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I don’t know how the year has been for most of you so far, but its been a weird one for me.  All my shows have been flip-flopped from 2016. 

Arlington in April was barely worthwhile in 2016, but this year I had a killer show even though Saturday was almost totally rained out so everything sold Sunday!  I did Art Birmingham in May (a first for me) and it completely SUCKED.  Then I got off the waitlist pretty last minute for Round the Fountain in Lafayette IN also in May which I was really excited about because I had a great show there last year, its an easy show, there’s a great restaurant called RedSeven and its just a short 3 hr drive from my home.  And while it was a solid 1 day show grossing over 3K, it was still down by over 2K from 2016.  Last year I sold a ton of $400-600 paintings, and this year I sold one painting for over $1000 and the rest were prints under $100.  Very different….

I went into June really hopeful and really needing some good shows.  I don’t travel to FL in winter but instead hibernate and just build up stock.  That means I live off of my business savings until spring shows when I can start building savings back up.  After a very lackluster May I was really needing June to be a good month for shows.

First stop was Three Rivers in Pittsburgh.  I am on Penn Ave just for Sat/Sun of the first weekend.  I have a 2 yr old at home, so I try to limit my shows to only 2 days if possible and only 2 a month until she gets older, that way I’m home on the weekends at least half the time.  Anyway, last year Three Rivers blew me away with sales, and this year it almost literally blew me away.  That wind can be NUTS going through those tall buildings!  We had to have 4 volunteers help hold my Trimline down during teardown while I removed the propanels.  Once that first panel came off the wind tore through it and the whole thing went walking!!!  That’s NEVER EVER happened to me before.  And yes, I had almost 100 lbs of weights on each leg and even with the 4 guys holding onto the legs it was still blowing all over the place.

Anyway, the important information: 2016 I sold 14 originals and 76 prints at Three Rivers; this year I only sold 6 originals and 65 prints.  I left down by about 3K and was feeling rather downtrodden.  I DID end up having 2 follow up sales and a commission that I’m currently working on, and those will put me only about $1300 down from 2016, so that’s not too bad I suppose.

Then came the Columbus Arts Festival the next weekend of June.  This is my 4^th year doing the show and I’ve always always always had a solid show, but with the way the rest of the shows had been I was not feeling optimistic anymore.  I calculated that I needed at least 8K to put me back in the black, which is totally doable in Columbus, but the year just wasn’t shaping up well for me.  I live just south of Columbus so I can drive home every night and save the hotel money and also restock prints every night.  This is a huge print show for me and I always run out of some print image every day and need to bring more.  I have a really good location on the Rich Street bridge and I always pray every year that I don’t get waitlisted that way I can pay ASAP and request that same location. 

This year the weather was the best in Columbus that I’ve ever had.  No rain and it wasn’t ridiculously hot like usual.  Especially on the bridge, there is always a nice breeze.  I think that really helped.  The crowds were huge and fortunately for me in a very acquiring mood!  I sold a record amount of originals: 25!!!  And a whole slew of prints and 37 copies of the children’s book I wrote and illustrated!  There really wasn’t one day that was any better than the others either.  I sold equally Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Needless to say, I well passed my goal and ended June feeling really good!  Amazing how our artist moods can flip-flop so quickly too…

And then my mood crashed down again.  I did the July Boston Mills ArtFest show.  I was so excited because I got into the show in 2013 and 2014, but juried out the last 2 years, so I was thrilled to do it again.  Both years before I’ve always managed to pull out at least 8K, so I was thinking I was surely going to be having a good July.  Not to be…. For anyone there I think!  I’m honestly so baffled about what happened here.  As I heard from so many artists, this is a “tried and true show” for years and years for many of the artists there.  And I didn’t talk to one artist who was happy with their sales.  I don’t know how the June show was, but it was like zombie land for the patrons at the July show.  Numbers were definitely down from what I remember, not many were carrying packages, I had a couple patrons complain about the rising gate fee, and 3 clients who had come before to the show and only knew to come this year because I had emailed them.  Maybe Boston Mills is slacking on the advertising and just assuming patrons will come every year?  I don’t know.  But it was definitely not the same show. 

