We recently connected with SUSANA MATA and have shared our conversation below.

SUSANA, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I first started painting I was not familiarize with the medium. It was difficult for me at first. I received lessons in different schools but the only person that taught me the basics was my drawing teacher. At the different schools, learning was very slow, too many people attending classes at the same time. Most of the teachers were artists who have to give lessons in order to earn a living. At the end, I learnt on my own, reading books and looking at the paintings of great artists in museums and galleries.
The skills essentials to paint are to learn the basic principles such as drawing, perspective etc, also to have patience and not to feel frustrated when things don’t come out the way you expect. Repetition is very important until you manage to master the materials you are using.
I found some obstacles in the way when learning, one of them was my own insecurity and also many teachers that were bad teachers and didn’t taught anything useful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am living in Barcelona, which is a very lively city. In this city there are many people dedicating themselves to creative fields. So there are a lot of painters or artists. I have an atelier in one of the highest neighbourhoods of Barcelona and work there every day. Sometimes I have to take up little jobs to come to ends because living on painting is quite difficult right now. But I go on doing it and don’t think about the future. For me, painting has become essential in my life, so even if I can’t make a living out of it, I continue painting. The main obstacle to is find galleries on exhibit my work, but every year I take part in some exhibitions. Most of my paintings are sold abroad through internet.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

I don’t really believe in Nfts. This year I visited the exhibition of Vermeer and the pleasure you can feel observing these original masterpieces is incomparable. You can feel them with your eyes, heart and soul. These feelings are not arouse when you look at a digital piece such as NFT. I have been offered to sell NFTs but I am not interested.

NFTs is a market creation, is speculation.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My particular goal is to have my own voice. No matter when, no matter how and how long it takes. This is a long-distance race and I feel strong enough to carry on. Painting is an adventure and I am an adventurous person.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.susanamata.com
• Instagram: susanamatagarcia