Featured Guest

Tom Sierak
www.tomsierak.com

"Salute!"
Pastel

It's All About Arts

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Give us a brief bio of yourself.
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T.S. - "Painting tomorrow’s memories today”... that’s how Tom Sierak likes to describe his pastel paintings. He says, “People often talk about the good ol’ days, and how nice it would be to return to them. I think the times we are living now are good ol’days...of tomorrow. Places and things may change around us, but the bond that exists between children, parents, and grandparents never does. I try to convey a message of warmth and emotion, and hope these late 20th century portraits of American life some day become the viewer’s window to the past.” The New Englander’s medium of choice is pastels. He feels that they’re just starting to receive widespread recognition. Tom says, “I favor pastels because I’m able to draw and color simultaneously, and I love to draw. It’s a great combination for me.”

A Graduate of the former Vesper George School in Boston, Tom’s work is published worldwide as wall prints, greeting cards, puzzles, cross stitch kits, note cards, & collector plates, to name a few. His work has been the featured cover story in The Artist’s Magazine. His paintings have appeared on numerous covers of Reminisce magazine, a national publication with a nostalgic theme, and in Ideals magazine, which features art and poetry.
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What is your medium?
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T.S. - Pastels. I also refer to them as "dry oil paints". Pastels are made from the same pigments used for oil paints. A binding agent is added to create a chalk-like stick, which is applied to a textured surface, usually paper. Available in many vibrant colors, pastels maintain their just-painted look indefinitely, unlike oils, which can crack and darken over time. It’s an unfamiliar medium to many people, and I’d like to do my part to help change that.

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How long have you been doing your art?
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T.S. On a full time basis now for about 12 years. Before that I painted on and
off while I also performed as a touring musician/performer.
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Do you make a living at your art and what advice would you give someone who would like to do the same?
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T.S. I make a living with my art now. It's not easy, but it can be done. It's necessary to decide as an artist whether you want to only offer original paintings/works. If you're capable of producing a number of works over the course of a year, and can get a comfortable price for them, it's quite possible to make a good living being an artist.

If you work slowly, and only produce a limited number of works, it's probably going to be necessary to supplement the originals with published and licensed products. This is the route I chose to take, and while it does take a lot of time and effort, it has turned out to be well worthwhile. The income from royalties, licensing fees for use of my work, and print sales, more than supplements the income from the sale of original works.

If you elect to go the publishing/licensing route with your work, I recommend going to major art publishing/licensing trade shows that take place around the country throughout the world. A number of these shows have websites where detailed information is available. Art Expo New York, Surtex, and Decor Expo are a few of the shows I would recommend. Attend these shows as an observer. Take copius notes on which publishers you feel your work would fit with. Ask for a card and contact person (very important) for submitting your work to. Don't take up a lot of the exhibitor's time though, as they're paying major $ to be at these shows to sell, not be solicited. Just remember to be brief and to the point in this scenario.

As far as submitting work to pulbishers and licensing companies...make sure you have a professional letterhead, business card, and representation of your work. Ten to fifteen images (photos are fine) are a good sampling to present to any publisher. If they like what they see, they'll let you know with a phone call. If they don't, they'll let you know with a form letter that says, "thanks, but no thanks". Be prepared for rejections, because you will get them (I have a stack of them myself), but don't let get discouraged. Just work harder to perfect what you do and keep submitting your work.

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What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
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T.S. Getting name & work recognition & making a living off their art. There simply is no easy answer to this question. Connecting with strong marketing entities, including original galleries, publishers, and licensing companies is certainly helpful in achieving exposure for an artist.

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What art related organizations do you belong to?
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T.S. I am a former member of Knickerbocker Artist's of New York, and have been involved with other more noted associations including The Pastel Society of America. I am also involved with a several local art associations.