Friday was had the most torrential rain during the Preview Party, so that was a big bust.  Saturday it was calling for 50% showers but they never materialized.  So I thought maybe everyone was just waiting for the nice weather on Sunday.  Sunday morning I was able to walk around and talk to other artists.  By Sunday morning most artists who I spoke with had only made a few hundred dollars and some had zeroed.  I told everyone “today is the day!  Be positive!”  For my neighbor it did turn out to be a better day, but still not what it usually is for him there.  For me, it was my worst day yet.  If it’s any sort of a sign, I didn’t restock my business cards one time the entire weekend (at Columbus I restocked about every 2 or 3 hours).  Sunday we all packed up, made that looooong dolly load out, and left grumpy.  Every artist I saw was baffled at the events of the weekend.  I left with only a third of what I have done in the past there…. And I think I was actually one of the lucky ones!  I’m sure there were some artists who were happy, but I didn’t hear from any of them.  The 1 day Round the Fountain was better for me than all weekend at Boston Mills….. so, yeah.

I’m counting my blessings that I’ve always come out with a profit of each of the shows but its just been so backwards from what shows have been the last few years.  I’m so so so sooooo glad I have 6 weeks off to take it easy, take a breather, recoup, and restock.  This business certainly does test your mental and emotional stamina.  Gotta step away every now and then, even if just for a few weeks.  I’m sure after 6 weeks off I’ll be itching to hit the road again.  My next show is the Howard Alan Flats show in Cleveland in August, then Upper Arlington in Columbus, Howard Alan’s show in Alexandria VA, and Bethesda Row.  I have absolutely no expectations for any of them anymore….

I attended this art fair June 24-25, 2017.  The show was well attended but disappointing with respect to sales.  It cost $300 to enter the show and I only did $640 in sales...hardly worth the transportation cost, etc.  There was fairly steady traffic both days and weather was great but people were not buying.  None of the artists near me did much at all.  I can't speak for other artists not near me but I likely will not return.

I had been told that Naperville patrons love art and were willing to purchase art work.  Not so for this show.

Before too much more time has passed, I wanted to share my experience at the Omaha Summer Arts Festival which took place from 6/9 through 6/11 2017. Having been in St. Louis the weekend before and travelling north to central Illinois for a family visit for a couple of days, it was a short 400 mile drive to Omaha. I meandered along the back roads of northern Missouri taking in scenery that I had not previously experienced. It was a beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed the ride immensely. Load in was on Thursday evening with assigned set up times. I was in the last group at 7:30pm.

The show is set up along several blocks of Farnham Street which is in the heart of downtown next to a very nice green space mall. My spot was at far end of the show. There was a wide sidewalk behind my space for storage and there was some room between the booths for airflow. They set up Farnham to be one way so everyone enters at the same place. Traffic jams are inevitable in such set ups and this show was no exception. I was allowed to line up with my fellow 7:30 people but it took me at least 30 minutes to get to my spot at the other end of the show. Communication prior to the show made me think that parking was going to be a real problem. There was no dedicated artist's parking, not even for over-sized vehicles. I was concerned about having a place to park after unloading while setting up. Here is where being in the last group and at the end of the show helped because I was able to stay parked in front of my booth. I had reserved a room at an outlying hotel that at least according to Google Earth had a big parking lot. As it turned out the Marriott downtown which was the official hotel for the show had a lot big enough for trailers and was about 4 blocks away. It really did not matter as Omaha is very easy to navigate.

The show hours are 11-8 on Friday, 11-8 on Saturday, and 11-5 on Sunday. Since I was doing this one solo I needed help hanging our heavier work. I communicated this to the show staff in advance and they arranged for a volunteer to assist me. These arrangements were confirmed by the show when I checked in . He showed up right on time Friday morning, gave me a hand for about 30 minutes and was on his way. That was the way the whole show ran. Very well organized and thought out. No surprises, fuss, or issues. They have been doing this for a while and it shows.

The forecast was for a hot weekend. It was accurate. Luckily I had a tree with shade most of the day. I had water in what turned out to be a rather defective cooler, but the volunteers came by periodically with water. There were any number of amenities available such as indoor air conditioned bathrooms and chair massages. These were a little too far away for me to take advantage of. Many of the people that came to my booth commented that there was some sort of weather event every year for the show, this year it was heat. In other years it was wind and rain etc. But the impression I was left with was that the community supports this show. It is the big art event of the year and they are not going to let weather drive them away. So, despite the heat I thought the crowds were very good given the conditions. I was satisfied with my sales. I sold all prints, nothing big. But I sold a lot of them resulting in a nice profit. I do think the heat impacted sales. The 2d mixed media artist across from me had the same experience as did some other photographers I spoke with. In fact I do not remember seeing any big pieces of anything walk by my booth all weekend. There was a nice awards breakfast on Saturday morning and a continental breakfast/artist meeting on Sunday morning.

