Artist Clothes Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show Inside Out Seams
Astonishing yr is shaping upwards for 2016!
In spite of the usual jump slump in sales betwixt Jan. thru March, I am so thankful for beingness accustomed to and then many shows and of class, being waitlisted and not invited to and then many others was another story all together. I am cutting my show circuit downwards somewhat from last years art bear witness marathon and looking forwards to so many new ones too! It was a pleasant surprise to win best in show at the CBAA members show at the Suffolk Cultural Arts Heart!
The biggest surprise this twelvemonth was winning the 2016 Boardwalk Art Bear witness Poster contest and becoming their featured creative person for the event. I have tried and then hard for then many years to achieve this personal goal and for most of usa, it will never happen. It's like one of those goals fabricated of "unobtainium", the ethereal substance that one never achieves just strives for. I am humbled beyond words and very grateful. Cheers to all of you who supported me during the process and voted for my work! Dreams tin can come up true after all.
http://virginiamoca.org/boardwalk-art-show-2016-featured-artist
Foam Finger Series No. 6, 36" Ten 60"
Kris and I journeyed to Panama in March and I did four paintings in some of the most grueling weather condition always. Think farthermost estrus, wind, and truly intense weather and you tin get the idea. My new lightweight aluminum Plein Air easel worked awesome as did my fiddling Pochade box fabricated of forest. It sure was nice having a lightweight choice to take on the plane!
Our motel at Playa Venao Hotel and Resort in Los Santos, Panama
The easel has a hook in the center to hang your pack so that it helps counterbalance down the tripod. That helps a lot when the winds are 30-40mph!
Yep, the old surf dog nevertheless has some left at age 65!
One of those tasty Playa Venao barrels
One just never gets enough of these
Apr will exist very busy with the Sensational Jump Festival in Norfolk, the Plein air Escape on Eastward Embankment in Norfolk, The Atmospheric Impressions show at the Artists Gallery, The Fine art Speaks on the Bay show at Bay Schoolhouse Community arts and a host of other events!
May will burn upwards with the Gosport Arts show with gain going to the EDMARC foundation. I have been wait listed for Stockley and so I will take to see how that pans out only I will be doing the Surf Art Expo the end of May. I would say I am off to a great commencement for 2016! Look for me at 30th street at the boardwalk fine art show just north of the King Neptune Statue at the VIP Tent.
Ramping up for a great year!
Had an amazing show at ArtisGras in Palm Beach to burn upwardly the twelvemonth. It's always wonderful to get out the dead of wintertime and arrive in Florida to what appears to exist jump break type of conditions. I got to see some long lost friends in Melbourne and Cocoa Embankment and reunite. Great to run into yous Bill and Molly!
The show was amazing as always just non without some issues. At the very end of the show equally I was taking down, nosotros had a lot of air current an pelting in the nighttime and a tornado warning. Surprisingly, 30 minutes into takedown I sold over $200 worth of art. This happens mostly which is why I am never in any big hurry pack upwards at the end a bear witness. There are always people floating around that want something special and you just may be it. End everything and engage with them and you lot may exist surprised by a quick sale! I commonly am.
Concluding mean solar day of the prove kind of rained on our parade then to speak. Information technology made for a challenging accept downward.
Chilling out at my booth at ArtisGras. Had a great fourth dimension painting on location and demonstrating in the demo tent.
I learned a groovy deal nigh group cheers to my married woman and Paul Stevens suggestion to grouping my pocket-sized pieces into visual blocks instead of trying to fill in spaces with them. It makes them unified and a visual focus. Thanks you guys!
Afterward the bear witness we went to Melbourne and reunited with some great friends, Molly in Melbourne and Neb Webster in Cocoa Beach. It was and then dainty to see such bang-up friends again and catch some surf.
When I got dwelling house I began preparing for the serial of museum and gallery exhibitions I will be doing this bound, summer and fall with the Suffolk Cultural Arts Center being the start. This was my one entry.
Just had a great show at the Tar Roof gallery in Pungo. I chose to get topless and accept no tent since it was a 1 twenty-four hour period gig. It turned out to be an astonishing event and sales were phenomenal!
