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A friend and I took our wives on a photo safari to The Plant City Strawberry Festival yesterday.  We met in a large parking lot shared by a Hooters and a McDonald's.  We left my car, and rode in his.  After dark, when we returned, I noticed a few people chatting behind a car a few spaces away. 

 As I was transferring my camera and tripod to my trunk, we were approached by man on a bicycle.  He interrupted our goodbyes and began talking.  My wife and my friend saw the “pan-handle “ coming and my wife quickly got in the car while my friend turned and said, “God Bless” before he too, got in his car. 

I asked, “You after money?”

He began telling me how he hadn’t worked in several weeks and was looking for money so he could eat.  I guess I’m a soft touch, and he seemed sincere so I pulled out my money clip and leafed through a few bills until I found a ”fiver”.  When I handed it to him; he said, “There’s a Chinese buffet up the road and I could get all I want for $7”.

I was caught off guard for a few seconds and finally, pointing at the group of people a few parking spaces away, I said, “Maybe you could get a couple of bucks from them”.

His demeanor immediately became sour and he began rolling away on his bike grumbling under his breath.  It  became clear to me that he now thought I was some kind of an asshole!

He went off in the opposite direction from the other people so I assumed he had already hit them up.  When he was about 10 feet away, I said in a loud voice, “You’re welcome!”.

No response.

Any of you have pan-handle stories?

• Website: culturalfestivals.com 
• Avg. Sales: $8177 (AFSB) 
• Jury Images:  4 Images of work plus one booth image
• Viewed:  simultaneously with images horizontally across the screen (booth image is last image in the row)
• Jurors: The jury is made up of arts professionals, peer jurors, and local buyer/collector (all paid), a total of 5 jurors.
• Scoring:  yes, no, maybe
• Jury/Application Fee:  $40 non refundable
• Booth Fee: $625 and $725
• Cash Awards: Up to $20,000
• Booth Space:  10'x10' with 2' buffer all around
• Electric:  500 watts provided free, no generators
• Produced by:  Cultural Festivals 501(c) 3 Non-profit corp.
• Artist Presence: Required
• Reproductions:  Not allowed
• No. of Applicants in 2014:  1329
• No. of Exhibitors from Jury Pool:  145
• No. of Exhibitors Exempt from Jury:  36
• Security:  24-Hour
• Parking:  Free/Reserved

In addition to the amazing visual art exhibition, the festival features live performing arts ensembles on three stages, the Creative Castle featuring educational art projects for children, street performers and fifteen of St. Louis' most delectable restaurants.

Apply: www.Zapplication.org 

For more information contact:

Cindy Lerick

President & Executive Director, Cultural Festivals

phone: 314-863-4485; CulturalFestivals.com 

For a quick look at the Saint Louis Art Fair: 

Ok, so I took the plunge. I got a space at the Artegon, formerly Festival Bay Mall, 5250 International Drive, Orlando. While I had my reservations, I budgeted it out to try this for six months. (only six month and 12 month leases available at the time I signed.)

Nuts and bolts -

County and City License - about $100, takes a few hours to do, but relatively painless procedure.

Insurance - About $325, for one year. easy to do.

Signage - About $375, mandatory fee from Artegon.

Security Deposit - $500 (I have heard of varying amounts from other booths, your experience may vary.)

First months' electricity fee - $187.50

I think that covers it. So for about $1500, you get a 10ftx20ft cage to fill. I signed in December, but due to prior commitments, I opened doors February 1st. After 1 month of being opened, I grossed $1075. Not a lot when you consider you need to have your doors opened 60 hours a week. But from talking to the other artists, I did very well. Granted Jan, Feb, and Mar are slow months for Orlando.

But there has been a lot of rollover in vendor/artists. My row has 10 booths, and since I have been there, 6 have left for various reasons, but mostly because of low sales. I did a walkthrough on my first week, and counted 35 empty booths, and 10 buy/sell booths. My walkthrough on march 1st had 37 empty booths, and about 25 buy/sell booths, including one psychic. All this in a potential of 165 booths (some booths have expanded into adjoining booths.)

A lot of this is due to, I believe, telling potential vendors that this would be a forum for basically, a high end Art Fair, every weekend, naturally with great sales to go along with it. While it may become that in a couple years, it is slow to start. Some vendors go for days or a week between sales. Some of the vendors haven't helped, by either opening late or closing early, or not showing up at all. When enough people walk thru and the shops aren't open, they won't return, and tell their friends the same. Today, on my row, at 11:15am, out of 10 potential shops, (1 shop is a double); 3 aren't open, and one is empty. Not a very inviting view for potential customers to walk down.

