Medium/Specialty:
Painting and printmaking. Most recently, encaustic painting (wax) and oil and mixed media printmaking. I have an etching press on Cape Cod, where I print all summer, and I paint (etc.) all winter. I find this routine of changing media tends to refresh my work.

Noted experience/Bio:
I love that my piece "Twelve Linear Feet" is the biggest piece in the City Hall Art Collection. And that my work is in the collections of non-profits ranging from the Sentencing Project to the Union of Concerned Scientists to the Society of Association Executives. Who says art doesn't bring diverse people together?

Lately, I've done some curating, which is challenging and fun. I enjoy how it requires me to really look at the work of others on its own terms and to try to understand why certain pieces do or don't work well together. It really is a mysterious alchemy.

Also, I started a blog about a year ago, now called GessoHead.org, and I just love it. I did it to force myself to get out and see more art, particularly outside of the official DC arts-industrial complex and I think of it as a diary. I use it to think through my responses to what I see in a more careful way.

FA: Pricing ones artwork has always been somewhat of a dilemma for most artists. What method do you use for pricing your artwork?
EW: You mean beyond the arbitrary? It is hard - you can't be too low or it shows disregard for the value of your own work and too high is both delusional and counter-productive if your goal is to sell some work. It depends to some extent on your venue - if you're in a gallery, your prices will reflect the other artwork in there to some degree; there has to be a rational relationship. But understand that once you set a standard, whether in a gallery, on a website or your own studio, you can't diverge widely from that. You can't be selling similar art for very different prices at the same time or you will make your potential customers/galleries angry. You do want to go up over time, of course, as the market allows.

FA: What are some of the difficulties/challenges or mistakes that you have experienced being a fine artist?
EW: I guess the hardest part was coming to understand that one never really knows what will attract buyers. This is the most subjective of worlds and you have to learn to live with rejection. I think it is a deadly mistake to set out to make art that people will buy and/or to keep repeating yourself when you have found a formula that people like. If it doesn't come from inside you, it will be and look dishonest.

FA: Besides from the quality of your artwork, what do you feel has attributed to your level of success thus far?
EW: I kept on making art, lots of art, and I showed in a lot of venues - at the beginning, I didn't turn a reasonable opportunity down because you never know what will come of having your work out where it can be seen. It's better than having it sit in your studio. I know there are people who disagree with this - and remember, I said "reasonable" venue - but I think it worked for me.

FA: What advice would you give to artists trying to make a career in fine art?
EW: If you believe that you have the chops/personality/whatever to be one of the few artists who makes a good living on sales of artwork alone, think seriously about getting an MFA from the best program you can get into. I'm not saying it will necessarily make you a better artist, but it can get you the credentials and contacts to enter the top echelon.

Otherwise, keep working. Make lots and lots of art and don't show it to galleries until you have a coherent body of work and a voice that is distinct. As I said above, take opportunities to show in alternative spaces, group venues, juried shows. Something that a surprisingly large number of aspiring artists don't do is visit the galleries and art spaces in your town regularly. That is just inexcusable. Go to openings. Meet your peers and the gallery owners. Get involved in what's going on. You won't get invitations unless people know who you are.

Work can be seen at  www.eweissart.com and www.GessoHead.org