Why Am I Buying This Painting?

I just sold three paintings at my first art show!  I met so many nice folks and it made me think about the three people who bought my art.  It seems kind of obvious, but the first question you should ask yourself is, do you like the painting?  You'll undoubtedly notice that the artwork has a certain artistic style that's appealing.. It might be brush strokes, a repeated image or a particular color palate that speaks to you.  Now, I've just got to make a personal comment.  A painting doesn't have to match your decor or color scheme - really!  Mixing types of art, contemporary and traditional, is what makes a room interesting.  At an art show, you can usually talk to the artist.  Ask about the piece - what's the process, the inspiration, the back story?  You'll often get entertaining and enlightening answers which will make the artwork more meaningful to you.  I sold a painting of a Koi pond.  I took several photos at a lovely Japanese garden in Seattle.  I spied an interesting looking duck being followed by a beautiful fish and voila, a painting was born!  Ask yourself if you like the artist and if you like the price.  Walk around the show to see if the piece you want to buy is comparable to other similar art pieces.   A note about bargaining - prices are sometimes flexible, especially at an art show.  Be courteous and reasonable, sometimes it works.  I was thrilled to have a successful show!  I'm looking forward to my next one at the Foundry Art Centre.  The Big Red Box holiday art show will be held in St. Charles, Mo. on Dec. 2 from 4pm - 9pm & Dec. 3 from 10am - 5pm.  Join me if you're in the area, I'd love to meet you!

                                                        Here's my booth at CraftOutLoud!

My First Art Show CraftOutLoud!

My first art show - I'm nervous!  I'm preparing to sell my art at a new show in St. Louis called CraftOutLoud! on Nov. 5 & 6.  I saw a note about the show in my friend Carla Mash-Duncan's newsletter.  She makes beautiful jewelry and textiles under the name Duncan Designs.  I've never been in an art show before but I contacted the director and I was accepted (it's an invitational show).  One of the things I'm worried about is the booth.  Wow, some folks make their booths pretty elaborate!  Plus, I don't want to spend much money on this thing.  Myles (my husband) has some metal grid panels left over from shows he did years ago in the custom print industry.

 I have a 4' X 6' space.  The panels are 2' X 8', so we're going to clip three panels together for the back of the booth and one or two panels on each side.  My brother-in-law offered to give me black material (he owns  a hat company) that we're going to use to cover the panels.  I think I can use drapery hooks to hang my artwork.  I bought a card rack for my printed greeting cards and I have a nice basket to hold my art prints.  I'm not sure how to display these, but maybe I'll put them on folding tray tables.  There's so much to think about as I'm getting ready for the show!  If you do shows, what's your best tip?