Marketing is bad, but they just hired new staff for it, so I hope it improves. I hear every other day, "I didn't even know this was here, I just walked out of Bass Pro Shops and here it is! when did this happen?" or I get "This place was so hard to find! why didn't they just say it was at the old Festival Bay Mall?". Which make me twinge inside, because I see the billboards on my way into work. No Address, No exit off I-4 mentioned, etc.....Not everyone has a smart phone to try to decipher what Artegon is! Some new billboards at least it mentions being at the old festival bay mall, so keeping fingers crossed that this aspect improves.

Another aspect, those artists that leave early are breaking a contract, and management is talking about suing them for the electricity fees that they are leaving unpaid by not being here. Which is going to make future artists more leery about signing up.

So my take on Artegon? It is ok for me. Gets me out of the house, I do the same work here that I would do at home, plus I can sell. I am hoping that traffic picks up, but not counting on it at the moment. My biggest fear is that the first six month contracts expire in May, and that this place will be a ghost town then.

Would I recommend getting a space to anyone? No. I would wait until June to see what kind of vendor retention there is, and what kind of shops they are. If you are seriously thinking about it, check back on a monthly basis to see what the place is like, and make sure that you can survive without a sale, and can do your work when you are here.

Lake Wales is a sleepy little town in the middle of Florida not far from Legoland. Demographics are mostly budget-conscious retirees, so big sales are not to be expected at this show. This year Lake Wales was scheduled the same weekend as Gasparilla in Tampa so it may have been a second choice for many artists here (like me). Prize money is generous for a small show like this ($17K), so it attracts some artists who enter strictly for the prize money.

The show is set up in two sections. One section is down by the lake and the other, larger section is close, just across a park roadway. Artists by the lake park close by in a designated area in the grass. Artists in the other section, where I was, can park behind their booths. Booth size is large at about 14 feet wide and and equally deep.

There were two judges for this show and the committee did a good job of "training" them. They required each judge to spend a minimum amount of time in each booth and to pass out a business card produced by the committee to insure that every artist is fairly evaluated. Even though I did not receive an award I like this system.

With rain in the forecast we set up conservatively keeping three sides zipped down tight in anticipation of the weather. On this cloudy morning we used our new 12-volt LED lighting system for the first time. I'm glad I spent the time and money on this system. It really made the artwork pop.

Buying energy was encouraging early in the show on Saturday. Many of us nervously watched the weather maps as the storms tracked north of us inundating Gasparilla with tons of water. We were secretly relieved and a little cocky about our little fair being spared the floods that were hitting Tampa and Gasparilla. Second hand rumors and phone calls from Gasparilla artists made us feel we might be spared the misery that they were feeling.

We did just over $1K before the weather caught up with us. the storms tracked south and we were hit with two inches of torrential rain at around 3pm. It rained so hard we thought it might pass quickly, but it didn't. The grass of the park got saturated and started flooding with some booths being ankle deep in water and mud. The committee shut down the show at around 3:30.

Since we planned ahead it was easy to just zip up the front panels and get out of Dodge. We had dinner on that rainy evening at Manny's Restaurant, a local eatery run by a colorful, uozo-drinking, Zorba-the-Greek type entrepreneur who spent a lot of time at the bar partying with the locals.

When we arrived at the fair on Sunday we were happy to see that most of the standing water had soaked into the grass. We wiped things down the best we could and rolled up the front panels. No damage. All the artwork dry (I'm a digital artist with limited edition prints on paper and canvas). The weather was pretty good but rain was still in the forecast, especially big percentage for 5pm at teardown. I rearranged the van for a quick getaway incase we got hit again. Fortunately we only got a few sprinkles on Sunday, but it was enough to keep the buyers away. We had meager sales that day and wound up with just under $1400 for the weekend. Not enough to make us want to return next year.

Although sales were disappointing, and I did not receive an award, there are a lot of good things about this show. First, we got hit with lots of rain but, unlike Gasparilla,  the committee was wise enough to shut down the show.

• The grassy park was able to absorb most of the flooding overnight.
• The judging system is well planned and as fair as I've seen.
• Booth size is generous and I love to be able to park right behind the booth.
• And, the committee is wise enough to know that artists can manage the setup and tear down all by themselves without a bunch of rules and schedules.
• Setup on Friday went smoothly and teardown on Sunday was a breeze.

