Fwd: Art in the Pearl was a BLAST!

Well I am excited to say that I have jumped on the smart phone bandwagon... Yes folks, I have got an iPhone! So you know what I'm doing right now? Sitting in McDonalds typing my blog entry on my phone. Yeah. Weird.

So to be brief, or rather to save me the pain of trying to type my recent Portland art fair adventure on this here teeny tiny keypad with my big wo-man thumbs, I will be short... Here goes:

So, I've been on the road for a couple weeks now (which I will elaborate on later) and just finished up a show at Art in the Pearl. Two words... Portland Rocks! Thanks you to all that visited me and sorry to those I may have missed because I failed to notify you sooner! :0) Here's a picture from the show on Saturday. I'm getting a thumb cramp so I'll type more when I get to a real computer! Take care!

No Electricity in Your Art Booth?

I need your advice...

I just found out that the Edmonds Art Festival this weekend doesn't supply electricity to our booths. So I will have no lights. And the weather may not be cooperating, with a bit of rain and overcast skies on the way.

I really feel that my sales may suffer if my paintings aren't properly illuminated. But maybe lack of experience is causing me to over think it... ?

Is there a technique to getting lighting in your booth with out electricity being provided? Some sort of set up that you have seen or used that works?

OR is this just a grin an bare it type situation where I have to roll with the punches so to speak?

I was thinking of purchasing a few of these battery operated picture lights at Bed Bath and Beyond for $30 bucks each and did a little reading online about a couple other ways to use solar power to fuel your lighting (for the link click here).... but I am just so darn indecisive about the whole thing!

Any input you guys have would help me tremendously! Thanks!

*** Visit my Fan Page on Facebook to see all the fantastic ideas everyone has been sharing there too on this topic!

My Spokane Artfest 2010 Adventure

I kicked off my artfair season with a bang this year and am happy to report that Spokane Artfest was a total success! I had a lot of "firsts" last weekend that created a whirlwind of emotions for me through out the whole event: 1st time and an OUTDOOR show, 1st time showing in the rain, 1st time winning an award, and since there is a 1st time for everything it was also the 1st time I met someone who speaks to trees... out loud. Interesting. Seriously.

To say the least, the whole weekend was absolutely fantastic right down to the moment I had the honor of delivering my big red tree painting to a couple who live in a beautiful home on South Hill, Spokane. Truly rewarding all the way around.

For those of you who would like to peer into my little world of what it takes to do a show like this, by yourself, please read on. Here is my "cliff note" version of some just some of the details of the weekend:

Thursday:

Rent truck/Pack truck - 2 hours

Drive to Spokane - 4.5 hours

Unload upon arrival - 20+ trips back and forth from the truck to my booth space

Booth set up - 5 hours!

Friday:

Morning; last minute details/hanging artwork - 4 hours!

Rain (brace for predicted wind storm that never showed up thank god!)

Won an award! Addision & Myers Visual Arts Award! High five!!!

12 hour work day

Saturday:

Sunny all day! But forgot sunscreen... 11 hour work day.

Sunday:

Arrived early to see other artist's and their booths. Got to finally meet some of the artist's I have been following online...Sheila Evans, Diane Colhane, Jill Mayberg.

Break down tent set up and repack the truck - 5 hours... last one there, by myself, in the dark. Not good.

Monday:

Woke up refreshed and got to deliver "Turning Red 2" to new collectors in Spokane!

Went to visit the Kress Gallery where Sheila Evans' work was hanging, and promptly realized that I had no change for the meters nor could my truck fit in any parking garages... so I drove home - 4.5 hours.

Was it all totally hard? YES. Did I shed an tear of frustration while I was breaking down my tent? YES. Did the good outweigh the bad? YES. Would I do it all again? YES. And I will, this weekend at the Edmonds Art Fair! This time I will have a little set up help from a fantastic friend.. (wiping my brow in relief). More show information to follow.

A Fantastic Day at "Art in the Alley"

Artist's in the Alley... literally.

