After nearly 40 years behind a camera, I'm doing something I didn't expect — starting over in the best possible way.

My name is Doug Mattice. I'm a photographer, digital artist, and business mentor based in Northern Virginia. And right now, I'm in the middle of one of the most meaningful transitions of my career.

For years, I built my professional life around portrait, branding, headshot, and family photography. Alongside that, I coached and advised photographers on the business side of their work — helping them think differently about pricing, marketing, confidence, and sustainability. I loved that work. It taught me as much as I gave.

But I've reached a point where I know it's time for something new. Some people might call it semi-retirement. I call it a new pursuit — with greater passion.

I'm stepping away from client session work. And I'm leaning fully into fine art photography, digital artistry, and helping other image-based artists build real businesses around their creative work.

This next chapter is mine. And I'd like to share it with you.

Here's something I've learned over nearly four decades: creating beautiful work and building a sustainable business around it are two very different skills.

Most fine art photographers and digital artists are exceptionally good at the first part. They understand light, composition, color, editing, texture, and storytelling. They spend hours refining images until they finally feel right.

But very few were ever taught what comes next — how to package that work, price it with confidence, talk about it in a way buyers understand, and market it consistently without burning out.

That gap is exactly what I help close.

Through Mattice Art & Business, I work with fine art photographers and digital artists who use photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, digital painting, composites, and other creative tools to produce original image-based art. My role is to help them turn that creative work into something people can understand, value, and buy.

The business side of art is rarely taught, but it's learnable. Here's where most of my clients need the most help:

This isn't about making your art feel commercial. It's about giving it the structure it needs to reach more people.

What makes this work different is that I'm not coaching from a distance. I'm in it.

Right now, I'm building my own fine art photography and digital art business — creating original work, developing collections, exploring Photoshop and digital artistry more deeply, and figuring out what it means to sell art at this stage of my creative life.

That means when we work together, I bring both experience and honest perspective. I understand the tension between making the work and marketing the work. I know how it feels to want your art to be taken seriously without making the business side feel forced or shallow.

I also know this: if you want your art to reach more people, you can't ignore the business. You have to learn how to shape it, present it, price it, and communicate its value.

That doesn't make you less of an artist. It makes your art easier to support.

The best way to follow along — and get practical ideas for building your art business — is through my Artist Sketchbook weekly email. I share what I'm working on, what I'm learning, and what's actually helping artists like you turn creative work into something people can discover and buy.