Most artists have done this a million times and are polite and accommodating among themselves. Got next weekend off. We'll be on the beach at Indian Rocks Beach until the following weekend when we go to Bonita Springs for one of Barry Witt's extravaganzas. I haven't done Bonita since Barry moved the show to the park, so I'm looking forward to it.

March 28 & 29

Earl Brown Park

This festival, which will celebrate its 50th year of continuous operation in 2015, has become a city-wide tradition for generations of residents in and 

around DeLand. Home to Stetson University, DeLand boasts an art-savvy public that embraces the event as their "hometown" show. 
 

Separation of fine art and craft from

traditional art and craft insures an interested public visiting each section.

Extensive media campaign and public relations support reach beyond the immediate market. 65% of our artists and crafters return every year.

The City of DeLand from 2013-2014 spent 5.5 million dollars to beautifully renovate Earl Brown Park with a new Wayne Sanborn Activity Center, Amphitheater, concessions and beautiful landscaping.

In Tampa this past weekend the judges were out to pass out the big prize money. And the winners are:

Carolina Cleere: Raymond James Financial Best of Show Award ($15,000)

• Carolina Cleere's "Honey Child" won the Raymond James Financial Best of Show Award

Suzy Scarborough: Board of Directors' Award ($7,500)

Leeann Kroetsch: Roddy Brownlee Reed Award of Artistic Excellence through the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay ($4,000)

David Nugent: Mayor's Award ($3,500)

Ning Lee: President's Award ($2,500)

Sandra Brewster: Friends of the Museum Award ($2,000)

Adrian Jenkins: Yates Law Firm Emerging Artist Award ($1,500)

Kate Harrold: Gensler Award of Merit ($1,500)

Ummarid Eitharong: Hill Ward Henderson Award of Merit ($1,300)

Antony Becker: Holmes Hepner & Associates Architects Award of Merit ($1,300)

Steven Levine: Michael C. Gribbin D.M.D. General and Cosmetic Dentistry Award of Merit ($1,300)

Daphne Covington: Ruth Ann Pollock Memorial Award of Merit ($1,300)

Thomas Dumke: The Bank of Tampa Award of Merit ($1,300)

Marina Terauds: Waller & Wax Advisors Award of Merit ($1,300)

Rasa Saldaitis: Wells Fargo Award of Merit ($1,300)

Because of the big prize money Gasparilla receives many applications and some of the exhibitors do no other art fairs, they are there for the prizes.

This is a good article with comments from the judge as well as many photos of the show, including commentary on the weather.

http://cltampa.com/artbreaker/archives/2015/03/03/45th-annual-raymond-james-gasparilla-festival-of-the-arts#.VPZNJSkgrU0

Sorry this is so late, I was suppose to go to Gasparilla last weekend and I got stuck in the snow in Tennessee and never got down there and meant to do a review of ACC but dang...I forgot. So hear we go. 

This was my first show of the year after spending January and half of February in my studio working and it too almost didn't happen because of the weather but luckily the freeways were clear and I made it up there to Baltimore in time. I was just part of the retail show, it's a humongous show. I didn't even get over to the wholesale part or even the wholesale /retail part. But let me back this up.

Load in was extremely well organized and you had a specific time to dolly in to the Convention Center. It went pretty smooth. It was a really high quality show...the work that was there literally knocked me out. Some had huge booth set ups and a lot of work I have never seen on my circuit of shows (I do about 20 a year). It was impressive.

I heard this year that there were some mini booths at cheaper prices but I never saw them and I looked around but I don't think they were in the retail section. The show is an expensive show to do and the booth fee is a lot higher than most but I think it was fair considering how many people came.

Friday was packed with a lot of packages going out. It really surprised me how many people were there for 5 days strait and they had come in from all over the country. I got three wholesale people interested in making orders the first day and I was retail and not even there for that. Anyway, you get my drift.

Saturday was good in the morning but in the afternoon we got a considerable amount of snow and it kind of thinned the crowds out. I still had a good day. Sunday, even though it had snowed through the night, the crowds came out.....that's the difference between ACC Baltimore and ACC Atlanta...if there is a snowstorm in the South- the Galleria will be empty but up North they know how to maneuver and get around. I had my best day. I think everyone around me also had a good show. It was truly worth the trip.

Load out, unfortunately was a nightmare and they (ACC) have got to figure that out a bit better....sitting in line for two hours before you could even drive in to load up was not good...no, not good. But overall, it was a great show to do and was truly worth the money.

