Show report

Thank you friends for the good luck wishes for the show this weekend! The first thought that comes to my mind about this two day show was that it was a lot of work! I did a little bit of set-up Friday night, then Saturday morning I worked on price tags, various little signs for the booth, and just generally pulling everything I needed together. I was also planning and making invitations to my son’s birthday party that morning (they needed to go out in the mail that day) so it was very busy around here. But I got everything pulled together with a little help from both kids and my husband and I got to the church/school by 2:00 pm, the designated time for artists to begin setting up.

Once at the venue, it took me a good hour and a half to haul all the paintings from my car into my space, then hang them and get everything in order. The show started at 4:00 pm. Overall there wasn’t much traffic at this show, the people running it thought they had 200 people that Saturday, which isn’t enough when you have 50 artists! But oh well, I stood in my booth and smiled at people. Traffic picked up around 5:00 pm, which I think is when they started serving wine and hors d’oeuvres, perhaps not coincidentally. I sold a medium sized landscape that evening so I was happy about that, I also sold some notecards. I had some good conversations with people about commissioning portraits and sent them home with my business card and price info. Of course it’ll take months to see if any of those interested parties really do commission a portrait. Just before the 9:00 pm closing time a woman came by and bought a small painting. I was exhausted and drove the half hour home and went to bed.

Today I was back at the church/school by 11:00 am. It turns out people don’t get out of church until 11:30 am or even noon so the place was empty til noon. All the artists were hoping for a rush of people as soon as church let out . . . but the big rush ended up being about 30 people. Sigh. I did sell some notecards today, spoke to a woman who is interested in commissioning me to paint one of my pieces larger and had some interest in portrait commissions. So that’s the good part. The bad part is that it was many hours of manning my booth for not much immediate gratification.

I’m on the fence as to whether or not I’ll do this show again next year. I suppose it depends if any of the conversations I had about commissions actually do turn into sales. It was fun to talk to the other artists and I learned about different workshops and teachers. It’s always fun to talk about art.

I did ask about sales this year compared to last year and the people in charge said sales were down some from last year, I’m guessing from our conversation sales are down by about 10-20%. People were still buying, which is good news, but with 50 artists the money was spread too thin.

I did learn a couple of things: I had sufficient business cards, a little leather like (okay it’s plastic) covered booklet for people to sign up for my mailing list, I even had a portfolio with portrait samples and some information about my fees. I think the biggest drawback for me was NOT having a consistent group of paintings. Over the last year I’ve experimented with slightly different styles and I just took everything I had, framed it, and stuck it in my booth. Wrong thing to do! It’s too confusing for people when I have landscapes, portraits, figuratives done in a loose style, and who knows what else. I felt like my work didn’t have a message at all. So, for me, that was the most important lesson from this weekend. If I do this show again next year I will be more selective about what I present.

Okay, I’m worn out, time to get back to the sofa and my movie!

12 thoughts on “Show report”

  1. Diane Hoeptner (hep-ner)

    Congratulations on your sales! I think the fact that you were able to make those sales says a lot about the quality of your work–considering the low attendence at this venue. Your booth looks great and you look gorgeous! Well done!!

  2. Janelle Goodwin

    I think you did an amazing job with your booth. You sold some work and got out there. I think we artists always learn from these experiences, which is why we should do them often! Your paintings are so beautiful!

  4. Karen

    Hope you got some rest yesterday…that sure did sound like a lot of work! I think congratulations are in order for your sales and your connections made!
    I really appreciated reading your description of the event, as I have yet to attempt a booth/show like yours. It’s so helpful to learn about, and to hear of your insights. Thank you for sharing that all!

  7. Joan Breckwoldt

    Hi Karen, I’m glad you found the description helpful, I was afraid I was boring my readers! Only because I was so bored when I was actually living my description, ha ha. Actually, some parts were fun. I would suggest starting with a SHORTER show to get a feel for it. Two days seemed very long to me. I did a 3 hour show last time and that was fine. 🙂
    Joan

  10. Mary Sheehan Winn

    any sale is gravy, is my motto. I’m going to paint anyway 😉
    But, this is a great post. Your observations about your work and this show are well stated and they are the right questions to ask.

  11. Kay

    I think one of the most valuable things in shows like this is seeign your own work in relation to other artists’ work.

    I remember being so nervous when I first started showing, and getting a huge buzz one show when I returned to the opening event to find that the organisers had rehung part of the show (we had a part-booth each) and put my work beside the artist I admired most of all! It was a huge confidence boost for me.

    I think it is perfectly Ok to have two or even three different aspects of your work on show, but more than that should go into a well presented folder that people can look through.

    I too have more than one “style” but I think it is perfectly OK!

  12. Kay

    Dear Joan,
    I should have gone to your website first, not just commented on the strength of reading one post! Your personal voice is strong! Just paint things you love, and forget about anything else.
    I am glad I found your blog, I have enjoyed my evening thanks to you!

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