In that location were tons of artists and fifty-fifty some rehabilitates with their birds of prey similar this red tailed hawk and a couple of owls!
It'due south e'er a blessing to come dwelling house to Rusty and Raven after these gigs. Love these fur angels so much! Sometimes we can bring them but if there are not pet friendly hotels, they have to stay with the wonderful folks at Holly Ridge.
Gear up for Artisgras in Palm Beach County!
New and improved hanging organization from http://www.propanels.com/hanging-systems/
I have been struggling with hanging my art work at shows for years and my thick canvass walls are very difficult to put the drapery hooks into to secure my paintings to the walls. After several years of pinching and stabbing myself with them, I finally took the plunge and got an amazing new hanging arrangement of cables and grips from propanels.com that is phenomenal, like shooting fish in a barrel to utilise and store, and looks very professional.
The fully opened cable caddy that keeps the grips and cables bang-up.
Particular of the grips (hooks) that slide up and downward the cables with the push button of the button on top.
The rubbermaid claw that goes over my 1 one/2" diameter pipe on the showoff canopy system.
If you already have pro panels you lot won't need these hooks from Rubbermaid just I practise since the ane" hooks won't go over the top of the canvass wrapped in 1 1/2" pipe. In that location is a perfect hole to put the hooks into and the part that goes over the canvas is padded in blackness so the sheet won't get damaged from the claw.
Side view of the hooks that tin can be constitute at Abode Depot or Lowes.
What's actually amazing is that the cable caddy rolls upwards into a corking roll that takes up very minimal space, yet stores those very long cables for you when needed subsequently without having them turn into a birds nest from some fishing rod nightmare where the line just blows upwards on a cast on the reel. This system is not for anybody but its right for me. You lot tin get the cables and grips from: http://www.propanels.com/hanging-systems/. The cables cost around $16.00 each and it takes at least 6 cables per booth side to agree your piece of work. Information technology'due south not for the faint of wallet but information technology sure does brand your display wait professional and speeds up the hanging process.
The price of doing business
I've been asked a lot lately about how much it costs to do an fine art business organization and just how ane goes well-nigh pricing their work. These tips should be helpful to those that are interested. Art has never been a "hobby" with me and even as a teacher for 34 years I maintained my concern license and expert my art every 24-hour interval, too as enter shows outdoors and in galleries. A hobbyist is one who pursues their art at their leisure for pleasure or entertainment. An creative person as a business person/professional person pursues their piece of work seriously every day, has a business license, and shows regularly. This article is pretty much spot on in regards to merging from "hobbyist", to "amateur", and on to being a Professional person Creative person:
http://emptyeasel.com/2011/02/01/hobbyist-amateur-or-professional-artist-which-are-you/
http://skinnyartist.com/9-alert-signs-of-an-apprentice-artist/
Pricing Your Work
Those who know me know I piece of work at a madman pace and don't terminate until the job is done. The not and so elementary answer is I researched a lot over the years and have come up with a formula for "Sizes" that fits much better than the "hourly rate". It's a good affair I don't charge like my lawyer does at $175.00 per hour or no i could afford my piece of work. Subsequently seeing what other artists charge for specific sizes for similar amounts of detail, I have come up upwardly with a variety of sizes and prices that I keep very consistent.
Sizes and prices:
•8" Ten 10" is between $150.00 and $175.00
•12" Ten 16" is $250.00
•18" X 24" is $650.00-$700.00
•24" X 36" is $ane,100.00-$1,200.00
•30" X 40" is between $1,500.00 and $2000.00 depending on the details involved
•36 Ten 48" is $2,500.00
• 36" X 60" and xl" X 60" run around $three,000.00 to $three,500.00
I hope this better helps you understand how artists price their work and can give you a ameliorate appreciation for what we exercise. There are tons of other costs involved that would take as well much time to discuss here but I think you lot get the idea that my piece of work is fairly priced for original art and I am committed to the highest level of quality in all that I do. I also provide shipping and costless commitment locally in my area. Y'all also have to consider what galleries accuse per piece equally well, with near taking 50% of the sale. If people buy directly from artists similar me they save a considerable amount of money. That is why I do so many shows and so few galleries whatsoever more. I meet people directly and sell in person to them, developing long lasting relationships through personal contacts with the bodily art buyers.
