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Our art business is growing, and i have received several invitations for shows that are far from Northern Ohio, and my home. Considering they are outdoor shows, it would mean i have to pack the tent, and supplies along with the art, and get it to the venue.  Short of renting a small truck (our suv is aging, and i would not trust it on a cross country adventure) and driving there, I wonder what the best way would be to get the goods there, and myself there.   I wonder how do you handle this?  And do you have suggestions for the logistics of having everything arrive as you do?  I have not ventured more than about 300 miles from home so far, so this is a bold leap.  I have done some research on the cost of renting a pod, that is shipped via a trucking company, airfare, and the cost of renting a vehicle on the ground at the airport... vs renting a vehicle here and hauling it myself... And the costs are not so far off each other.  I would value your feedback.

It’s been a lousy couple of weekends in a row. Riverfront in Columbus, Ohio, was pretty bad with only $175 in sales, and who would have thought St. James would get worse? Hell, not only was it worse, the damn thing spiraled down in flames right through the rain and into the soggy ground. It was one of the worst shows for me in 25 years.

We’ll get the “Nels Stats” out of the way first, though. Set up would have been easy if you showed up early at 11:00 on Thursday morning. I didn’t and neither did half of the artists in the show who showed up about 5:00 in the afternoon, so I and others had about a 60-75 minute wait to go in line from Gaulbert up to Hill Street. After being on the road for about two and a half hours plus starting the wait time, my bladder was working overtime. Several of us folks jumped from the vehicles and hot footed it over to the bar at Gaulbert and Fourth to avail ourselves of the porcelain facility. Thank heavens the bar was open :-)

After we got into the artist zone, the place was packed with vans and trailers, and good luck, which was non-existent, on getting in front of your booth. Out came the carts and you started trollying things to your space and weaving between parked vans. Supposedly we had two hours to unload and set up before moving the vehicles, but by that time, the official set up time was over so you just kept on working. The smart thing was to use shims to level the Propanels, and mine were 2x4 blocks on the first panel from the curb. The curbs are crumbling badly at the edges and the best bet would have been to bring either 2x6 or 2x8 ten foot boards to bridge the curb from the street. There’s a hell of a crown on the street and almost a 6 inch drop from 10 feet out in the street to the drop off at the curb. A ten foot board is just about right to keep everything level. Too bad I didn’t bring mine.

Space behind the booth is ample to set up an awning that can go 7 feet behind the booth. I use adjustable painter poles, 3-axis corner connectors, and a couple of Flourish upper Sta-bar clamps on my EZ-Up to mount an awning frame work. It came in mighty handy when the Great Deluge hit on Saturday. The neighbors to either side had to contend with telephone poles and squeezed inward toward me so there was very little clearance between tents but still enough. Barely. Tubs can be stacked along the retaining wall at the back of the sidewalk or on top of the wall and still leave adequate room to walk through. Signs were out in force, along with pedestals and plastic chains, indicating that only artists and show staff were allowed behind the booths. Didn’t do much good as people still walked back there.

Power is not available unless you find a friendly resident and I assume a reasonable exchange of funds is done and you can plug in an extension cord. One artist about 6 booths further up did that. I brought the boat battery but thought there was enough charge in it. I was wrong and only had about 5 hours operation out of it. Lights are needed as it’s dark under those trees.

Friday showed up nice and clear, and people were wandering the show about a half hour early. Crowds picked up a little but not the hordes I’ve seen in past years. The TV stations were telling everyone to go on Friday or go on Sunday when "bargains would be available”. If someone can find that WAVE-TV dumbass reporter, be sure and pimp slap that twit until her ears ring. That kind of crap we can all do without.

I had a smallish number of people come into the booth, relative to the numbers out in the street. I had lots of oohs and ahhs, and compliments on my "eye". At least no one asked what camera I used. Unfortunately, no one bought anything on Friday despite that being rumored to be the best day. I guess they were planning to come back on Sunday and try to get that "deal" the TV station was talking about. Luckily I was staying with relatives and had supper with them or I would have been tempted to drown the disappointment of a zero day with excessive amounts of alcohol. Those compliments may be nice, but there is no currency conversion rate to turn them into bucks in the bank.