About two blocks away was an area of the city called Old Market. It is an historic area with shops and restaurants that range from a traditional diner with the best bacon I have ever eaten to a top notch seafood restaurant call the Plank. If you get to Omaha check it out.

Load out was supposed to flow the same as load in. I was in a hurry to make the 8pm happy hour at the Plank and did not want to sit in traffic. I was able to park the truck and trailer about three blocks away at meters (free on Sunday) and then use a side street to pull up next to my booth. The volunteer came back right on schedule and helped my get all of the work he helped me hang three days ago down and packed up.
The bottom line on this show is that is well run, supported by the community, and is in a great location. The layout is not confusing as it is one long row of 135 artists. I had never been to Omaha before and found it an interesting place to be. I had a good time, ate some good food, and made a little money. Nothing wrong with that.

I am sure Nels will be writing a review as well and I am looking forward to it. Nels experience at a show and mine are very different. We have completely different markets and patrons. Nels price points are around $50-$500 and ours start at $2200. But from what I have heard it sounds like we landed in about the same place.

DMAF is held in the streets of downtown Des Moines around the sculpture park. This was our first year doing this show and hopefully not our last. I had heard about the show from other artists but became very interested and excited about the show when I attended the Zapp conference and the director Stephen King described the Des Moines Arts Festival Reveal. The event is held in the Wells Fargo Arena and the invited artists are revealed at this event the evening before artists are notified of their invitation to the show. What a wonderful way to not only get the people excited and engaged for the show but also a great alternative fundraiser for the festival. I wasn't sure if Iowa would be our market but DMAF would be the perfect place to find out.

Communication from the show is very good. Most of the information you need is on the website. The show is a LONG one. Friday 11am-10am, Saturday 11am-10am and Sunday 11am-5pm. You are provided electricity.

Set up is Thursday starting at 9am. They told us they had a leisurely set up and YES it is exactly that. You drive up to the entrance and they check you in right at your car. You don't even have to get out. They told us to go set up, they weren't going to micro manage the artists for set up since we do this all the time. That was music to my ears. This really was one of the easiest stress free set ups, especially for a downtown. The booths are on wide streets and most have booths across from each other. There is lots of room on the sides of each booth, enough to walk through and plenty in back. I don't think there is a bad booth location in the show.

On to the show. Friday Saturday and Sunday called for perfect weather. This show is known for high temps and strong storms. We did have wind but that seems to be the norm. Friday we arrived and veteran artists told us to pace ourselves, it was going to be a long day. For a Friday show the crowds were pretty strong especially after 5pm. Our booth was full of people all day Friday and folks waiting turns to enter the booth after 5pm. No sales on Friday and not many cards were handed out. It seemed to be a browsing day. By 10pm I couldn't wait to get into bed. Thank goodness we had good weather.

Saturday round two, another long one. Good strong crowds, more serious shoppers but man these Iowan folks are not spontaneous buyers. They come back 3 and 4 times and STILL need to think about it. Finally at 6pm we had our first sale and with in the next hour we received a phone call from a patron who also made a decision for a piece of art. Phew that was 18 hours of open show time before our first sale. Patience is the name of this game. Lots of people out Saturday night. A beautiful night and it really was pretty seeing all the booths lit up as the sun faded. 10 pm came and I was out for the count.

Sunday morning there is a wonderful artist breakfast at a resteraaunt on site. I am sure it is one of the top artist breakfasts out there BUT I was way too tired to get up early to attend the artist award breakfasts. I heard only good thing. We showed up to our booth at 10:30 am for this quick short day, only 11-5 and we had patrons waiting on us who had made their decision and were ready to buy. Sunday was definetly the day for big art purchases. I saw lots of large work go buy. Again the patrons here are not quick to make a decision. We had many people come back over 4 times and still weren't ready.

Breakdown. Down to the ground, get a pass, come in and get out. Lots of room for everyone. easy load out. Not much to say about it.