Related costs to art every bit a business:
•Legal fees, including annual LLC fee to accountant and city, business organisation license
•Sales tax monthly to VA and quarterly to other out of country bear witness departments of revenue enhancement
•Federal quarterly income taxation on all art income
•Rents and evidence fees
•Frames, Matts, and boards, hardware for frames, chop saw, matt cutter westward/blades
•Diverse tapes including acid gratis artists tape, double sided sticky tape
•Shrink wrap motorcar and compress wrap materials
•Photography and printing costs
•Office supplies
•Miscellaneous costs for business
•Canvas, Cleaners, Paints, brushes, varnishes, and all materials involved with the painting procedure
•Bags and containers for transporting and selling the work (at least 3 different sized articulate bags small, med. And large.
•Packing materials for the transporting of art works to shows
•Exhibition materials including a professional person tent, reinforcement stablizeer bars for tent, tent bags, tool box with assorted pliers, hammer, sledge hammer, wire cutters, hole punch, twist ties, etc., weights, dolly, boxes and containers, bungies, ratchet straps, shrink wrap, jack for trailer, assorted locks for trailer, marine battery, inverter for battery, lighting system and racks, hanging tools, equipment and materials, print racks, ladder, chairs, 2 different sized tables with professional custom fit cloths, framed artists statement, assorted tarps for inclement weather, boxes for extra inventory, table easels, portable compress wrap, white duct record, exclusive blackness foam flooring, indoor out door carpet for when on grass with stabilizer hooks that go into carpeting and grass, heavy duty clips to hold tarps to walls top and bottom (at least 8 per side=24 clips).
•Plein Air set up that includes all paints, brushes, paint box, water supply, umbrella with stand, extra sail primed, drawn and fix to pigment, haversack, easel, palette.
•Up to appointment computer (must exist replaced every 4-5 years) with the latest software from Adobe, Apple, and Quicken.
•iPhone and iPad with foursquare app and hardware for business (replace every 1-2 years)
•Epson printer, inks and papers
•Marketing materials including flyers, business cards, calendars, show notices, etc.
•Mobile phone fees for telephone and net usage
•Internet fees for web site hosting and business name
•Art Insurance (I use USAA's RLI insurance company)
•Digital camera (bespeak and shoot type)
•Go Pro camera with KNEKT trigger system for water shots
•Pentax water camera for video and stills
•Surfing equipment to get the h2o shots to include surfboards, fins, wetsuits, boogie board, vests, leashes, and various other related h2o equipment to shoot waves for subject matter.
•Any and all software related to the business to edit photos of paintings
•Monthly fees to galleries
•Postage and aircraft
•Travel expenses including air fare, lodging, gas, food, rental machine
•Boarding of pets while at shows
•Property taxes on art supplies and equipment, trailer, and van
•Dues for professional memberships in organizations and publications
•Donations
Video of my interview with Chris Reckling, from "Reck On The Road"
Video of me setting up the Showoff Canopy from Art Brandish Fundamental, FL
Learning experiences on the Art Bear witness Trail
This has been a marathon year for art shows with so many surprises and learning experiences at every one. I just did the June shows starting with the Artist's Gallery testify indoors and and then on to the Va. Bch. Boardwalk prove.
The small tabular array allowed me the room to pigment in the open notwithstanding gave the viewer room to move.
It's ever an incredible honour to get into the boardwalk bear witness and this yr was no exception. The judges were incredibly polite and informative and genuinely showed an appreciation for "your obvious uniqueness, dedication to laborious painting technique, and passion for your art". It was really overnice to actually hear that for a alter when so often I feel like a Klingon with my cloaking device activated as they become by without a word. These folks were genuinely concerned about each and every creative person. The estrus was unbearable for many but nosotros persevered and sold quite well. This was in fact my very best boardwalk show ever thanks to some local supporters and several modest paintings that I did in the 8" X x" range with deep canvas edges in the $175.00 cost range. This strategy worked very well and it as well filled the gaps between the bigger pieces. Finding the right sizes for your booth is one of the more complicated things in this business only once you figure information technology out, sales get much meliorate and and so does the load in and out with the display.