Saturday rolled around, and I left early in order to get a close parking spot again. Turned out to be a very good idea the way things turned out. Low lying areas were fogged in as we drove in from the south side of the county. That was a harbinger of bad s**t to happen later that day. We get in early, I set up the rear awning and wrap a couple of extra side tarps around the sides and back of the awning and close it in. Damn good thing as a few hours later it started to rain. And rain. Then rain some more. People were out with umbrellas. Some were wearing trash bags. Some were just wet. I still wasn’t selling anything. Finally someone comes in and asks if I had a small print of a larger framed piece I had. Nothing in the flip bin, but I did one out the print box I keep in the back. Sold it as is, no matte, tossed it a bag with a foam-cor backer for $20. That was my sole sale at St. James this year. A grand whopping $20. Damn, just kick me for good measure.

This was to be my make or break year at St. James. It’s broken; I ain’t going back. No way in hell. The staff and volunteers are great, they bend over backwards for the artists, I’ve got no complaint with them. I wish they ran other shows I’ve been at. I do other shows in Louisville and do much better with a lot less expense. My local relatives, who used to live in the middle of Old Louisville where the show is, tell me the show has become too unwieldy and large, and it’s difficult because of the size to find specific art you’re interested in. The cachet of finding something at St. James seems to be for lower end price points according to them. I don’t know, as all I know is first year was break even, my sales went up the second year and made some profit after all was said and done,and  last year I lost money although not as much. This year marks one of the worst shows in 25 years for me.

The crowd, for whatever reason, is not my crowd. My prices are middle of the road, not the lowest and not the highest, and it does sell occasionally. Damn near getting skunked is not a pleasant experience, and the time has arrived to pull the plug on it. Unlike other shows that did poorly, I can’t point a finger at the promotion or the way things were run. What I do and the prices I ask just don’t seem to be the right fit for this show. I read earlier on a thread that was deleted that several people had very good shows, and there are always some people who will do very well just as some are going to do poorly. If I’m going to do poorly, don’t count on me to be back very often. I may be stubborn but I’m not stupid.

I ran into one artist who was a prior customer at another show who is now doing art shows himself. He said this was his make or break year for the show, and I talked to a few others in the same situation. I chatted with another artist at tear down who was stuck in traffic in front of my booth and she related it was a poor show for her and she won’t be back next year either. It all makes sense when part of the promotion on the TV stations included information about how there were many new artists. Yeah, no kidding, I think I know why.

Now for the rest of the story. It rained off and on all during the day. The water started flowing in the gutters and started rising just like the Ohio River during the Great Flood of 1937. First there were trickles, then the water started running fast in the gutters. The drains couldn't keep up. People were still out there walking the show. What I did observe is that few of them would flick their heads from side to side to check out the booths; they just seemed to be on a mission to go somewhere and it wasn't in the booths. More than once, I overheard conversations about having to hurry up so they can “see” the rest of the show. My gut feel is that the show has become a social event where you see and be seen.

The rain kept coming down, the water started getting higher and pretty soon it was at least 5 inches and deeper as it lapped up over the curb and started back on the sidewalk. It reached about 7 feet from the curb up into the street, leaving only about 3 feet of “dry” pavement in the booth. The west side of the street was even worse with the water reaching 3-4 feet out in front of the booths.

The artist next to me said that several artists further up on the street were talking about pulling out that night because of low sales and conditions. That turned out to be a moot point as about 3:15 or so we got word from the volunteers to shut down at 5:00 and tear down with Sunday being cancelled. By that time several booths around us had already dropped their fronts and were closed, presumably with tear-down taking place inside. We started about 3:45 taking down prints and drying out a couple of tubs that weren't as water proof as I thought they were. Sunday was supposed to be high winds, heavier rain, and lightning. Given that forecast, it was a good call. There was a nice period where the rain stopped and we got a lot of stuff carted to the van over on Hill.

As neighbors left, we were able to get the van in and finish tearing down the tent. The last part was in the rain although everything was packed except the tent frame and the top. No way in the devil was I going to fold that John Mee top with the rain coming down, so I had the bright idea to collapse the frame, lift the back corners and start rolling the top like a giant jelly roll. I’ll be durned if it didn’t work and that sucker was taken down in a couple of minutes, folded over, and crammed in the back of the van. Woo-hoo, we were out of there. Sorry to say, but I won’t be back.