Sales wise many of us had great shows but not everyone did. I heard reports from artists across the board. Just like most shows. The artist amenities are very good. They have 1200 volunteers so we artists were wanting for nothing. This is avery well run all the way around, from set up, booth locations, advertising, communication with the asrtists. You name it they seemed to cover it. Booth fee was reasonable I think around $300. I can't find a bad thing to say. Housing was pretty affordable. We found a great 3 bedroom house 1 mile from the show for $100 a night. They also offered an artist hosting program.

Obviously we would really love to return to this show. On the way to Des Moines we hit Le Claire Iowa and visited Antique Archeology, American Pickers. Only a true fan of the show would enjoy it but Le Claire is a cute town on the Mississippi River and there are quaint bnbs in the historic district. Only 2 hours from the show so good place to spend the night before set up. After the show we drove to Chicago, parked the van at Ohare and are resting up in Costa Rica for the week. Wednesday's we fly back to Ohare and on to Madison. Love this artist life.

Pura Vida

This year was the 62nd annual Talbot St show and the 1st annual attendance for me.  I sell functional fused glass pieces in the $35-50 range plus some decorative work that goes up to about $200.

Talbot St is on Talbott Street and a couple of side streets between 17th and 19th streets just north of downtown Indianapolis.  Hours are Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 10-5.  My impression was that the art and fine craft were of good quality with good displays and affordability, perhaps a level or two below the premium national shows with the highest-priced art. 

Others have written about this show previously so you can find many details in past blogs.  Here are my additional observations.....

Thunderstorms threatened much of the weekend, but didn't finally break loose until about 30 minutes into tear-down.  I don't know if the forecast affected the crowd size or demographics.  This year the first 3-4 hours on Saturday were packed with shoppers who were interested in the art and buying it.  Then at about 1:30 the crowd shifted to youngish couples with kids and the mood shifted from art sales to free entertainment.  Many artists I talked to had far fewer sales during the afternoon.

Sunday was similar.  Fewer but motivated art lovers/buyers in the morning and early afternoon, then a mighty thin crowd for the rest of the day as the rain got closer.  Lots of us made only half a dozen sales during those hours.

This show is run like a well-oiled machine.  They get it, and on top of that the staff is friendly and helpful.  Food trucks offer a tasty variety of food, and the nearby port-o-trailer provides air-conditioned, multi-stalled, gender-separated and well-kept facilities with toilets that flushed.  Even the neighbors -- whose front yards and driveways we're blocking for the weekend -- are a delight.  Mine offered the use of his shady front porch and bathroom for the weekend.  A neighbor down the street threw a bloody mary breakfast for the artists near him.  What a pleasure to have a genuinely nice, positive vibe swirling around the show all weekend.

It's worth repeating that the show is set up on residential streets that are old enough to be more narrow than today's streets.  The houses have been nicely renovated and the trees are lovely.  However to fit everyone in, the front 6' of your tent is in the street and the back 4' is up on either a grass curb or slanted driveway.  It's doable, and just requires some additional time and patience during set-up to get everything squared up and level.

My revenue at less than 2K was disappointing, but I expect to try this show again because the ingredients seem to be there.

How to Photograph a lamp

Help Getting Accepted into Art Shows - Part 5

My next article consists of tips on how to take photographs of a lamp, or any object that is lit from within.

link to the article on the discussion forum
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/how-to-photograph-a-lamp

To see the examples of my art photography or improved jury images. I also do free image evaluations and can also make suggestions on streamlining your artist statement.

http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/jury-slide-photography.htm
http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/fixing-jury-images.htm

At any time, artists can call me with questions 412-401-8100

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

LOCATION: small city center in a lovely progressive area outside of Chicago.  It is a great town.

HOURS: Well you would think this would have been simple, but the website said one thing and the information to artists said another. The bottom line is that public really didn’t show up until noon! Yep NOON.

SHOW COST: $480 + $100 for a corner

SETUP: Set up was from 7pm – 10pm or 6am – 9am. It was fine.

ARTIST PARKING: The Chamber who took over this event, made arrangements for $10/day for the weekend for artists in a parking garage. Many however were not able to take advantage of it because their vehicles were higher than allowed in that parking garage.

WEATHER: PERFECT! (This is the one thing they got right!)

ART QUALITY: Wide Wide Variety…. Artists who should be in an upscale Gallery to flat spoon rest liquor bottles. All the fine artists were upset and decided not to attend again.

