Matteo Miles Interview – The Athenaeum Press at CCU

Matteo Miles: My name is Matteo Miles. I’m 28, I live in Greenville, South Carolina, and I’m a full-time artist, painter, specifically in murals. So it helps you do murals and kind of travel to other areas of the region and the country as well.

Haley Hansen: Are you self-employed?

Matteo Miles: Yes, I am.

Haley Hansen: Can you say, like, what your typical workday is?

Matteo Miles: So typically, what I’ll do is kind of start off by either answering emails or DMs of, like, inquiries, and just get those out of the way. And probably just, most of the time, it’s answering questions, especially for people who haven’t had any mural work done specifically, is what the business is that I’m doing right now. So I’ll respond to those, and either get people scheduled or, you know, kind of giving the information. And then after that, I’ll go in and work on some proposals that may be required for people that have moved forward in getting a mural done, whether that be getting together a vision board full of ideas, taking measurements, or doing the designs and drawings, and kind of going back and forth. And I call that pretty much the whole like planning process of it. And then if I have anything going on that day, any projects to start, then I’ll probably go on-site to wherever I’m working on, whether that be a restaurant or a hotel, and then kind of mapping out and prepping the space, if it isn’t day one for a project. But I typically like to at least try to work on at least two or three murals a month, and sometimes they will overlap. But that can get kind of chaotic, depending on the project, and what it could require. But on a typical day, during the week, if, if I’m not actively on-site at a project, it’ll just be kind of the administration stuff with planning and drawing. Takes up a lot of that time. How did you get started painting murals? So I got started painting murals, pretty much a transition from doing canvas work. So I’m assuming this is just like another part of the question, another question kind of talking about how I got into it. But I always started doing murals was I worked at a hotel over here in Greenville, South Carolina, and I was bartending and they had this big chalk wall in their lobby space that someone else had initially done when the hotel opened. And that person, you know, wasn’t able to come back. So I was like, oh, well, I, you know, was already doing chalk signage for Starbucks and stuff like that. So I was like, why not give it a go. So since then, I was able to change it out and rotate the themes, and along with the seasons with the artwork. So with that in mind, it became public art. So I was able to present that, you know, pretty much for free, and then you know, I would get paid to just change it out. But through that, I was able to get other people reading my name, and then kind of looking me up and asking me to come to their space, or, you know, if they said they had chalk murals and whatnot, or a permanent mural, and that’s kind of how it got started with kind of, you know, networking and getting other opportunity for larger walls and not just on canvas.

Haley Hansen: Did you have any education in visual arts, or were you self taught?

Matteo Miles: I was self taught for the majority of the time. Of course, throughout grade school or high school, I would take the art classes required, or like AP, any kind of advanced, you know, exercise that I could get with it, because I just, I loved it. I was always drawing since the second grade and, just, any reason to not do other homework. And just to, and just focus on like, whatever required any kind of art, whether that be like science class and stuff like that. And then through high school, there was a institution called the Fine Arts Center. That was for high schoolers, kind of like a magnet trade school to get people started into college as well, but this one just focused on arts and liberal and music and stuff like that. And so after that, I did a couple years at Greenville Technical School over here, and that focused on, that had an incredible art program. But I did that for a couple of years, and that really helped me get a better gauge on the community, and like my mentors, including professors, and, you know, people who are really trying to take it more seriously and engage, you know, their own work into real life and into career aspect. So, that definitely helped me take it more seriously. Of course, it got a little bit heavy with trying to regulate, you know, I was living on my own already and then I had two jobs and stuff like that. So it was a lot to carry. But it really was manageable. You know, it was just you learn a lot about discipline and, you know, what art school or whatever you’re focusing on in creative work requires. But it really did help having like my mentors and the professors there kind of guiding me. I did have to take a break for about a year just to focus on work, but I was still selling my own personal freelance canvas stuff, and I eventually returned back to finish up my studies.And then after that, went to mortuary school for a few years, worked in a funeral home, and decided that my passion took even further a backseat. And I wasn’t really making art anymore. And then after that is when I found that hotel opportunity to do public art. And I’m like, “Well, let me just jump on this and see where that goes.” And over a span of maybe about three years, where I’m at now, I was able to kind of kickstart you know, going full time and, but learning every day about everything, and then everyone else in that community. Yeah.

Haley Hansen: You said that you’ve pretty much been, like, artistic your whole life. But was there one defining moment where you realized that you could and you wanted to make a career out of that? Matteo Miles: There was in, I’d say it started in about middle school, when I would do art, or participate in art shows, I just had more of a business mindset, like track on it. So that was all I was determined to do was to really make it into a business and say, “I want to make a living off of this, I can’t do it by you know, just appreciating my own work.” Of course, I appreciate my own work, but just to be realistic. And I tried to share that concept with other people, then, you know, our professors as well, just so people didn’t think that the super high privileged could be the only ones being able to make art today as an adult in our generation. So I think that’s something that we all work on in education at the moment just to make everyone aware about that. Haley Hansen: What would you say the biggest adjustment or challenge you faced was when you started being self-employed, working as a mural painter?

Matteo Miles: One of the biggest challenges that took me a while to learn was how much things cost, but also the like, kind of underestimating what actually was required to get a project done. And at the end of it, having that learning experience of being like, “Oh, well, this required so much more than I at first intended to,” with supplies or equipment. And at the end of it, you kind of just didn’t really gain much out of it other than having the job finished. But that was just learning scenario, that’s probably one of the things I share with other people who are trying to go into actual murals, is just make sure you have your, your estimate correct, and your numbers good for your client. Because it’s, you can’t go back and try to change the numbers just because you thought you needed a more expensive paint or needed a scissor lift that you didn’t initially put into your proposal or a number, you’re just gonna have to like eat it.

