"If you paint all the time, you can keep your prices low. I like to have a full price range, where a kid in high school can have one of my paintings," he said. "The important thing to know, when you're emerging, is that nothing changes. You still have to paint, no matter how good or great you get. As you're emerging, just remember that it's not like, all of a sudden, you're going to retire and sit back in coffee shops and be cool. You have to still be in your studio, alone, painting." Artist Matt Sesow served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Solomon Islands.
Matt Sesow gives advice to young artists
Emerging Artists Gain Publicity at Arts on Foot Cultural Festival
Sunday, September 21, 2008 :: infoZine Staff
By Astrid Munn - For artists aspiring to be commercially viable, getting their names out is vital, as everything else - sales, gallery shows and commissions - follows.
[Excerpt]
Although generating enough art to meet market demands may be one of the harder parts of launching a career, getting that art moving can be as simple as developing a Web site. That's the advice computer programmer-turned-full-time painter Matt Sesow, 42, has for artists new to the market.
"I would encourage emerging artists, if they want to get their name out there, to learn how to develop their own Web page and not rely on blogging or Facebook or MySpace to be their platform," he said.
"The important thing is to always have your work moving, and to always have new work up on your Web site. If you're doing 10 paintings a week or 10 paintings a month, make sure those 10 paintings are always up. Have your wet paintings go up that night."
The sign at Sesow's booth read, "Some happy paintings by Matt Sesow, Adams-Morgan, D.C. artist. No prints!"
And there were no prints. Sesow offered boxes and stacks of original oil and acrylic paintings that take a cue from Dutch-born American Expressionist Willem de Kooning. Sesow charges $5,000 for a painting shown at a gallery, but some of his offerings Saturday were $10 to $60. His colorful oil and acrylic paintings of aggressive faces with bulging eyes and bared teeth sold quickly. He later described the day's sales as one of the best over several years at the festival.
"If you paint all the time, you can keep your prices low. I like to have a full price range, where a kid in high school can have one of my paintings," he said. "The important thing to know, when you're emerging, is that nothing changes. You still have to paint, no matter how good or great you get. As you're emerging, just remember that it's not like, all of a sudden, you're going to retire and sit back in coffee shops and be cool. You have to still be in your studio, alone, painting."