ATTENDANCE: Moderate (would have been better if at the very least they posted the same time on their ads)

MANAGEMENT: This was the Chambers first year and it was clear that who ever was running this was not familiar with events that artists participate in and frankly has a very bad sense of business. I was stunned that the first thing they did was change the name of the show. Yes, you read that right. I applied to the Fountain Square Art Festival and I participated in the Evanston Chamber Artisan Summerfest. Can you imagine how dumb this was? My rack cards were wrong and people who were going to come to the area to see me, thought it was the wrong event - for one thing. This was terrible on so many levels I could not even believe that someone with a business background would think this was a good idea.

The “summerfest” came from the fact that there were beer tasting tents. This is the wrong direction for a quality art fair and clearly this is the direction they want to go.

To really showcase their newness… they cut a piece of rope 10’ long to use in marking spots on the street. One problem is that the rope was 6” too short. D’oh. I knew we would roll with this but lots of artists were mad out the gate on this one.

The artists lounge was a private bathroom. Meh. Okay, but for $480 for a 10x10 booth? I felt that the fees to get into the show were $150 too high. Also the Chamber actually asked the public for donations on the way in. This was just as uncomfortable as the homeless panhandlers on the street near our booth asking for change. I saw a lot of irony in this.

They did judge and give away 1^st place ribbons…. That were yellow. (Yellow? ) First place ribbons (with no money attached) are still very nice but First place is traditionally BLUE. (Yellow signifies a participation award or 3^rd place.)

SALES: Meh.

BOTTOM LINE: We won’t return, even though we loved the area.

For the past three weeks we have been traversing the Midwest, and in the process, doing three shows: Webster Art Fair in Webster Groves just outside of St. Louis, the Omaha Summer Art Festival, and finally Talbot Street in Indianapolis. It was our first experience at each event so I cannot make year to year comparisons. But for what it is worth, here are our experiences starting with the Webster Art Fair.
Webster Groves is a small city of approximately 23,000 residents about 10 miles south of downtown St. Louis. The venue is a large field on the campus of Webster University and Eden Seminary. There is a beautiful small downtown area about three blocks from the site where you can obtain some good food if you do not want to have what is available on site. Reasonable accommodations are available in Fenton, approximately a 10 minute drive away.

This is a very artist friendly event. At check in you receive very nice aluminum water bottles. During the event volunteers drive to the booths and re-fill them thus avoiding all the waste from plastic water bottles. It was so hot that the water golf cart was a very welcome sight. The hours are 6pm to 10pm on Friday, 11-9 on Saturday, and 11-5 on Sunday. Load in was on Friday starting at noon. Load in times were staggered to avoid traffic jams. You are led to your spot and given plenty of time to unload. There is an oversize vehicle parking lot about a block away where we dumped our trailer and a regular vehicle parking lot close by for the truck. Load in was very hot. This is an open field. There are no sidewalks or shade. Apparently it had rained a lot over the past few weeks and it felt like the sun was baking the moisture right out of the ground. After set up it was back to the hotel for a quick shower and a few minutes of rest. There was an artist dinner before the show opened on Friday night. I had not had a beer in about 6 years. But the local brewery provided their wares. The first one was really good, but the second one was even better. You could take the beer back to your booth as long as it was in a cup. There was a fairly good sized crowd Friday night but we did not manage many sales.

The forecast was for hot weather all weekend with a chance of showers. In light of the forecast the show probably should have opened earlier while it was still somewhat cool. We got there early and our tent was already steamy. Luckily the show provided electricity so we could keep our battery operated fans running all day. We had a few sales in the morning but as the weather warmed up the crowd dwindled. I sent Sara back to the hotel as there was no reason for both of us to be baked. As the day merged into evening the crowd grew and we ended up having a good day.

The forecast for Sunday was for a higher chance of rain but it held off until one hour before closing. Yes, we broke down in a light rain again. Sales on Sunday were good for us. We ended up having a pretty good show all in all especially given the weather. It seemed to us that the show has a loyal following in the community. Getting our truck and trailer in to load was going to be hard so we zipped up and went to dinner to give others the chance to get out first. We ate at a place called Highway 61 Roadhouse. The theme is the Blues Highway so there was an eclectic mix of choices from Memphis BBQ to New Orleans Cajun fare, great food and ambiance. That was the only notable meal we had, the rest was the usual stuff.

