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One of my first Florida art fairs was Images. That was 30 years ago. I bombed at that show, but  was smitten by the "art fair" lifestyle and the opportunities art fairs present for actually making a living with art. My goal has always been to be a professional artist but that show, and a few others around the same time, convinced me that making art was not going to pay the bills and feed my family. 

At that time I was also working as a freelance media producer... a much more lucrative profession. While most of my income came from corporate clients, I went back to New Smyrna Beach the following year with a TV crew and shot a documentary called "Art Fair" (https://youtu.be/q16q5Ju_pBk). The video celebrates the independence and creative spirit of the art fair artist.

Over the years I dabbled with art fairs, but my main focus was on my media business... until about 15 years ago. Gradually, I phased out the "media" career, and phased in the "art" career. I've been doing art fairs fairly regularly for the past 15 years but this year I finally went back to New Smyrna Beach to give Images another try. And here's how it went...

I grossed about $2500, half of what my average art fair grossed last year. Not great, but, optimist that I am (all of us art fair artists are optimists), I enjoyed the show, and will probably give it another try next year. Here's why.

It was very cold (and a bit rainy) and not enough people braved the weather to come out for this show. Better weather will bring out more people. The committee was great. Very positive. This is a long running show and the committee knows how to do it. They don't micro manage the artists. Load in on Friday was easy, parking was convenient (100 feet away in the lot behind our booth), and load out was equally easy and convenient. Access to the artist lounge and "real" bathrooms was an added perk. Another major perk was where we stayed during the show.

Marcia (my wife) booked an airB&B in New Smyrna Beach. We had no real idea where the place was in relation to the show. We just knew it was somewhere in town. As we followed the GPS on Thursday evening, trying to find our lodging, it took us right into the middle of the art fair. I gave Marcia a confused look, convinced that she put the art fair coordinates into the GPS instead of the airB&B. But a few blocks later we arrived at the B&B... less than a mile from the art fair... walking distance. About the same distance from the artist parking lot. The place was a two bedroom apartment right on one of the many canals around there, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, for only $125/night. A terrific place! 

I may be in the minority about giving this show a positive review. Other artists I talked to sold less than we did and questioned the viability of exhibiting here again. The cold weather was a turnoff. But, hey, this was our first Florida show of the winter and we just came from the frozen North (Michigan), so we were happy to get away from the snow. We've got 5 more shows in Florida. We're hoping for better sales, but, you know what? There are no art fairs in the frozen North during the winter, so, Frorida is our best option for making a living in this crazy business.