Matteo Miles: Also be just taking your work seriously so that your client does as well. And that equals your own value. Because you can do the work, you can do what I call portfolio building, which I think is really important, which is doing your mural work. But if you’re first getting started and you’re gaining that experience, you know, you kind of give some slack to your prices, just so, you know, you make it easier, you’re able to portfolio build, and I think that’s important. And later on, as soon as you’re getting more experience, you get more value, then you can kind of up those prices. But don’t feel discouraged that you’re not just doing your work for a penny, you know, on the dollar just, you know, kind of realize that these are stepping stones in every career and every type of creative work too. And they only get better.

Haley Hansen: Are there any specific skills that you would recommend to someone who’s trying to start a career in your field?

Matteo Miles: I think special skills, probably first, drawing and painting, getting good exercise. With large scale, for some reason for me, it feels easier to draw large scale, that idea seems really intimidating for people who are used to drawing within boundaries of you know, a smaller form, so just exercising with that. Also your body is super important, because you’re using your whole body. So exercise your body, stretch, make sure you’re able to have endurance, whether it’s inside or outside on ladders, scaffolding, scissor lifts, weather difficulties, whether it’s outside or inside, accessibility, not being afraid of heights, and not being afraid of strangers, not being afraid to perform in public, because that’s a big deal of it too. I had, it took me a while to kind of build up that, that shell of anxiety, like to reduce anxiety from being in public trying to draw or paint and not being able to focus because there’s people around you, people want to talk to you, people are interested in what you’re doing. And sometimes that little like, “Oh, thank you” or “Yeah, I am drawing this” is fun, but, it’s exciting, but it’s so hard to like keep clicking back in that gear of like focusing on your drawing, because you’re not like in your studio, being able to do your own thing whenever you want. That’s, that’s one thing I’d say to definitely learn is that public, just awareness. Exercise your body, and your eye, your hand eye coordination, to think big, because when you’re up close, you spend 10 hours working on something super up close, and then you like stand back, it’ll look completely different. So sometimes you have to shift things up close on purpose, though, stand back, it looks different. So those are probably the three things that I would recommend for someone who’s wanting to go into mural paintings, and that’s just kind of the physical of it. And then business is a whole other ballgame. Yeah.

Haley Hansen: Are there any organizations or programs or events that you would recommend for people who are interested in, like locally or statewide?

Matteo Miles: There are mural festivals happening all over the country, they’re very easy to look up, there’s plenty of resources to find them. I’d say there’s about maybe well over 10 that happen every year all over the country. In my region, in South Carolina, we have our local art festivals, like Artisphere, or I think there’s one in Asheville, and then Charleston I believe, and Columbia, like Soda City. But those, they will incorporate sometimes some larger work or live performances by a mural artist or other people. So that’s for like the festival part and also going there to look at what other artists or muralists are doing. And you really learn a whole lot about that. I feel like I didn’t start doing that until maybe like last year. I was learning about Asheville’s big art, mural scene. And then also I went to Miami for the first time this year to look at Art Basel. I think Miami is a super huge mecca for murals within the United States, it’s probably one of the largest. And then there’s always, always local city of resources for RFQs, request for proposal that cities and people will post those goes for funding for grants and scholarships and opportunity for people interested in doing the mural work. Because the most common question that I get asked from artists who want to do murals is, “how do I get started? Who do I ask?” And I’ll say, “if you haven’t done one yet, if your neighbor or family member or friend hasn’t asked you to come into their home and paint their bedroom wall or something, if it’s not a rental, then that was to me, it’d be a good place to start.” And what I got started with was a great opportunity was in a hotel space. But if you don’t have the opportunity, I’d say start with residential, that includes the bedroom, kitchen, ceilings that are pretty cool, and also baby nurseries, as well, those are a great start to do. You can do them for $1,000 to $3,000 per project. That way for people to agree with, and then you could start going into like restaurants or, you know, hotels or sides of buildings, and you know what the professional people are doing. So I would say that that’s a good start. Because eventually, honestly, how it goes is once you do one or two of, you know, give it your best shot, mostly, most of the time that person’s going to share it, or people are going to see it and they’d be like, “Wow, I would really like something like that.” And it’s all word of mouth honestly, as well. It’s a very short one just because it’s very taxing on your body. So that’s another challenge that I faced was like, I’m 28. So I think I could probably do murals for another, hopefully 10 years is the goal. And then hopefully more after that if I’m still good at that checkpoint. But yeah, that’s another thing too is what makes it a little bit more challenging. Do you have any more questions?

Haley Hansen: Do you have any final advice for current students who are interested in pursuing a career in the creative world?

Matteo Miles: I’d say, stay in school as long as you can. Because there, most of the time there will be a section in, if you’re doing specifically Visual Arts on outdoor art, sculpture, or murals. And I remember vividly, when we got to that part of the course or the curriculum, I was like, “I don’t need to learn.” I was like, “I’m never going to be doing that.” I go “that sounds too complicated.” I go “I don’t want to do that.” But, and then I didn’t really listen, and, but that’s what I would say to people or to students. It’s to just pay attention to maybe that portion, just since we’re getting a little bit more education and actual muralists out there now that are younger and kind of starting that generation. So I would say to if you’re, if they’re interested in it, it does pay off. Just pay attention in school to that part. And then yeah, and just try your best to connect to other muralists online to because I’ve met, I’ve met a lot that really do, they do like to work with each other. And I’ve met a few that rather would not work with other artists. I think, I don’t know why that works, I just think artists are just like that. But there are a lot of resources and helpful tips that people could share with each other. Yeah.

Haley Hansen: Awesome.

Matteo Miles: Good stuff. Awesome. Well, thank you Haley.