Balloons Make Me Happy! I think this may be my next profile picture... hmmmm...

My studio exterior shot. We set up my artfair booth on the driveway and featured the artwork of Ethan Jack Harrington and Nick Orban on it. You could then walk through the booth into my studio space to view my paintings. I didn't manage to capture a picture of my work that day... as usual, I was chatty and buzzin' around quite a bit, so I forgot to take photos again. Luckily some of the other artists did, so here are a couple more...

This grouping of artworks are by Susan Melrath. She was featured in the courtyard at Jean's studio - a great little spot!

Another shot of the garden where Jean Bradbury featured her own work.

All in all the day of our first open studio event was a total success! Heck! We even got written up on the Queen Anne View Blog! (see article here) It was sooo exciting to be able to meet all the artist's and our Queen Anne neighbors! The day was full of sun, beautiful artwork (art sales too), great conversations, wine, and lots and lots of laughter! I can't wait to do it again next year! Thanks to all the artist's who participated and for everyone who came out to support our local artists... and I can't forget, thanks Jean for organizing such a fantastic day!

Bellevue Artfair Adventure

"Discovering Myself Along the Way"

60"x48" Oil on Canvas

SOLD

I promised, so here it is for all you internet fans that couldn't get down to see the piece in person! The final picture is now posted of my largest work yet... it made it back down the stairs of my studio safely with out scraping any paint off - guess it pays to have someone help you, no touch ups were necessary! (see previous post on "How to Fit a Big Object into a Small Hole").

I rented a cargo van to get my work to and from the show, so this painting was loaded last, and nestled neatly on top of the rest of my work. It made it to the show with out a hitch... ok, maybe one hitch. Yeah, kinda an important hitch... I forgot to put wire on the back of it! DUH. Didn't realize this until I got to the fair of course, so I had to scramble to put it together before the crowds came early that morning! Made me sweat a little... literally.

Oh and another funny thing... (speaking of sweat)... the second day, I realized that I had run out of sales slips just before the show started! So, in a massive rush, I ran to Bartell's across the street to get some more.

And boy, did I run! It was already in the 80's. So running and panicking, was not a good combo for maintaining my sweet girlish aroma for the rest of the day.

And on top of that, god forbid, I JAYWALKED... or rather, JAYRAN! And a lovely police officer was layin' on his whistle at me screaming, "Lady! Lady!".... I just kept runnin', didn't look back even once! Ran into Bartell and ducked behind some display full of pork-n-beans, pretending I was reeeealy interested in them. I felt like such a rebel, considering that I never get in trouble with the law EVER!

After making my purchase, I then had to find a sneaky route back to the fair in order to avoid crossing the street anywhere near the whistle blowing police officer for fear of a ticket, or embarrassment of any sort. So, I continued jogging back to my booth the long way around the back entrance of the fair. Needless to say, I was a ball of sweat that couldn't catch her breath once I got back! Then came the realization that I forgot to put on deodorant that morning... peeeerfect.

Luckily my ever supportive brother delivered it to me later that day and I was saved!

Overall, the three day event at the Bellevue Art Museum Artsfair, was a total success! I met soooo many wonderful people! So many that my face hurt after each day ended because I was smiling so much! I sold many many paintings and made enough contacts to draw the conclusion that there will be a few new commissions in my future! AND on top of that I got to meet some of the artists at the show that stopped by my booth... Marla & Mike Baggetta, Taman Vanscoy, William Vanscoy, Lisa Lamoreaux, Rick Abrams, Erik Hall, and many more! I can't wait to do it again next year!

My Art Booth Test Run

Took time today to get ready for my big day at the Bellevue Art Fair. Decided to take the day and set up my booth (ordered from Propanels) for the first time and iron out any possible glitches. Bought a seven footer so it doesn't even fit in my house! So outside I go!

Took me a about an hour or so to set up, and it blew over twice, but I finally was able to secure it before mother nature tried to level it again! I realize how much more painting I have to do before the 25th...whew~