We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Sesow. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.
Matt, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I had been working as a software engineer since graduating college in 1988. In 2001, after layoffs at the “dot com” business I was working at, I decided to live off the sale of my paintings as a full-time artist. I had been selling my paintings as a hobby when I began painting for the first time as an adult in 1994. Since 2001 I have worked hard to live entirely off the sales of my paintings.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I started painting in 1994 as a way to socialize and spend time with a new group of people I had met in Washington, DC. This was when I was 28 years old and I had not done any painting before that time. One of the subjects I began to explore through my early paintings was the feelings I had regarding a childhood accident that resulted in the amputation of my left/dominant hand when I was eight. I had been playing with some friends in 1975 near a small airport and was struck by the propeller of a landing plane. The accident and events surrounding it make for a compelling story and using art to express what happened to me has helped me heal and deal with much of the “trauma”. I don’t use or depict the events around my disability much more. A few of the attributes that set my work apart from others is the quantity of work sold (over 15,000 paintings sold) and the affordable prices. I now work independently without gallery or agent representation.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
For ten years, beginning in 2003 I started a project, “31 Days in July”, in which I created an original painting that was 30″ x 40″ in size and was inspired by the Washington Post print edition morning paper. There were no days off, no backyard barbecues with friends, no “4th of July fireworks”… and at the end of July for 10 years straight I had created 31 original large paintings that related to current events. Overall the project consisted of 310 paintings and all are now part of private collections or in museums. Another interesting aspect of the project is that I was newly dating a fellow DC artist, Dana Ellyn, who I challenged to partake in the project on day one. Dana completed the project as well and we ended up getting married in 2010 at the opening of one of our exhibitions in Washington, DC.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I was originally told and followed the idea that I needed to exhibit in galleries, provide exclusivity to some, and to have my art priced high. I’ve been creating my work and selling it for almost 30 years now and realize I am the only expert on my life and my story. A gallery is interested in making money… I am interested in continuing to create new art and tell my story until I die while supporting myself with the sales of my art. I have seen many times how artists start selling their work at high prices and then have to slow down their output in order to create the illusion of demand or rarity. I would be bored out of my skull and quite unhappy if I couldn’t be painting because I needed to keep my prices high. I love nothing much more that getting my original paintings into the homes of people that like my work. I spend every Sunday packaging up over 10 sales a week and shipping them around the world on Monday mornings. I live with my wife Dana in an 800 sq ft. apartment in downtown Washington, DC that also serves as both of our studios. The apartment studio space is divided by Ikea bookcases and soundproofing tiles. We sleep in a bunk bed. I am 56 years old. In a way I have also had to unlearn the ideas of mass consumption, a large house, a car, kids, the “American Dream”.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://new.sesow.com
- Instagram: @sesow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sesow
- Twitter: @sesow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/mattsesow
- Other: https://linktr.ee/sesow https://www.pinterest.com/sesow/
Image Credits
Matt Sesow