writer
Artist Statement: "I have always drawn great inspiration from religious text, folklore, mythology, the stories playing out on glowing screens in pitch black rooms, the stories that make up our collective attempt to understand the whole grand and terrible cosmos, human life clinging to the damp rind of stellar ejecta. In my writing and painting I continually try to evoke (at least for myself) the wonder and horror I felt as a child, reading stories or watching movies just outside the grasp of understanding. I spent a long time in monastic training, and though the temple wasn't my final destination, the lessons learned informed my approach to everything in life, art especially. Thus was my fascination in youth, and remains my fascination now; the great churn of human striving, strange gods, wondrous mystery, and death."
Biography: Born in 1981, Valin Mattheis grew up amongst the rolling hills and gnarled oak trees of California’s central coast, whiling his days away collecting bones and training at the temple. As is the practice and tradition of his kind, he also spent all the time normally dedicated to bettering oneself and securing a place in respectable society endlessly drawing various terrible and inane monstrosities.
Dedicating himself to painting since 2008, Valin created the Strange Gods Art project in 2011 and took on creative writing in 2014. He moved to France in 2025 and continues to work on paintings, commissions and concept art as a full-time job.
Artist CV:
Periodical and Book Features, non exhaustive list-
-
Speak, False Machine, featured illustration on Chapter 6, by Patrick Stuart, 2023
-
魔法とミステリーのデザイン The Aesthetics of Design in Fantasy | Myth & Horror, BNN Publishing, 2023
-
The Tumblr Book, feature on Request Week practice, University of Michigan Press, by Allison McCracken, Alexander Cho, Louisa Stein, and Indira Neill Hoch, 2019
-
Esoteric Rites and Wonder in the World of Valin Mattheis, scene360 web magazine, 2017
-
Pillars: Golden Eitr, Anathema Publishing, 2013, vol 1 issue 2
Illustration work, non exhaustive list-
-
Trench Crusade, tabletop roleplaying game, Factory Fortress & Mike Franchina, 2025
-
Hollows, tabletop roleplaying game, Rowan, Rook and Decard, 2025
-
La Collection Maxbrown, board game, 2DSF, 2024
-
The secret music of Lily Dale, by Jill Tracy, 2022
-
The Varvaros Ascensions, by Forrest Aguirre, 2020
-
Dream House of the Nether Prince, DND book by Anthony Huso, 2020
Art shows-
-
“October After Dark” by Valin Mattheis – “Art After Dark” event, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2024
-
Pop-up exhibit by Valin Mattheis – Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist, San Francisco, CA, 2019
- “Fall Solstice” by Valin Mattheis – HI USA City Center, San Francisco, CA, 2019
-
Permanent rotating collection – HI USA City Center, San Francisco, CA, 2010 - 2019
Books and stories-
-
"Uncollected short series", self-published / digital only, 2021
-
"STGM: The Conclusion of the World and What Came After",
self-published, co written with Amandine Sosinski, 2020
To contact Valin directly: valin@strange-gods.com or use the Contact page.
Amandine Sosinski
Creative Strategist, Curator & Artist
French Imperator with the Midas touch, a powerful and relentless force upon the land. Amandine discovered Mattheis' work in 2015 and started collaborating with him in 2019, becoming his agent in 2020. Together, they forge the path ahead; books, art shows, content, stories. She occasionally works with other artists, curating art shows.
Former funeral director, growing up in a strongly spiritual environment and talking to those beyond the Veil, Amandine has her own artistic project, the "Feast of the Dead". She dreams of owning a cemetery that would be a crossroad between the nature of Death and an art venue but will accept any old manor in France to launch an artist residency.
Amandine studied History, Art History, Communications, Fine Arts, Museum Studies and Gallery Management.
To contact Amandine directly: amandine@strange-gods.com