Let me preface that with I have relatives in Baltimore so that expense was off the table for me but I know it's an expensive place to get a hotel room in. I guess you have to figure it all up and judge for yourself. Of course I didn't probably do as well as the guy with the carved huge wooden clocks in the double booth... (that I would have cut off my right arm to have - they were incredible-sorry I can't remember his name) but I got my piece of the pie and it was a good first toe in the water for the year. 

Here is a great quote about how we in the South can't drive in snow ( mostly ice-because that is what we usually get) "Now I know why the North won the Civil War...the South got 1/2 an inch of snow and completely lost their shit..." 

This week I traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the Garage Sale Art Fair put on by Bonnie Blanford and Michael Kifer.  I have attended this show several times in the past but this was the best one yet. 

The place was packed.  There were lots and lots of shoppers.  There were 138 juried artists with amazing art work.  Most of the artists had art work that they wanted to sell off before the spring shows start.  They were cleaning out their inventory.  However, the art all looked like it was in great condition.  There were deals there to be had and the shoppers were in a buying frenzy.

I tried to talk with a few of the artists but they were kept pretty busy by shoppers.  I don't recall any artist just sitting there without several shoppers in their booth.  I even heard some shoppers talking about the fact that it was hard to just leisurely stroll into the booths because they were so full of shoppers.  Many of the artists could barely bag up the sales fast enough to get to the next shopper.  What a problem, eh?

We arrived early to the show.  I think we got there about half an hour after the place opened.  There were lines already to pay to get into the building.  It cost $5 to get in and that didn't seem to bother anyone trying to get in to this show.  This show has a great reputation in the Kalamazoo area for good deals and this show has a great following of loyal customers.  

There are lots of people helping to make sure this show runs off well.  There were workers helping in the coat check room, at the door when you arrive, in the lobby, and inside the show area selling bags to carry to shoppers to carry their purchases in. Event staff was everywhere. 

People were allowed to check their purchases at the coat check room so that they didn't have to lug early purchases around with them all day.

Shoppers could also enter a raffle to win money to spend at the show.  Every so often they drew someone's name and the prize was $19 because it was the 19th anniversary of this show.  That is always a hit with the crowd.
This show goes til 4 pm.  I saw at least one artists had completely sold out by about 1:30 and he was packed up and gone.  Yeah, it was the yard sculpture guy and everybody seemed to be walking around with a piece of his stuff. 

But, by 2 pm you could really tell that the shopping frenzy was settling down.  By 2 pm there were also some artists that were offering a little bit better deal to entice those final sales before it was time to pack up and leave. 

There were some AFI artists there, too.  Barry Bernstein was there but he was too busy to talk to.  I saw Vinnie Sutherland walk by.  Vinnie has been to this show before.  Gayle Weiss finally got in this year after being wait listed.  She had some gorgeous jewelry that she rarely marks down so shoppers were getting a deal.

Connie also found Steven Huyser-Honig at the show. 
Sometimes I lost track of Connie because she
was always busy checking in with artists. She still managed to score some great deals as she made her way through the booths.

If you keep your eyes open you can find a few things you would never expect to see at an Art Fair.  This year's crazy find was a microwave someone was trying to get rid of.

The best deal for me for the day was I finally got to meet Photographer Jim Parker.  I have read his posts through the years and it was nice to meet him in person and his lovely wife.  Jim gave Connie and I each a photo!  Connie got a gallery wrap of Jim's famous "Dune Girl" and I got a framed "Dune Girl."  Jim has great work and I enjoyed looking at his display as did many other customers who kept Jim busy all day. 

This is a great show to clean out your old stock.  The shoppers are hungry and they were making multiple purchases.  This would be a great show to kick off the start of a new show season to make room for new stock.   Bonnie Blanford and Michael Kifer did a great job with this event as they have also done in past years. 

(Disclaimer) These photos seemed a lot sharper on my phone.

May 2 & 3       

The show winds around the pond and runs adjacent to the log cabin.  Artists are encouraged to get out of the tent and create installations that enhance their work and interact with the natural beauty of the park.
 

Mark Loeb, Integrity Shows
info@integrityshows.com 

(313)486-2666

P.O.Box 21667

Detroit, MI 48221

Mark Loeb, Integrity Shows President, has been producing and consulting with events since 1982.  Integrity Shows offers artist friendly policies such as a three year acceptance system, helping to create a less stressful experience and allowing artists to plan their show schedule.  Among the shows produced by Integrity Shows is Royal Oak Clay, Glass & Metal Show, Funky Ferndale Art Fair, Jazzin on Jefferson, Chelsea Invitational Craft Fair and several Christmas shows. 

