Posted by Nels Johnson on February 24, 2016 at 12:31pm
Held last weekend in banyan-treed North Straub Park, next to the Fine Art Museum. This is a Paragon (Bill Kinney) show right along the bay to the east and cool bistros-cafes to the west.It is a great venue for a small show with a little over 100 exhibitors. This was its third time here, and probably the most successful.With perfect weather all weekend, the crowds came, and came.Nicely dressed to the nines, this was an enthusiastic crowd who mostly bought traditional work. There were lots of young people, this was not just an "oldster" crowd.For most of us, sales were just ok. There were a lot more low end sales than high end.I know at least one painter who displays traditional imagery who sold an $6800 original that he shipped to New York. My neighbor, a talented painter from Maryland, sold four nice mid-priced. Paintings, and these were on the colorful, abstract side.On the whole I saw mostly small bags going out the whole weekend.I had an ok show, I made money and I got to sleep in my own Ybor bed. So my expenses were just a booth fee and some cheap gas.I am born in St. Petersburg. I did not see as many local business people here like I saw in December show. We were selling to lots of out of town visitors, a lot of them young and mostly sporting credit cards.I got to see a lot of new artists here, all of them very talented. I think Bill has a regular stable of artists who do his shows. This was only my second Paragon show. The show looked strong, every booth a winner. It was nice to see new, fresh work. Face it, we have some very strong competition out there.The show was on grass and weights had to be used. There was a small area of shared space behind all the booths and everybody seemed to cope with it. Side to side was tight unless you paid for a corner. The basic booth fee was $395.Overall, I had a really good time there, met lots of interesting people, and made some money. I would definitely do it again.There is a refreshing array of bistros across from the show. You can eat and drink yourself silly here. At the Briarwood restaurant I scoffed down some great lamb meatballs finished in a raspberry sauce that were unreal. There are happy hour deals on drink and food,everywhere, between 4-7 pm.For breakfast in the morn there are two great places, both on Central Avenue. The Lucky Dill is nearby at Central and Second. They have killer corned beef hash. About four blocks down Central is the Dome Restaurant, Greek-owned. Try the fried flounder with your eggs and toast. Naturally, they do a solid Greek omelet. Plus you can look at a giant photo that shows downtown St. Petersburg in the 40's.I took a gamble and made some photo collages from antique postcards showing St. Pete locations from past times. I had one of the Million Dollar Pier, one of people on the Green Benches in front of McCroy's, and one of the scenic Snell Arcade building. Did not sell a one. Guess I will save them for Mainsail in April. I need locals for buyers of the collages, not the tourists.Setup and tear down went pretty mellow. You have all day on Friday for setup and most people were able to get their vehicles close for unloading. Bill wisely insists that you tear your booth completely down before getting your van.Well, I am gearing up for the annual Key West fine art show this weekend. It is always a fun time.BTW, my better half, Ellen, had an absolute killer show at the Naples National show last weekend. Might have been her second best, ever. We whooped it up Monday and drank some very good wine.Aloha, Nels.
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