Flo was born in the tiniest country in South America, El Salvador. Known for it’s poverty, violence and corruption, El Salvador is also less known as a serious surf destination. Flo made her way to the States and ended up here in Duluth and is attending St. Scholastica.
“ I went to a bilingual school in El Salvador where saying that you were competitive was not only an understatement, but was implied. I’ve been painting since I was 7 years old. I started with oil base paint. I painted fruits, flowers and landscapes. By age 14 I hated flowers and I hated painting. Going to school with a lot of competitive students and being insecure didn’t really drive me to express myself creatively.”
Then Flo met her mentor and fellow Duluth artist Sarah Brokke.
“After that I wanted to breathe, live, be and create art.”

Flo’s current mediums of choice are sharpies, crayons, colored pencils, print making and watercolors, but favors a couple in particular.
“Print-making really speaks to my heart because it challenges the viewer and creator to reverse the laws of drawing. It’s a stand off between negative and positive space as well. Sharpies would be my second favorite as they’re cheap and really fun to use.”
Flo is inspired and driven by her family heritage and Mayan culture and tradition. Other inspirations include Yves Klein, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali.

“What do all those people have in common? Color! They are all masters in manipulating color to achieve emotions.
You can see more of Flo’s work at www.cargocollective.com/FMatamoros and fmatamoros.carbonmade.com. Flo can be contacted at fmatamor@ccs.edu for original works or prints.