Interested in the exact statistics from one of the highest rated art fairs in the country? Then you'll enjoy this detailed report from the Saint Louis Art Fair:

2014 Saint Louis Art Fair Rundown

(For me) -- Tequila and Ice Fishing in Minnesota, Read on ...

Since it is really cold (and did I hear, 11 inches of snow in Alabama today???), here is something to warm you up. I'm recycling one of Nels Johnson's early posts:

Well, here's a first.  I am doing the "Tequila Report" before I do the blog of the show.  What the heck!.

So, Ellen and I are in New Smyrna doing Images.  Lucky for me, I have a two-year-old barter tab with Clancy's Cantina which I have not had a chance to use yet--$350.00 worth.  That is a lot of shots and margaritas.

So, Saturday we invited noted Minesota glassblower, Doug Becker, to join us on a little Mexican extravaganza eating, drinking exposition.  You gotta understand when you invite Dougie along that's like inviting a whole Minnesota brewery along for a tasting.  He and his brother Joe could wipe out all the Wisconsin breweries in one nite's tasting.  But, brave souls that we are, and we love him, we included him.

Clancey's has been in New Smyrna since the days I lived there back in the early eighties.  They have moved twice, each time enlarging, into finally the old grocery store on the beach ...

The rest of the goodies here:

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/first-tequila-report-of-the

Krasl results came today.... and while I was ridiculously hopeful about being selected (and after seeing the others in my category  - 3d mixed media) I received the ominous. REJECT email. I asked for my jury results - anticipating middle of the road results  - and received 3 1's, 1 2, and a 6. I was devastated. 

How do you recover from this? It's devastating and crushing. it make you question.. why......

"Hello RC FULWILER,

Your entry 1912.157431 ...was not juried into Art on the Square 2015.  Your interest in the show is appreciated and we wish you much success with your work."

I had no idea what show this was from.  Art on the Square is a common name in this business.  It took quite a while to figure out it was Belville, IL.  Gee thanks!  I guess that's all $40 will get you these days.

It started off cool last weekend in Key West.  The locals were not happy--it was a high of fricking 52 degrees on Friday.  Fisherman were bundled up like Eskimos.

The rest of us loved it.

We were in the warmest place in the whole USA and we had a city crammed full of tourists looking for adventures in dining and art.

I took off from freezing Ybor City early Friday morn around 5 AM.  We had the plants covered, and I was covered too--still had bare knees, no long pants on me, I don't own any.

It is usually a nine hour journey to the bottom of the Keys.  This time I knew it would be longer.  Everybody who could afford it got out of the frigid north and headed to the Florida Keys.  The roads were packed.

Ironically, I thought gas would be way higher down there than Tampa.  When I left, it was $2.19 per gallon.  Guess what?  I got to Key Largo and it was still the same price.  Now down in Key West it got up to $2.58.  Still pretty cheap.

I have done this show, off and on, since the early nineties.

I have never had huge, bang-up shows there, but i always make a paycheck.  Plus, I get new work.

I had missed the last three years due to illness to Ellen, and me.  So I was excited.

I was going to be sharing a room with my old glass art bud, Jim Wilbat.  He is a Chicago boy, but he easily translates into the tropical style of the Keys.

He was coming off a great Coconut Grove and I was coming off a great Artigras.

We snagged a bedroom via AirBNB.  Our first time using this site.  It went well.

We ended up in a place about 17 miles north, Sugarloaf Key.  About a 30 minute ride into KW.

It cost us about $150 a nite for the two of us.  We shared a bedroom, separate beds, of course--otherwise both Kara and Ellen would be pissed.  We got use of the whole house located on a canal near the Atlantic.  Drank lots of good wine and a few tastes of Vodka.

So here is the thing about this show.

It aint cheap staying down there.  It is high season and you will pay top dollar.

In the old days I could bring my trailer down and stay at Jabours Campground for $40 per nite right downtown.  Jabours is long gone now.  There are no campground rentals in KW.  Nearest place is north at Stock Island at Boyd's Campground.  It will cost more than $40 per night.

A glass artist friend got together with five other people and rented a whole house during the show.  Actually, they stayed for six days.  Cost each of them about $100 per night.  But they partied hardy.  It was worth it.

On the CLC card I used to get a Days Inn at the top of the Island for about $125 per nite--but that was being remodeled.

There are hundreds of B&Bs there.  You just gotta get on the horn early to try and get a good rate.