************************************************************

Here are some photos I took about mid-afternoon, just before the water reached the high point. The view is from booth 625, a little bit north of Belgravia and is looking north. The black lines are not carpeting but are the water line inside the booths. Notice that a couple of booths are already closed.

This next picture is looking south toward Hill Street, still on 4th Street and from booth 625. There's another booth closed up

I've got one more show this year, and it's about 6-7 weeks off. I've got time to do some thinking about improving prsentation and getting some new ideas worked out. Next year is gonna be a strange one as I might as well stretch and have some fun with what I'm doing.

After having the best spring and summer in ages I have had a lackluster fall. I held back on deadlines because I thought I would be out of the country for a few months and missed the good ones.

Thus, for the last two weeks I have taken a big hit and it's really my own fault. I tried some new venues that were untested and took it on the chin to say the least. 1st up was Cotton South, A show that had the best intentions and a wonderful promoter that did mostly everything right except there were hardly any customers and the ones there just were not buying. Plus, I hate to say, but a 10 dollars entry fee just about killed a small town show. High caliber of artists, many that made a donut. I was lucky enough to pay expenses and then some, but it was no TACA (which I was already juried into and I heard was fabulous this year). I just wanted to give this show a chance and I see future success due to the great positive work of the director, but it wasn't to be this year for me. I do think that this show will eventually be a force to reckon with, just not it's first year.

This past weekend I headed to Nashville to a show at the historic home of Andrew Jackson. The Fall Fest at the Hermitage promised to be a good show, unfortunately, a day of blistering heat (94) and sparse crowds and then a day of torrential rain, blew that one. The layout of the show was crazy and many didn't even get around to many of the booths and since I was in the south forty and the bulk of the show was around the food, it was a dismal show for me. Not a donut but close, that was even with winning the Best in 2D award.Go figure. Doesn't that usually bring people to a booth? Unfortunately, not this time.This show also had a great director and I believe it can become a good show but we can't control the weather.

You plan, God laughs. But here I am batting 2 for 2. So much for live and learn.  So, my dilemma is this. Next weekend I'm scheduled to do a show in Newport News, Virginia, (never been there ) called the Port Warwick Art and Sculpture Festival. I have checked out this blog and others and I can't find out anything about this show. What I'm hoping to know is should I avoid the third strike or should I go. At this point, I'm tired, wet and broke and it's 71/2 hours away. I wonder if it isn't better to let it all go and stay home. If anyone has any advice I would be grateful, my ego is shot, the idea that I was figuring it all out is totally gone and am considering taking a break from getting back on the horse immediately. Especially if this one is going to be like the other two. Thanks in advance.

We Believe... that every consumer has a right to know where a product comes from. In today’s global economy, domestic manufacturers are forced to compete in an unfair marketplace where most gifts, housewares, jewelry and accessories are marked with removable paper stickers that indicate country of origin.  Many retailers and wholesalers remove these labels in an effort to raise perceived value and confuse consumers about country of origin.

May 9-11, 2014  

Greenville is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest corner of South Carolina, halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte. 

It is one of those lucky U.S. cities impacted positively by high tech development where industries such as BMW, General Electric and Fluor are flourishing.

What to expect:

• 120 participating artists
• cash awards totaling $12,500
• Purchase Awards Program average of $7,500 each year
• convenient & easy load-in/load-out, free artist parking, and 24-hour security
• 600+ volunteers; booth sitters
• complimentary meals, snacks & beverages in conveniently located Artist Hospitality
• artist Awards breakfast
• reduced hotel rates

2014 marks the ten year anniversary for the top ranking Artisphere festival, an annual three-day event that gives arts patrons the unique opportunity to meet exhibiting artists while purchasing original works of art.

A supportive, art-loving community, experience for exhibiting artists and the public alike.  Artisphere is a 501(c)(3) non-profit art organization.  Proceeds are used to produce the annual arts festival and are distributed back to local non-profit arts organizations as part of Artisphere's Volunteer Arts Partnership Program.

On the fence about applying? Visit our website for a good overview:  www.Artisphere.us

Artist review here: www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/artispherea-little-je...

For more info: contact Liz Rundorff Smith, Program Director/Artisphere at (864)271-9355 or liz@greenvillearts.com

Copied from my blog:

I had my world shaken by one person's images while jurying an art fair. Today was the jury for the art fair that Michael Kifer and I run in Kalamazoo Michigan. Because this is a different type of art fair (the Garage Sale Art Fair), Michael and I jury the show ourselves. It's something I'm very comfortable doing and really enjoy. This time it was even better.

