Monday, September 28, 2009

My First Art Show

Well, this weekend I participated in my first ever art show.

By my own standards (which are usually pretty high) the show went pretty well. The two-day show was part of the annual Applefest weekend, which brings thousands of visitors to the little town of Brighton for the festival. The art show had a steady stream of patrons, who shared their stories and comments when they stopped by my booth.

I sold one painting, which was my goal for the weekend, so I can't complain there.

Even more important than selling the painting, was the knowledge I gained from talking with veteran artists who show their work all the time... watching how they interact with the visitors to their booths and generally just how their displays were set up, helped me a great deal.

Next show I will come armed with a full arsenal: business cards, some ingenious way display more paintings on the wall even if they're not framed, matted limited edition prints of my work that have already sold. (In this economy, it seemed people were looking for lower-priced options. The other artists seem to sell more prints than originals.)

Thanks to my S.O. Rod who stayed all day Sunday with me, who now has lots of ideas to make my next show even more of a success!

3 comments:

  1. Congrats on the sale and on the show! And thanks for sharing the things you observed there... helps me to know what to expect next weekend for the show I am in. :-)

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  2. Thanks, Joanne!

    Hope your show went well... and that it was a complete success!

    I hope to enter some more next year, now that summer is over. Hopefully I can have double the work to hang next year. I'd better get painting, I have been in a slump lately.

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  3. Hi, My first art show was in 2001. It's really exciting, isn't it? In the last 8 years I found that in art shows and craft fairs I sold very few originals and a few prints, but lots of art cards and art magnets. Always display some pieces that are more expensive than the rest because it will make the rest of your work seem more reasonably priced. I like your website. When I first started painting I painted a few cows too! :)

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