The show is very well run and the staff wants to do everything they can to help you succeed. There was a nice artist award breakfast on Sunday as well as a cooling off area with indoor bathrooms. Electricity was provided and there was ample storage behind the booths and some space between for a little air flow. We had an OK to good show with a couple of larger sales with numerous print sales. We were close to closing one last big sale at the end of the show when the rain hit. I think we would have done better if it had been a little cooler. Photographer friends of ours were happy with their sales. An abstract painter next to us nearly sold out. The abstract painter on the other side of us with a higher price point did not do as well. A metal artist that makes kinetic outdoor wind sculptures had one piece left when the show ended. I did not check with anyone else.

One thing to keep in mind about this show is if there is heavy rain you have to dolly in or out or both. In most cases that would be a very long dolly. But for us this year it was easy because we could drive right up to our space.

Sara flew home after the show. For me, it was off to Illinois to visit family before continuing on the Omaha. More on that next time.

The College Hill Arts Festival is a Friday, Saturday show in Cedar Falls IA the third weekend in June. I have been told about this show for years and it finally fit into my schedule AND I finally got accepted (wait listed last year) I arrived Thursday night with a welcoming hail storm but once the skies cleared set up was easy.  It looked like most artists had set up before the storm (4:00 start for set up).  I waited out the storm for two hours and then was able to get my tent and display up by 9:00pm.  Luckily it didn't get too muddy in the park even with people driving on the grass.  There were nice drivable paths through the park so mostly driving on the grass could be avoided.  

The setting for this show is really perfect- lots of trees and shade.  It's a small show with only 75 booths.  The layout it mostly in rows with another section that makes a semi circle.  I was in the semicircle which one might worry could be missed but this was not the case at all.  The spaces are big- 14X16 so basically everyone could have a corner if you set it up right. 

The weather ended up holding for the whole weekend.  Rain only started up on Friday night after the show closed at 8:00.  I stayed with a host family which was a great deal- FREE!  They were very friendly and had fun cats.  They came out on Friday night and told me crowds were down from most years.  This could have been caused by worries of rain.  There was a dinner for the artists after the show with VERY good food plus wine and beer.  The artists I talked to said they had a slow Friday, some which said they were busy only until 1:00.  Personally I had a very steady day with over $1000 in sales.  

On Saturday the crowds were out early and stuck all day.  I talked to a few artists that said their sales were down from years past but my Saturday was great with sales in all my price ranges- $2 to $400.  I also was very pleased to receive one of 5 Awards of excellence.  Very exciting!

I also love that this show has a handful of great family fun art activities- a kid's purchasing booth with donated items, an instrument zoo (which was right behind me but not as annoying as you might think which people trying out all the instruments from the orchestra) and a chalk drawing.

The artist hospitality house was also very nice.  I only made it there in the morning each day but there wasdoughnuts, bagels, and fruit.  I also appreciated the "on call" booth sitters.  I think they got a little busy on Saturday and I didn't get them to come that day but with indoor bathrooms not too far away in one of the buildings I was fine to sneak away.  And parking for artists was a lot only a block away (free!).  

Oh and their patron program seems to work well.  I had one purchase from that.  I feel like this show has figured a lot out and they really know what they are doing.  I hope that Saturday sales picked up for the artists I talked to.  It seemed like people were carrying around a lot of art from my point of view.  My neighbors nearly sold out of their amazing windmills.  

I'm a digital artist. I sell limited edition prints of my digital paintings in multiple sizes. Its only in the last couple of years the Old Town Art Fair has accepted digital artists, or even printmakers. This show has traditionally been an "originals only" show. I'm delighted that I finally got to participate in this, the grand-daddy of all art fairs. I did very well at this show with twice the sales on Sunday than on Saturday, but this wasn't the case for all artists.

As I mentioned above, I sell prints with a business plan much like that of photographers. When I create an image on my computer, it is easy for me to package it in multiple sizes, much like a photographer. Digital art, for me, is a printmaking medium, but, unlike traditional printmaking, I have the technical ability to offer different sizes, each size with a different limited edition, and all sizes at an affordable price point. This technical ability puts me at a distinct advantage over the artists who have populated this show in the past. Painters and other "originals only" artists exhibited wonderful work at this show, but they were not allowed to exhibit or sell prints of their work. Hardly fair.