Without permission I can't use the person's name but I will tell you that I wish the images of my own work evoked the strength of the feelings that these did for me. Just when you've seen your fill of overworked, over Photoshopped images, one person's work comes up on the screen and reaches up to grab you by the heart. I caught my breath and just drank it in. 

There's a lesson to be learned here for all of us. Make your images speak. Let them tell a story. Don't worry about making those big expensive pieces of your work because you think that's what a jury wants to see. Let the jury feel your work and they will get it. And you'll probably get into more of the shows that you want to do. I know I'm rethinking my own images...

October 12 & 13, 2013
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Postell Park
Sponsored by the Glynn Art Assn.
70 artists
Deadline: October 7

Glynn Art in the Park on St. Simons Island offers a fine arts event in a small town ocean side setting.  The island is one of four barrier islands known as the "Golden Isles" on the Georgia coast, midway between Savannah, GA, and Jacksonville, FL, including Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island  and Jekyll Island. 

We invite you to join us on Columbus Day weekend, when many visitors from as far away as Atlanta come to enjoy the ambiance of this coastal community.  The jury brings in a well-balanced selection of about 70 art professionals representing 2D and 3D media. Postell Park, (across the street from the Glynn Art Visual Center), is home to the festival. It was re-designed a few years ago and laid out specifically for events like this.  The one square block setting is located under mighty live oak trees, with the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred yards away.
Cash awards totaling $4,000 are distributed on Saturday for a total of eight categories.  A unique part of the festival is the Patron Program.  Patrons pledge to purchase a certain amount of art, and Glynn Art retains a small tax deductible donation.  Patrons distribute their own Patron Award ribbon to present to their favorite artist.

Amenities:

• a continental breakfast each morning, and booth sitters during the show.
• A Patron Preview party the night before the festival.  Patrons mix and mingle with the artists over wine and heavy hor d'oeuvres provided by local restaurants.
• The party is free to artists with a discount for their guests ($15).  A sample of each artist's work is on display at the party, to provide a preview, discussion with the artist, or sale before the festival begins.

Music is provided Saturday and Sunday in the form of violin, keyboard, or guitarist/vocalist.  A children's Art table enables the creation of a take-home piece of art.  A few food vendors will be on site, in addition to multiple restaurants within walking distance.

Advertising: local newspapers and tourism guides, billboards and signage throughout the community, posters in storefronts, Constant Contact emails, our website, and mailed invitations. 

Surveys from previous festivals consistently praise our staff and volunteers for their hospitality.  In 2012 a participating artist reported on ArtFairInsiders.com: "the Art Association does everything right and I love this show." 

A local resident wrote to us:  "I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the festival and preview party this past weekend.  The food Friday night was great and it was fun to have a chance to meet the artists.  I went to the festival on Saturday "just to look".  The art was very impressive and I ended up buying several things."

For an application or more information on the Glynn Art in the Park Fall Festival, call (912)638-8770. GlynnArtAssociation@gmail.com or visit the website: www.glynnartinthepark.org

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Find even more art fairs for your 2013 season: www.CallsforArtists.com

Hi there,  Still looking for feedback from anyone who may have done this show in the past.  It is coming up the second weekend of October.  Their package indicates the expected volume of visitors this year is 400,000 to 450,000.  The jurors are from Colombus Gift Mart.  I would just love to hear about your experiences, advice, etc.  It is our first time being juried into the event, and seeing that the size of the event is huge I would imagine someone out there has some knowledge.  I would value your feedback.

So, I received notification that I was not accepted to a small local show. It was my first show ever and I was in this show three times. It's not a huge sales show. But it is fun nonetheless and about only 5 minutes from my home. But not being accepted this time feels like a kick in the gut...

I even did a poster for the Holiday show last year!

Deadline: September 30, midnight -- your turn to tell us what is the Best Art Fair. 

Our site ArtFairCalendar.com, whose mission it is to publicize art fairs and bring the public to attend and buy art work, is conducting its first annual survey of "America's Best Art Fairs." 

The goal: to publish this list and get it well publicized for the purpose of connecting those people who love to attend shows by sharing the information. 