My booth at the Under The Oaks Prove, Whalehead, Corolla, NC
The very next day subsequently my five grueling days on the boardwalk was in North Carolina at the annual Under the Oaks Show at Whalehead, Corolla. This was by far the hottest prove I accept ever washed which is not unusual this time of yr. I nearly passed out the first day while painting because of the heat. This was a Plein Aire test unlike anything I accept ever done. The paint dries and then fast in this kind of heat. The promoters treated the states very nicely and my accommodations were well worth the price at the Inn at Corolla Light. I programme on doing a whole series of paintings of that place presently based on my photos. They are also very dog friendly and that made for a good time for all fifty-fifty though it rained during 1 of the two days. It was keen having an air conditioned identify to keep Rusty and Raven during the bear witness.
The Inn At Corolla Calorie-free
What a great place to have a glass of wine after a long hot hard twenty-four hour period!
The view from the Inn looking out on the sound.
I was truly appreciative of my auction of ane of the OBX serial of paintings I did this year during the final minute, of the last twenty-four hour period of the show. I was literally packing upwardly when a client fell in love with the OBX piece. Cheers!
Today, the very mean solar day after the whale head prove I am setting upwardly on Knotts Island, NC for the Peach Festival. This turned out to be a existent winner for me last year inspire of its remote location.
I take learned and so much this year almost doing art shows and of form, ever desire to laissez passer on information to the "Newbies" who are trying to "figure information technology out". Keeping a cleaner and less cluttered berth along with unifying the sizes and frames of the work is really a big pace forward. It only makes the overall presentation better and increases sales while impressing the judges.
I also got a lot more than "waitlisted" notices this twelvemonth. Unlike many artists who utilize to several shows the same weekend and then choose the one they want, I apply to simply i and if I don't go in so I have an open weekend to surf or paint which is just fine by me. I really don't come across the point of paying to board the dogs, a hotel room, then showing up at some bizarre 60 minutes of the morning for a "maybe I can arrive" situation. I just can't afford to do business like that. The hotel room and the boarding are nonrefundable and if I don't become in the show that's a huge waste of money! I know a lot of fellow artists and juror/lath members out in that location will disagree with me on this but I refuse to exist someone else's puppet in this life. I program on making a deviation through my actions and good deeds and will not exist a slave to bad vibes that become tossed my mode. With that in heed, I encourage all of you to go on on showing your work, applying to shows, and learn forth the way to meliorate yourself and not be manipulated by others and their narrow perspectives on this business. Stay positive and open up minded to new ways of doing things and all volition exist just fine.
Lessons From Gosport
I only did the Gosport Arts Festival in Portsmouth, Virginia and I have to tell y'all, I truly look forrard to this show for 1 reason, it's not virtually the artists as much as it's most the cause, EDMARC Hospice for children. I hold this pretty dear to my heart because my father was in hospice for a very long time and the hurting and suffering our family went through was huge! I tin can't begin to imagine what that must be like for parents with children going through a similar journey into the next life. It is for this reason that I practise this evidence and donate i to two works of art to it every year with pleasure. It only gives me a dizzy feeling to donate something that will truly make a deviation and make this world of ours a amend identify.
Sadly for nearly of us, sales were pretty low, no dubiousness considering of the tolls being placed on just about every entrance to this wonderful metropolis of Portsmouth. The venue is drop dead gorgeous and I really give thanks the promoters and volunteers who treated us like royalty with amazing healthy choices for breakfast, and of course some of the not so healthy simply incredibly fantastic donughts (especially the chocolate peanut ones! They came around gleefully with carts overflowing with oranges, apples, crackers, bottled water and a host of other keen treats. What more could y'all possibly enquire for! Also a huge thank you for that amazing awards banquet and congratulations to all the winners!
