Well, I have been chewing on how to do this blog for a few days. It is never easy when you are stepping on the toes of high mucky-mucks.
What the hell, here goes.
First off. Naples is not the land of milk and honey that everybody thinks it is.
It is a land inhabited by many monied mid-westerners, Canadians, and a number of Europeans. Oh yeah, even a few native Floridians too.
They all have plenty of money. They will spend some, or even lots of it, on art.
For artists doing 2-D work, their tastes tend to run to cliche,generic, atmospheric and bland art.
They love the tropical, the birds, the fish, the blick. 3-D artists have better time roping in the big bucks. They will buy expensive bronzes. They love glitzy glass. They will buy expensive ceramics. Oh, they love their jewelry.
The trouble is too many unsuspecting artists show up for shows down here thinking they are going to make a killing--"because its Naples, and everybody has lots of money, and they love to buy art."
Trouble is, these artists have heard the rumors of wealth but have not really done any constructive homework--like talking to actual exhibitors who have done it.
Last weekend a lot of artists went home in their vans with the look of disappointment plastered all over their windshields.
This show has more than 240 artists running up and down eight blocks, east to west, on Fifth Avenue. These are long blocks and most people don't walk the whole show, let alone come back for a second look. You find very few "be-backs" here. Mostly, you get one shot at them.
About ninety per cent of the crowd walks with their little dogs blithefuly by our booths without really looking in.
I would say,last weekend, about 20% of the exhibitors hit big numbers here--between $5-10K.
The rest were lucky to even break $2K.
And, we all paid a $450 booth fee, plus jury fee, plus setup at 4 AM in the morn, crammed in tight, back to back down the street. Plus, it took most, a whopping 30 minutes or more to get back to the show after parking their vans in the Very Remote parking lot. Some people ended up hailing a cab, because it was so frustrating waiting for a shuttle.
FIRST, A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT THE SHOW
For years, Howard Alan ran a very successful New Years Weekend show here in the very same spot as the now, Naples Art Association.
It was a real money-maker for most artists. Then the powers that be in Naples told Howard,"So Long."
Then the Naples Art Association took over the show. Then expanded on the idea and said, let's do it in March too. Plus we will still have the one in Cambier Park and the street in Feb.
When it was actually on the New Years Weekend it attracted a lot of Europeans. You heard lots of Brits and German accents, and they paid with Americano dineros.
Lately, you hear much more mid-westerners than Europeans, and sadly, for a number of them, the first thing out of their mouths is, "Can you do better than that?"
Years ago, they were ever so polite. You never heard them utter those words. They were happy to see you, happy to decorate their winter homes with your work. They did not ask for discounts.
Now, we tend to get them asking us crude questions like, "Do you sleep in your booths or vans at night?"
I want to reply and ask them, "Do you still beat your wife." Can't do it, but I often think it.
They have killed the golden goose down here. Too many shows, too many exhibitors, and not enough buyers to go around for the artists to make a living at it.
When I pay a $450 booth fee, I usually expect that is because this is a worthwhile show, with a proven track record, where I can expect to yield $3.5K-6K in return. That is a decent return for the amount spent on the booth.
The trouble is, the Naples Art Association is making out like a bandit. They are essentially getting a 20-25% commission fee on our sales. And, we are the ones doing all the hard work.
To balance this out, let me tell you about the good things they do.
They give most exhibitors an open side to hang work on. You are set up in four booth quads with aisles separating each quad.
They have nice artist breakfast set up each morn with one of the food vendors.
They have good volunteers to spell you.
They have a courteous rapport with the artists at check in and during the show.
I know the Association cannot control how or whether the crowd will buy some art.
But their booth fee is too high for a decent return for most artists.
There, I gave them some kudos.
SO NELS, TELL US ABOUT THIS YEAR'S SHOW
Well, it was good, humid weather both days. No rain.
The town is packed with people, yet I still saw lots of empty seats at restaurants during prime time.
Lots of Canadians down here, and some were spending.
It is an older crowd here, most are in their early 60s and higher. Lots of dogs. They love their pets.
Some 3-D people made big sales on Saturday. A lot of us, did not break one thousand that day.
Everybody kept saying, "Well, my figures show that Sunday is the big day for sales."
Never happened for a lot of us.
Personally, I think this might be evolving into a Monday show. It sure isn't a Sat.-Sun show anymore.
I have done this show five times now. Each time it has gotten worse for me. And, I go with new work. I was not in it last year--the past director (they got rid of her last summer, and hired a new sheriff) last year did not agree with my definition of hand-colored photography and then put me in the jury against mixed media. Fat chance I had there.
This year I barely cracked expenses and then some.
You got a high booth fee, high hotels costs, high food costs. No deals down in Naples.
So, a lucky few make some some moola and the rest of us go home with bread crumbs.
It was not a fun weekend.
So, I will repeat once more"Do some serious homework before coming down here, it is not the land of milk and honey, except for a few.
Later,Gators.
Art in Bloom is always among the park's most popular events. Quality of artwork will take precedence over quantity of artists so the show may vary in size somewhat. 
Indianapolis, Indiana
Arts in the Middle is a new name but not a new experience. Led by Gloucester Arts on Main, a popular non-profit arts center in Gloucester Court House, VA, our seasoned team of producers and exhibitors have received state and local funds to renew and expand Art on the Half Shell, the popular festival that drew large crowds until 2012 to our lovely county in Virginia's river country near the Chesapeake Bay. 