So finding a cheap room is almost nonexistent for this show.  You gotta know that right away.  And plan accordingly.

That is the only detriment that I can think of for this show.  Everything else is blue skies and plenty of fish and margaritas.

The nice thing about this show is that you can meet people from all over this planet there.  And, most of them have money, or they wouldn't be there.

Between the airlines and the cruiseships, let alone the ones who just drive there, there are people from Europe, South America, Asia, and from all over the USA.

I spoke to seven persons from Philadelphia on Sunday.  Heard a lot of mid-western accents with a sprinkling of New England.  And, of course, you have a ton of New Yorkers and Jersey people thrown into the mix.

Which means anything is possible to sell here.  You just gotta give it your best shot.

It is a two day show with early morn setup on Saturday.  Six AM if you are on Whitehead Street and seven AM if you are setup on the Truman annex part of Caroline Street.

The local Art Association led by the very able director Lois Songer run a very smooth show.

Lois learned her chops from longtime director Florence Rechter, and she learned well.

It is a tight street for setup and everybody flows the correct way.  Nobody hogs the road and blocks it for others.  Teardown is equally smooth.  Most people are out in a hour-and-half  or less.

You got storage room behind in most spaces.  Side to side is tight unless you have paid for one of the few corner spaces.  You need weights.

They have free parking for artists few blocks away.  You can park in a municipal garage nearby.  There is a pay lot, about $20 per day, right off Caroline near the show.

They provide coffee and bagels in the morn, water and juice too.

They run a very enjoyable show.

I just don't know any other place I would rather be in the last weekend of February.  Oh, there is Naples.  But Key West is way more fun.

There is Kellys Restaurant right on the corner of the show.  They do a killer happy hour 4-7 with cheap Margies and Buffalo Wings.

In the mornings I hiked it down to Pepes Restaurant for breakfast each morn, it is about six blocks down.  Just beyond Pepes is Harpoon Harrys, another great spot, which serves a killer coffee con leche.

After the the show each night, Jim and I hit Origami Sushi bar in Square One Duval complex.

They have the freshest seafood and at reasonable prices.

At least one night you gotta have cocktails on the Afterdeck Bar at Louies Back Yard, right on the Atlantic Ocean.  It is the best ocean bar, bar none, on the Atlantic.  In the old days, Jimmy Buffett used to live right next door.

NICE STUFF ABOUT FOOD AND BOOZE, NELS, ARE YOU EVER GONNA TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THE SHOW?

THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK. (to be continued ...)

Well, Saturday crowds were strong and sales happened pronto for many.  I saw  several large paintings go out and they were not just tropical images.

People kept buying most of the day, most of us turned $1K or better, usual for Key West.

One important note about this show.

This is the fine art show and no crafts are allowed.  In January they have a craft show at the same site and no 2-D art is allowed.  So be aware of these things.

Back to saturday.

You have to be ready to ship art.  Post a sign in your booth that says this.  You have customers who have flown in, or boated in for the most part.

I never sell big items here, it is mostly out of the browse bins with some 16x20 frame sales included.

Ironically, I have loads of Keys images (been shooting there for 40 years) yet I sell very few of them.  How do you figure?

Wilbat and I did a good happy hour at Kellys followed up by sushi at Origami.  We made it an early nite.

BTW.  The temps went up nicely on Saturday to a breezy 68 degrees.  Sunday, it got even warmer.  We were the warmest spot in the nation.

Sunday morn we got there early, did con leche at Harpoon Harry's and read the paper.  I got two hours of good shooting in, came away with some great Key West Gold--photo-wise.

Sunday was much slower.  Thinner crowds, more looky-lookys than real buyers.  Time seemed to drag.  I consoled myself looking at the tropical birds flitting above the trees.  I dreamed of fried Mahi and Golden Margaritas.

At 5 PM show was over and the load out began.  Surprisingly, while I was gone to get my van, a guy came in and was waiting for me.  He ended up being a $300 sale which made the show a decent paycheck.

Monday morn I was on the road home to Tampa at 5:30 AM.

Around Marathon I spotted the first silvery glimmer of clouds starting to crowd out the night light.

Then slivers of pinks, followed by deep purples emerged.

The Keys sunrise, to me, is the best.  I always feel real joy seeing it.

You smell the salt in the air, you see the coral blue waters, fish jumping and boaters skirting atop waves.

It makes it all worthwhile.

I made it home by 3 PM, safe and sound, and a little renourished from my Keys adventures.

Not a bad way to be earning a living.  Living the good life.

Later, Gators.  Nels.