I as well learned a lot from previous shows about mud, wind, pelting, and weather in full general. We demand to e'er exist prepare for that by the way nosotros fix our equipment with proper weights and walls that showcase our work. It's also pretty important to bring the tarps and bungies so that in the result of a surprise downpour, you can take immediate activeness. Packaging your art work into plastic bags and then into cushioned cream bags or cardboard boxes is super helpful. I stopped using cardboard considering they become wet and weigh more than, and I found the cream bags I made a whole lot lighter and conditions resistant overall. Some other adept thing nearly foam as opposed to cardboard, those pesky palmetto bugs in Florida don't detect them very attractive so I don't end upwardly bringing them home with me in the wintertime show months.
I thank you lot EDMARC Hospice for Children and the Childrens Museum of Portsmouth for such a wonderful weekend. I for one had a great time and hope to be invited dorsum again adjacent year also!
God bless you.
Playa Venao, March 2015
Just got back from our trip to Playa Venao Hotel and Resort in Panama and wow! I wished for big surf and got some big time, more than I could handle at times for sure. This was some of the most inspiring and terrifying surf for my art I have ever encountered only I survived to tell the story, thanks to some very adept people like Nicole Columbus who came to my rescue while taking photos in the lineup, only to be carried exterior well beyond view of most everyone in a ferocious rip current from hell!
Follow the foam to the outside where information technology comes to a stop. That's where I was when Nicole and two others came out to help me. The four of u.s. had to paddle a lot to become out of that rip while I held onto their leashes and kicked with my flippers.
A classic Venao Barrel shot with my Pentax.
Our journey began in Panama City where we met my good friend Alex Valdes who drove us the v hours to Playa Venao. On the way, I visited my dear friend Ivan Marquez whose photography has inspired many of my paintings of surf art from Panama.
I left Ivan with a few pieces of my limited editions and a calendar of my paintings. He has busy his cute restaurant with his photography and prints of my paintings! What an honor to be a part of such a great place.
Typical peeler by the pool at the infinity puddle.
Painting Plein Aire by the pool.
When nosotros arrived the waves were nigh 3-iv feet and rising. After surfing a few days of that size, I did a few Plein Aire pieces like this 1 above. Both sold on location along with some of the prints I took with me. One of my goals was to paint on location to run into how it would go and develop a program to have other surf artists on a journeying to Venao to do the same. I was pretty pleased with the preparation and pretty much remembered all things I would demand. Painting in the air current with pinstripe brushes is pretty hard, especially when the wind is blowing the tips all over the canvass!
1 of the many gorgeous sunsets each day.
The sunsets in march are merely astonishing. Last fourth dimension I was here in July, the sun was at a different angle so we did non go to come across that much of a dusk each day but this yr was amazing. There will exist a lot of great paintings coming out of this journeying!
One of the many overhead sets that just came over and over.
Almost no water at the lesser of this wave. So shallow!
This guy Deric Munn who drives this van is just a super human! He rides his bike upwardly and downward the mountain 5 miles a 24-hour interval to get his current of air right so he tin can handle these huge waves. At nearly lxx years of historic period, he surfs like a immature boy!
I definitely have my batteries charged for making a series of paintings about this epic surf trip and am so ready for the show circuit this yr. Give thanks you to all who helped us out in Panama to experience everything! A special thanks to Jesus Christ who saved me not once, only twice and gave me my life back so I could make a difference. Know thy limits!
Fear and Loathing in Florida!
What an amazing journey we had at ArtisGras in Palm Beach County, FL! The town of Jupiter was amazingly beautiful and the atmospheric condition was 78 degrees and perfect every sunny twenty-four hour period of the show. The load in and out was second to none and I certainly plan on coming dorsum if they will have me.
My booth #305 at ArtisGras
They gave me tons of room to paint and lots of storage out the dorsum as well!
The journey downwardly to Jupiter was phenomenal surf wise! The surf was and so big the beginning of the swell simply earlier the show, but I opted to go further south to see if it would be bigger. As they say, exist careful what y'all hope for, and was I shocked! The size was beyond humanly doable in the water even with the strong off shore winds. There was no 1 in the water from Melbourne, Indian Harbor, due south, with the exception of Sebastian Inlet and Monster Hole which was non for the faint of heart. At my historic period, monster hole is out of the question.