Your opinion counts (you've attended a lot of them), show organizers opinions count (they attend lots of shows too and know the competition) and there is a great group of people who love the shows and will travel to find them, as well as bring their friends.

We've had a great response to the survey but we are in the last days -- please take the survey, share it on your FB pages, your business pages and send it out to your email lists. The more responses we receive the more accurate the results will be and it will help build attendance at the best shows, and lead to better crowds at the smaller events.

Please do it now. Click here: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/best-art-fairs-survey.html

Wow time past so fast. In a year time from now, I hope to start one scary goal. Next winter I start going back into the Florida market. I plan to start in Florida slow and not go crazy. Expand my Texas market and be back to the Midwest by next May. My hometown will see me less.

I am waiting for more confirmations. So far only show had respond yes or no. That one was a yes. I do not what to expect but I know that still need to improve. Somethings need to be let go and now hard part start.

Patience, tolerance, appreciate ignorance and keep working in my passion.

Thank you so much Mary Johnston and Armando for helping me to get out of the darkness. Without your input I would not had courage to keep producing new work. I had been such a long time that had not work so hard in my art.

Thank you Vega and Reno (my cats) for be with me and make me laugh out loud.

I should add Munks into this also.

Well, I have to disagree with just about everything everyone else has said on this subject, and the subject of discounts overall. I love for people to own my art. For me, that is what it is about. The more people who have one of my paintings, the happier I will be. So I keep my prices REALLY low. In addition, if someone has ever purchased any piece of my art at any price, for the rest of my life I give them a 25% discount on future purchases. I guess that is why I sold over 100 paintings last year. And that is also why I have to limit the number of shows I do each year ... I'm constantly running out of work to sell. Gee, what a great place to be.

I will never fill my bank account with lots of money from doing this, but that is not why I do it. If I did this for the money it just wouldn't be so much fun ... and I sure do have a great time. Imagine how many people out there go to work every day simply hating what they are doing, and they just continue doing it. I get to do something I love and share it with the world. Heck, when someone purchases one of my paintings, they are helping me with my dream of putting a little happiness in everyone's home.

I appreciate some of the discussion on this blog about alternate revenue sources, like licensing and art studio tours. I’ve been experimenting with an alternate revenue source this summer with mixed results.

I opened the LebenArt Studio & Gallery in Saugatuck in May. Being an aging art fair artist (I’m turning 68 in October), I thought it was time to start looking for a way to bring in some revenue without having to be out on the street every weekend. All that set-up and take-down and the anxiety of uncertain weather can take its toll.

With a summer’s worth of experience in the art gallery business, there are things I like about it, and there are things I don’t. I like having a studio space where I can do my work (I’m a digital artist). And, with the studio, I can occupy my time effectively while I’m waiting for customers to come in. I like having gallery space where I can exhibit a wide range of my work. I like being able to tell my art fair customers that I have a gallery in Saugatuck. I’ve found, over the years, that a high percentage of art fair goers have asked me if I have a gallery of my own in Saugatuck. I like that so many of the visitors to my fledgling gallery have either seen or purchased my work in the past. A lot of them come to buy, attracted by the email marketing I do to my email list. I like that my friends and neighbors, here in Saugatuck, have a place where they can come to see all my work in one place. I like the fact that the gallery has generated over $18,000 in sales since opening in May, most of which I wouldn’t have without the gallery. And, finally, I like that I don’t have to pay 40-50% commissions on the work that I sell in my own gallery.

Lots of positives, but there are also negatives. I don’t like being a slave to regular gallery hours. I don’t have enough sales to warrant hiring another person to man the gallery when I’m away. I don’t like missing summer activities in Saugatuck, some of the best reasons for living here in the first place. I don’t like having to strip the walls of my best artwork and load it all into the trailer when I do an art fair. I don’t like having to close up the gallery for art fairs on those precious summer weekends in Saugatuck. 

I have mixed feelings about the location of my studio/gallery. Its on Blue Star Highway north of town only a short walk from where I live. While galleries in downtown Saugatuck get a great deal of walk-in traffic, my gallery is more of a destination. People have to stop their cars to visit my gallery. Although a high percentage of those who do stop their cars, actually wind up buying something, I still feel that I can use more visitors. Of course, the downside to more visitors is that I will get less work done in the “studio” part of this enterprise.