I have been successful at art fairs because I am able to package my work in multiple sizes and offer it for sale at affordable prices. That's the direction art fairs seem to be going these days. People who go to art fairs and buy art seldom dish out $5000 or more for an original painting. With some exceptions, the most successful "traditional" artists package and sell prints (giclees) of their work. They'll sell an occasional original, but the lower cost prints pay the bills. But not at Old Town. I saw several incredibly talented painters suffering with low or non-existent sales because of this outdated policy.

A couple of things... Could be that the policy change of allowing us printmakers and digital artists into the show severely affected the sales of the "originals only" artists. A patron looking at one of my large canvas prints, selling for $695, is going to compare that price to my neighbor selling a similar sized original painting for $6000. If my neighbor was able to offer a giclee of that original painting, it might level the playing field.

The other thing... There will always be those artist who take advantage of shows that allow prints and offer sub standard reproductions. Just like there are digital artists who take advantage of the category to offer sub-standard images created with little or no creative input. Its up to the committees that jury artists into these shows to weed these artists out. Of course they will never weed them all out, but the legitimate artists, who offer limited edition giclees of their work should not be penalized because of the bad ones.

Anyway, I had a good show, and I continue to be heartened by the continuing positive response I am getting for my digital work. There were eight digital artists at the Old Town show. I see that as a good trend that shows, and the public, are embracing this new medium.

One other good thing about this show, taking place on the narrow streets of Old Town in Chicago, is that this is the first year they offered Friday setup. In the past the setup was on Saturday morning. This new policy, from what I understand, was a resounding success, and the powers that be will be offering that option next year as well. I'm hoping to get in again next year.  

Hi all,

The San Diego Festival of the Arts is a large show held in downtown San Diego on the waterfront in a park called Waterfront Park.

The jury selection of artists is very good with top quality artworks and no toe-rings, T-shirts, or soap-on-a-rope booths to be found.

Booth spaces are not too expensive, for California, and there is no commission charged on sales.

The show is setup in quads and some artists (quite a few) get the full quad for their booth for (I believe $850). I got a double for $650.

Friday is setup day and it goes well - if you are patient and can relax. You wait in line with other artists for a space to open up along the curb. When a space opens you go to the space and back in and unload to your booth. You are then asked to move your vehicle to the artists parking lot about 1 mile away where you are then taken back to the show grounds by a shuttle.

You set up your booth and stake it down really well and also use weights - you never know the wind conditions on the waterfront. You can hang your art and close up your tent.

On Saturday morning it was wet from raining the night before, but it dried out pretty fast. It was cloudy all day Saturday and I think it hampered the show attendance.

Saturday night it rained a lot and was very wet in the morning. It cleared up by the time the show started and the sun came out a bit more. Sunday was a good day for an art festival.

For some reason I did not do as well this year as last. I thought the crowds were very good both days, but people just were not buying MY art this year like they did last year. The glass artist next to me had a fantastic Saturday (probably near $10,000 - sold at least 5 $2000 vases) and then a $0 on Sunday - go figure.

One bad factor of the show is that in this area of San Diego it is "almost" impossible to find a parking space in "Little Italy" (The area near where the show is held). Only if you are lucky will you find a space where you can then pay the meter and head down to the show, remembering that you only have so much time to spend at the show.

Rooms can also be expensive in this area because it is a tourist destination.

I don't know what was different this year from the last except weather (Last year it was spectacular weather). The tourists are there none the less.

Load out is always a bit of a struggle, but as I say, just stay calm and take your time. I take down all my work and walls then go get my van. You wait in line with all the others to wait for a space on the curb and hope it comes soon - by the way, a space always comes - and you will get it!

Show closed at 5 pm on Sunday, got my van at 6 pm, began loading at 6:30 pm, was out by 7:15 (All dolly load in and out). Time for some dinner.

If you want to try this show, I do recommend it. I know that some artists did very well and some artists did very poorly - but you never know what's going to happen at any show these days. The show management is extremely good and really takes care of the artists - great communication throughout.

If you do want to do the show and are accepted, book a hotel room fast. The area just above the waterfront is called "Little Italy" and there are a TON of restaurants to go to and enjoy. The are also a bunch of hotels / motels nearby but they can get pricey in the spring/summer.

Hopefully this review will help you make a decision on this show if you are contemplating doing it. It's a physical load in and load out - so bring your stamina and your patience.

Peace,

Jeff