Monster hole with only a couple daring the intense drift/current and triple overhead size.
Information technology looks so easy but is so deceiving. The shore break at Sebastian was terrible and the current was pulling yous into the jetty. Not a hazard.
We left Monster Hole and headed to Juno, stopping to witness the massive swells forth the way. When we got to Jupiter, I went right to the inlet and the waves were insanely huge breaking out every bit far equally the eye could see. Merely Juno Pier looked somewhat doable all the same there were no takers due to the intensity of the rip currents and massive sized swells.
Monster Hole looking so inviting!
Juno looking out of control. If I had the fourth dimension, I would take gone down the road to Reef Road for some doable surf, but fourth dimension would not allow it.
Outside set at Juno Pier
All the hotels were booked in Cocoa Beach so I chose the "Faulty Towers" which is actually a really absurd little getaway next to Ron Jon'southward. They have Whimsical to a whole new level.
On the way home the ice in Southern NC was just astonishing! Entire streets were covered in it!
Ice trees on the I95 road
Reflections on 2014 as we move into 2015
As I commence on the show circuit I did in 2014, I cease to be amazed at the quantity and quality of events that came to be. After almost 36 art shows I still have lots of energy to move forrard in 2015 with fifty-fifty more than shows. This life is absolutely addictive and the amazing artists and places we encounter along the manner have been and so rewarding. Thank God for life equally an art gypsy! My beautiful wife Kris is always at my side making it all happen as she sits humbly in the shadows only we all know that she is my secret weapon! Her great observations and feedback accept catapulted us forward into even more challenging venues with stiffer contest.
The Littoral Virginia Winefest and MOCA January Show
Some of my new piece of work created in January for the MOCA show
January fired up pretty practiced with the MOCA Jan evidence, which was a real surprise. When y'all do an art testify with alcohol involved, yous are normally playing second fiddle to that. Chances at sales can be very low, unless you brand a huge try to appoint everyone who enters your berth. Several of us did just that and were rewarded with surprisingly good sales! I even sold a big 30" X forty" piece a few days after the testify. My client wanted to make sure that information technology was non merely the wine that made the piece look so impressive! I was totally stoked when she was happy upon seeing it in my home studio and took information technology dwelling house right away.
Why would an artist practise a show in January that could take poor sales? Think about information technology for a minute. You can sit at home and have your fine art non sell there on this cold blustery calendar month; you could become to Florida and hope for sales and pay huge costs for gas, lodging and nutrient; or you could simply bring your work to this fun event (which we were going to get to anyway since we love practiced vino). I am then glad we did!
Hearts A Bustin, No. two, © 11/23/2014, 18" X 24", Acrylic on canvas
Side by side I am doing the Virginia Beach Blossom and Garden Expo with my garden art. We love gardening and I practise as many garden pieces every bit I exercise surf art so this will exist a keen opportunity to share that with the public in a venue that focuses on that subject area very specifically. In one case again, in this kind of situation, I don't really expect much in the way of sales just the exposure is terrific. We ever go to the outcome anyway and the best role is nosotros volition get a reduction on entry because of our participation at the event.
Owl Creek Pelican Serial, No. 1, 18" X 24", Acrylic on canvas © 01/27/2015
I am very excited about a series of Pelican Paintings that I am embarking on this twelvemonth that were inspired past the sensational photography of my friend and collaborating artist, John Wright. This is the first challenging piece that I completed in the serial and await forrard to doing many more where I push button the envelope technically by forcing myself to exercise a painting with the smallest brushes I can observe. There are many other ways to achieve doing this piece faster with other tools, but I observe the challenge of doing information technology with such a minor rigger/script liner to exist more exciting. It besides gives the canvas an etched appearance which I really similar a lot.
Artigas coming up in a couple of weeks!
My adjacent out of land show will be ArtiGras in Jupiter, Florida in Palm Beach County! This was a tough one to go into and we are hoping for great things! Everything I take heard from my fellow artists has been thumbs up!
Exist sure to check out my exhibition schedule to come across where I am headed next on Kris and Ed's large adventure! It'southward right on my menu bar on this web site under "Exhibitions".
