Arti Gras was our 3rd art fair of the winter season for Marcia and I. This is also the third time we have exhibited at this show. The good news? We had a good show. We sold well and even won an award. The bad news? Most artists did not do well.
I am a digital artist. I create surrealistic images with environmental themes using humor and fantasy in the mix. My lowest price point is $28 for small, unframed limited edition prints. I sell a ton of these. My highest prince point id $695 for large prints on canvas. I rarely sell these canvases, but they help draw people into the booth. But... one reason for my success at this show was that I sold three of the big canvases to one customer, and had a couple more big purchases that helped the bottom line.
Now, about the show. Arti Gras is on the same weekend as Coconut Grove in Miami. I've done Coconut Grove before and I like this show better. I guess I have a problem with Miami. Its tough to get around and the show, itself, is too busy and commercial for my tastes. Arti Gras is in a suburban area of Jupiter called Abacao. Roger Deam Stadium is there, where the St. Louis Cardinals play ball in the winter. The show is set up on two cross streets, Central and University. We exhibited on University the last two years (and did pretty well), but this year we exhibited on Central (where we did better). Central is the better street to be on where most of the booths are situated. Many visitors skip the booths on University.
Load in was pretty easy. We were able to drive our van right up to the booth, unload and setup without having to move the van. The street is pretty wide and accommodates vans on both sides of the street with access down the middle. We had a corner booth and we were able to position the tent with side walls on both sides. We also had a big grassy area behind the booth with plenty of room for storage. We were also able to use spiral stakes in the grass to hold down the tent at the back, but with plenty of weights in the front. Weather was terrific all weekend with little wind and mostly sun, so the stakes and the weights were not even needed.
This is a three day show over the President's Day (Monday) holiday. Saturday and Sunday (10-6) had decent crowds early but crowds dried up by mid afternoon on both days. Monday (10-5) had less crowds and many questioned the reason for even having a show on this day.
Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce sponsors the show and there is a gate charge for admittance. I like shows that are organized by arts organizations or citizens groups like this one. I shy away from shows that are organized by professional promoters.
Load out was equally easy (if packing up an art fair booth can ever be called "easy."). We packed everything up, broke down the tent, then pulled the van in for loading up.
I like this show and would definitely do it again, but I heard lots of complaints from other artists. Could be we just lucked out with a couple of big sales and the award. Without them our gross would have been half of what it was.
Our next show is in Bradenton, only the second year for this show. From what I've heard from other artists I don't expect to make a killing at this one. But, who knows... maybe we'll luck out again.
Comments
Beth Amato: In answer to your question about prints... I am a digital artist and I sell prints. All of them are limited editions. I have a disclusure statement on the back of each print that I sell stating that the edition will be retired when sold out. As a digital artist, I share the same advantage that photographers have. I can offer my pictures in different sizes. This is a big advantage letting me recoup the cost of creating a work over the sale of multiple editions and sizes. It typically takes me 3-4 weeks to create one of my digital paintings. Some of them sell very well in multiple sizes and they are profitable. Some don't. The big sellers, hopefully, make up for the poor sellers. The smallest size print I sell is 5x10 inches in a limited edition of 250. Most art fairs require that editions don't exceed 250. I sell the same image at 12x24 in an edition of 100, at 16x32 an edition of 50 and at 18x42 on canvas in an edition of 30. Also, like a photographer, I can offer my images in custom sizes for customers who have a special need. When I do a custom size I mark the edition number closest to the regular sizes I offer. My decision to paint digitally and sell limited edition prints was based on a my analysis of the market and how I can best make a living as an artist. My business model has been successful for me, letting me create meaningful images and finding patrons that will buy those pictures at prices that are reasonable. Hope this helps...
Are your limited editions signed & numbered and do you offer a disclosure statement regarding your editions? From what I am reading in applications, some of the shows seem to have strict policies about how many prints can be in an edition. I find it extremely confusing since it's possible to print various sizes as well. Thanks for any info you can provide.
John's work looked really good. Congrats on the award.
John and Barry, glad to hear you were among the artists who had a decent show at ArtiGras. IMHO, a show is successful when most of the artists have a decent show, which is apparently not the case at AG.
Read my comments on Oscar's review of ArtiGras. My show wasn't overwhelming but I had a solid show in terms of sales of bigger items. I may even go back. There were 5 shows that I know of last weekend in Florida and probably two or three more. There was Coconut Grove, ArtiGras, Naples National, Coconut Pointe, and Sanabel Island. I like that. Let them compete for the best artists by lowering booth fees, offering batter amenities and making their shows smaller instead of adding flea market quality and buy/sell.