Matthew Shipley
Instagram: @shipleyillustration
What is your story of fascination with football?
Like with drawing I started playing football when I was a kid and I found that both are things I couldn’t live without. I love drawing football related stuff because the poses are dynamic and the stories and characters are compelling.
Do you create football art professionally or is it a hobby?
I used to be a freelance illustrator full time drawing all sorts of things including football, but I now work for a children’s furniture company as a designer/illustrator and also do some freelance work on the side. In my free time I’m currently working on a football themed board game that I’m really excited about. It’ll include illustrations by myself, Dan Evans, VIctor Bizar Gomez and hopefully some other illustrators I admire.
What football event or story has made an unforgettable impression on you?
Some football moments that I’ll never forget are the Arsenal League Cup game vs Reading, Barca’s Champions League comeback vs PSG and the whole Spain run from 2008-2012 was great. I’ll also never forget the struggle of finding streams for games in a country where it hasn’t always been so easy to watch games!
Do you attend the stadium, and if so, which team’s matches do you try to get to?
I’ve been a FC Barcelona fan since the Ronaldinho and early FIFA video game days. I also support Arsenal and Dortmund. As a fan from the states I just find it more fun to have a team in each league to follow. I play much more than I go to games, but I watch as much as I can on TV. I grew up around Philadelphia and they didn’t get a team until after I left home so I never really made a connection to MLS, but I’m always happy to see them doing well and get to work with them.
What are your interests besides football and art?
I have two kids and another on the way so that keeps my wife and I pretty busy, but I enjoy basketball, darts, bodysurfing, board games and all things comedy.
Could you highlight a few of your works that make you especially proud and explain why?
I’m really proud of the children’s books I’ve illustrated that have been published, there’s B is for Baller (basketball), G is for Golazo (football) and S is for Slugger (baseball). They are children’s ABCs books that are a lot of fun. Not many people get to publish books so I’m really proud of that work.
I’m proud that despite how I might feel about the football club that I got to work with Chelsea FC. It’s cool to say that I got to work with a Premier League Football Club and I’d love to do it more. I’ve also enjoyed getting to work with MLS.
I’m proud of the work I’ve done for The Athletic and other editorial work I’ve done. It’s always fun to get an article and try to make something clever to accompany that article.
I’m proud of a lot of personal work and commissions I’ve done. It’s really cool that people would come to me for my art work. And it just feels good when a piece comes out just right.
Who are your favourite football artists?
Love Dan Evans' work, which is why I am so thrilled to have him working on my board game, but Dan does so much more than just football art and it’s all great. There are lots of great artists in the football art space that I admire so I’d be remiss to try and name all of them.
Share a funny story that happened to you personally or that you witnessed (not necessarily related to football).
I played some pickup earlier this week and brought my 5 yr old son with me to hang out and watch. He saw that we were playing shirts and skins and decided to take off his shirt even though I was not on the skins team. He picked the right side to back though because I did not play great and we got worked. The food and the milkshakes after did help to make up for it though.