Written report from the Florida circuit experience
Christmas at Miromar Outlets was dissimilar. With temps in the 80's, it felt quite strange with the lights and all the trimmings, only it is a beautiful place.
I simply returned from one of the three shows I am doing this year on the gulf coast of Florida near the Naples surface area. This area has always intrigued me since it is so warm and the reputation of the area has been pretty impressive on all the forums. I must say here and at present, be careful what you read and try to talk to another artists who take done shows in out of state areas earlier you lot just spring in. I did my research and felt pretty confident this was going to be a pretty decent experience. The promoter took great care of us and provided all the amenities one would need at a loftier terminate fine art prove. The artistic quality of the piece of work presented past my fellow artists was amazing and in most cases, off the charts in regards to originality, wow factor, and booth presentation. Those are the three primal ingredients to success in this business for awards. Since the rewards were not too high, I went for sales with my presentation as y'all tin can run into from my berth shots.
If you are going for an award, go on the art to a minimum and stay with just one discipline. Hither I have mostly surf fine art however, I did include a garden wall too.
The mall parking lots were huge and packed every twenty-four hours with cars and people coming in and out of the show. The biggest surprise was that about all of the people coming in viewed us as their weekend entertainment and bought footling or cipher. I spoke to several artists who said that they had done two or iii shows in a row in the expanse and had "zeroed out", which means they sold nothing, not even small items! I personally just sold a couple of prints the last hr and that was information technology. My overhead was massive later on traveling virtually a g miles each manner just to go here, not to mention the cost of the hotel (which they gave us a generous discount on and treated us royally) and the cost of meals. The food was pretty high end too as were the prices simply they were incredible and well worth the cost.
My creative person assistant Kris modeling in front of our rig. I am so lucky to have such a cute hard working wife!
I've pretty much chalked this one up to a learning feel and totally sympathise why there are so few sales on the west coast of Florida. They accept an art prove near every weekend in that part of the state and the surface area is but totally oversaturated with them. With that in mind, I headed back to Cocoa Beach to at least catch a few waves and as luck would have it, the nifty was gone and the cold forepart arrived as soon as nosotros got there. I got to surf some of the smallest surf always but at least information technology was warm until Tuesday when the rain and wind hammered the place and the highs were in the low l's and the lows in the record breaking 30's. Welcome to sunny Florida. The waves were non due to go better until the following weekend and I was not about to wait that long to be reunited with my xanthous labs so we hit the road and came home in a marathon xiv hours.
I accept 2 more than shows in Florida and I practise hope they are better than this 1. I remember living in Florida and the waves were so incredibly inconsistent all year, especially summer when they just pretty much get away. I am super thankful to live in Virginia so close to the outer banks where the waves are endless near of the twelvemonth. Information technology's trips like this that make you realize that the grass is actually not and so green on the other side at all, it'due south but a fantasy that one go on chasing after as they get older. Right at present, the grass is looking pretty dark-green right hither in proficient old Virginia and that's where I plan to stay for the residual of my life. Thank you VA!
Buy Award!
I went to the opening of the Halls Of Art 14 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center terminal night and much to my surprise, I got i of the $1,000.00 buy awards. I've been wanting to get one of my pieces into their permanent collection for some time. While the award is no where nearly the total worth of the painting, it is a huge honor to become a slice into their permanent halls of fame. Thank you to anybody who supported my work and helped make this wonderful opportunity a reality.
FYI, this painting was inspired by a photo shot by Sean Davey fine art risk Photography. I altered it dramatically and also included several symbolic images that are curtained and revealed at the same time. The overall painting is a tribute to Van Goghs "Wheat Field With Crows", famous for its three paths that have been interpreted in many different means. On the top left of the lip is an abstraction of a balderdash going to the left. Superimposed on the bull is a horse going right with a very thin elongated head. In the top center of the painting is a ballerina dancing on the lip. At that place are iii clear paths going up the face of the wave that lead your middle to the surprises at the top.