I’m currently looking around for a better location for the gallery here in Saugatuck. I feel that sales have been good enough to warrant an “extension” of my gallery experiment. But to make it work and to minimize some of the negatives, I’m on the look-out for another compatible artist to share the space with and to help man the gallery. Since I’m a 2-D artist, a sculptor or potter would be most appropriate... or maybe a jeweler.

Will the gallery eventually take the place of art fairs as I totter into old age? Maybe not. Even in today’s economy, art fairs have been pretty profitable for me this year. But the gallery will provide extra income and, perhaps, grow into a better money-maker in the future.

Oh what a difference a day makes. Saturday was cool but comfortable and Sunday was a whole 'nother story! Fortunately sales were good on Saturday. Sunday was pretty slow as most people browsed the show and the weather threatened all day long. Most of us were checking the weather web sites all day long and could pretty well predict when it would hit.

The email the night before from the director gave those that wished to take the opportunity to book early and at least 3 or 4 artists did take the early out. The rest of us stuck it out but still had that look of, "Should i leave or should i stay?" on our faces. At 2:00 the staff called the show and told us to pack it up but it was 2 minutes too late! Rain started slow and built into a downpour of hail, with lightening and thunder as well, for about an hour! We managed to stay dry in the tent and finished packing till it stopped. Amazingly everything got packed and we kept the work dry, maybe not so much for the tent but I'm okay with that.

And the rain keeps a com'n in Colorado!

"In the Doghouse - Lucky Dog" by Ritch Branstrom

It is now year 4 in Grand Rapids' art extravaganza, ArtPrize, "a radically open, independently organized international art competition with an unprecedented $200,000 top prize decided entirely by public vote."

Every year, ArtPrize distributes $560,000 in total cash prizes—$360,000 awarded by public vote and $200,000 awarded by jury—making the competition the world’s largest ArtPrize. 

I attended this year and had a wonderful time.

It opened with a grand party for all participants (1200+) on September 18 and will end on October 4. There are events every day and thousands of people wander throughout Grand Rapids and talk about "art." It is lots of fun and eye opening, with a lot of so-so art and some knock out pieces also.

Even the telephone poles were covered with art, aka "yarn bombing."

As I walked through and around the museums, streets, cafes and riverbanks I kept looking for the piece of art that I thought would be worth a $200,000 prize. 

There were many artists from our "art fair world": Jerry Berta, Kathleen Kalinowski, Clifton Henri, Albert Young, Fritz Olsen, Jennifer O'Meara, Bruce Niemi, Mark Chatterly, Jeff Condon, Todd and Kiaralinda Ramquist, Sara Youngman -- and many I am sure I missed. 

Everyone can vote for the prizewinners and I did vote but had no clear choice, so I think maybe I missed something. Easy to do with over 200 venues and all this art. You have to be near the art in the city in order for your smartphone to register the votes, not just anyone can go online and make a choice, thereby limiting random craziness.

"Conversation" - 5 Six foot tall dogs by ceramicist Mark Chatterly - who you might meet at an art fair near you.

"Sky Song" by Fritz Olsen, kinetic sculpture. Fritz is a second generation art fair artist

"American Graffiti" by Jennifer O'Meara 

I used to see Jennifer at art fairs, not sure if she is still attending them

If you ever have a chance to visit, it is worth the trip. Downtown Grand Rapids is beautiful, full of wonderful architecture, cool restaurants, great food, more restaurants, classy museums... more bars, etc. Here is the link to learn more: ArtPrize.org

See the Top 100 in the voting so far: http://www.artprize.org/entries/?promoted=live-100&page=1-3&sort=random_56

The event was started by Rick DeVos, whose grandfather started Amway and is still supported by DeVos Family Foundation.

I'd love to be there this evening for a seminar on the topic of "Can Art Save Cities?" I LOVE this event! 

Has anyone else attended or entered their work?

I am going to the Red River Revel in Shreveport, La. (my home town) and will see several people that already own 5-10 of my paintings. I followed my dream and moved to Fairhope, Al. about a year ago. Many friends and clients coming to see me at the festival.

Do you give a discount to these great clients, and if so, how much? Even if they are only buying one painting at this festival? I feel like I would like to give them some sort of discount as a thank-you/reward for continuing to purchase my work...not sure how much...

thanks,

Frances