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When your back is to the sea and you can feel a cool ocean breeze, life can't be too bad for an art show.  We wish we had 25 others on the ocean.

Well, I have done this one since 1985, off and on.  Had not been there for three years because of heart troubles.  This year was not one of my memorable ones, but it was for many others.

In the old days they used to give you spots along a snow fence that were 15-foot wide by six-foot deep.  Some people had three spots--45 feet long.

Nowadays you have a spiffy new boardwalk, concrete of course, with a metal rail to tie the rear of your booth to, and it is 10-foot deep and wide.

There is usually some room between booths to do a little extra wall hanging.  

There is room in front of your booth, across a wide boardwalk to stash inventory on carts or under your umbrella.  Overall, the mood is very mellow and beachy.

A lot of artists rent a room at a hotel right on the boardwalk, preferably not far from their booth.  Then you can park your van in the hotel lot and have a short hike to your booth with art.

Of course, hotel rates are never cheap for these locations, plan to pay $125 and up per night if you are lucky to snag one.  Old-timers have next year's reservations already set up.

This show is like a United Nations convention.

It gets lots of the Florida artists, looking to escape the summer heat down there and make money.  I see artists from out west as far away as Washington State and California.

Then there are plenty of midwesterners there--it is only a day and a half drive for most.

Then you got all  the locals and Atlantic coast artists.

It is like old home week, I probably know at least 100 artists there, some have been doing it as long as me.

It is a very mellow show.  With hotel rooms nearby, blenders are going all the time, and chilled wine and beers are the norm.  Nobody seems to be out of the sorts--unless they forgot there sunscreen.

It is a long show--four days.  Thank God the hours are reasonable with show ending most nights at six pm.

Funny thing about those hours.  I did a doozy on Friday night.

It rained late that afternoon, and everybody shut down before six pm. I shut down real quick and took a power nap in my hotel room.  I got up and went back and reopened my booth around 6:30.  Nobody else was open.  "Sly me," I am saying to myself.  "I got this whole beach crowd to myself."  Which was maybe 60 people walking around.  I sat there for about 30 minutes, no sales happening.  Then two artist friends, Patrick and Rona, strolled by.  They giggled and laughed at me.  Rona said,"Nels what are you doing open?  The show closed at six."  Dumb me, I thought it was open til 8 pm.  I figured the artists had enough with the rain and slim Friday sales.  I thought I was going to clean up.

Ironically, they left.  Immediately a young couple came in and spent $40.  I closed immediately  and spent it on sushi.

Gee, I guess I should read my show packet and know the hours.

You can set up up on Wednesday.  A lot of people start early while it is cool.  They have drive on program, so You can come on with vehicle and drop off stuff.

Also, at tear-down they are letting us drive on--that is a new thing that just started last year.

Still, most artists with hotel rooms nearby and vans in the lot, choose to dolly out.  Show ended at 5 pm and I was loaded via dolly by 6:15.

This year was off for a lot of us.  Mostly low-end sales with very few framed pieces being sold.

Still, a good number of artists posted big sales.  Ten of my friends on Facebook mentioned how they had had a killer show--and, this was in all mediums.

The crowds were thinner, you could tell by how uncrowded the boardwalk was at times.  Restaurants were not jammed like usual.

Personally, I think people are reluctant to spend much right now.

I did not have single person come in and say they were looking for a big piece to put over the bed or the fireplace.

"Be-backs" were few and far between.  The show runs almost 14 blocks long, so the length inhibits a lot of be-backs.

In the past years I could count on the military to buy at least 30 per cent of my show totals.  Today, they are deployed and their spending is almost nil.

This is still a fun show to do, and most people make some money.  It is just one of those shows you have to try for yourself to see if it works.

They buy mostly traditional work.  And, of course, they love sea-related imagery.

This is an expensive show to do, especially if you are staying at a hotel on the boardwalk.

With just a single booth, I figured my overhead was close to $1700 for the show.  And, I was not doing it extravagantly.

So far, this year is a soft year, I don't see the economy rebounding well at all.  Our biz is changing, and I think it is for the worst.

Well, I have this weekend off, so I can garden and lick my wounds and get ready for another day.

Later, gators.