By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
Costa junior Merrick Wong takes his artwork outside of the classroom by selling optical illusions, perspectives and portraits to make a profit.
Wong started selling his artwork in September 2016 through Big Cartel, an online company that helps connect independent artists and entrepreneurs to consumers. Wong has six prints, all of which are copies of his original artistic work, that he regularly sells to customers in addition to his one-of-a-kind personalized sales, such as specific commissioned prints. He has sold 15 prints priced at anywhere from $8 to $12 throughout the past six months.
“The ability to make and sell my work has been so special to me,” Wong said. “It still surprises me that people actually want to buy something that I make. It is such a special and unique experience to make something I’m so proud of and to be able to sell it as well.”
In addition to selling his work on Big Cartel, Wong also sells his art in person at fairs and festivals, such as Patchwork Junior on Nov. 13, an art show that allows vendors or artists under 18 years old to showcase and sell their work. At the show, he had his own art booth and sold approximately eight prints, his most-sold piece being a photo of hands with lines designed on them.
Link: Patchwork Junior information on future shows.
“Patchwork Junior was a fun experience because of all the people I was able to meet and even talk to,” Wong said. “Probably my least favorite thing was the extremely long conference hours that I had to deal with there.”
Photos: Merrick Wong at Patchwork Junior selling his personalized artwork.
Wong creates his hand-made pieces at home and during his Advanced Placement studio art class using his own paint and art supplies. From there, he scans the paintings online and then uses cardstock, a thick type of paper, to print his work at home. Wong’s work commonly centers on various perspectives of common things, such as the Hermosa Beach Pier’s shore or hands.
“The process of creating artwork is very tedious,” Wong said. “It takes a while to get them digitally scanned correctly and make sure that all of the lines are working together and looking good while still keeping the integrity of the piece.”
Link: AP Studio Art information.
Wong is currently enrolled in AP Studio Art at Costa and has taken courses Art II and Art III during his freshman and sophomore year, respectively. The speed and rigor of AP studio art has helped Wong deal with efficiency as well as creativity and has provided prompts from which he draws inspiration, he said.
“Merrick is a talented artist and had developed a great style over the past several years,” art teacher Katherine Heredia said. “I’m excited that he is now selling his work. The interest in his artwork is wonderful to see, and I am confident he will be successful.”
Wong does not plan to keep art as a long-time fiscal commitment and, instead, aims to keep it as a passion, he said. He continues to create individual pieces every day and would like to increase his in-person sales as opposed to improving his online presence.
“Overall, having the opportunity to sell my art was a scary but fun experience,” Wong said. “It’s scary because you’re putting your art out to be judged, and you don’t know if people will like it or not. It’s fun in the sense that people are actually willing to pay for something that I have made. It sounds silly, but it’s kind of surreal. I would like to do something like this in the future when I have a newer body of work in addition to the favorites I make that already sell.”
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