Why the animals? They are anologies to how Surfing can exist a very bullish sport and the pecking society is fierce at many of the crowded surf spots I frequent. If yous lookout man surfers, they are incredibly graceful and powerful, much like ballerinas performing on the trip the light fantastic floor or horses racing to the finish line to trounce the firece power of the lip of the wave from crushing them to pieces or holding them underwater for terminal lengths of time!
Art show preps for 2015
DISPLAYS TO GO!
http://www.displays2go.com/C-0/Largest-Selection-of-Display-Products-POP-Displays-Online
Searched all over the place for a decent, affordable and lightweight flooring arrangement and these guys are the ticket. When you consider a floor for your display, and you definitely should, you lot volition need to have one type for the difficult surfaces and some other solution for the rough terrain kind of surfaces like grass, sand, etc. I went with a lightweight foam instead of rubber which is extremely heavy and a lot more expensive. Time is everything so search for a product that you tin hands ready, yet have it lite plenty that you can manage it. They have pretty much everything y'all need for your displays from easels, tables, signs, etc.
Getting ready for the 2015 art prove season and things are moving very fast! You have to really stay on it to utilize for all the upcoming shows in accelerate. If you lot don't subscribe to sunshine artists, you should. They are a tremendous resource at a very affordable price.
Several of you have asked me where to get your fine art work photographed and printed into a "giclee" format and my man Jeff Diener is the go to guy for that purpose! I just had him shoot one of my pieces and he was insanely meticulous near it and the terminate product was perfect in every way. He'due south easy to work with and surprisingly easy on the wallet! Y'all can reach him at:
http://www.jad-photograph.com/about-j.a.d.-photography.html
"Yous'll figure information technology out eventually..."
Yes, those were the words I kept hearing over and over during the years I have been doing shows, simply how overnice it would be if there was a book or article to point you in the right direction. It could be like a "Dummies Guide to the Show Circuit", for artist "wannabes". I've been trying to exercise just that with this weblog, so that others won't have to get through the same trials and tribulations that I have over time. If you look at my booth at the adjacent show, you lot volition meet a huge deviation in i thing in particular and that is the framing and presentation of my work. So often times the jurors refer to "the body of work" as to why they chose a specific artist for an award. This connectivity of private artworks as a whole in your berth can be achieved by doing one or several things to unite each separate slice as part of a group. I accept called to do only minimal black wood frames for nearly every slice or if the rabbit depth is deep enough, practise painted edges. If doing painted edges, brand sure that all the pieces accept the same rabbit depth (that's how thick your sail is). Minimizing the variation of sizes is as well helpful and that helps with the packing up time as well!
This is a motion-picture show of my booth at the most contempo Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth. It still has a means to go in terms of limiting what I want the jurors to see. The clutter on the table for example is manner too distractive and when doing a booth shot, I go out that out. Too, the print bins on the table add a vertical element that is distracting, still, I demand the tabular array to store things for when I make a sale and want to packet information technology up in inclement weather! The fitted tablecloth is essential so that it does not blow apart in the current of air too. Notice that virtually every slice is lined up with formal balance on the superlative of the booth to requite a clean menstruum and line of sight. Whenever possible, I move my sit-in area to the left of the booth and outside the booth if allowed by the promoters.
This is the front end view of my booth. Notice almost every frame is black. The loose edge on the front end of my carpet likewise volition need taping up with blueish duct tape. When that does not work, I inserted grommets into the carpeting so that I can use twist ties to hold it in place. I will also have all the impress bins off the table and lay down small originals on the table. The small prints will get into another stand alone bin like the one on the left from propanels.com.
Here is a view of my exterior wall with all those pretty forest frames from Italy! I chose them because they match the pieces well, however, as a body of work, you can run across how disconnected they are!
This is my outside wall and I chose an animal and garden theme for the most role. The backs of my interior paintings are likewise showing as well as my libation and then I will take to work on a solution for that besides, but, "I'll figure it out eventually..."
I promise this little tid flake of information is useful to some of my boyfriend artists. It's always a work in progress so I will keep you posted on the next learning curve.
Playa Venao Panama, Paradise Found!
Every bit I sit here watching some of the smallest waves on earth in Va. Bch., I can't stop thinking about our trip to Playa Venao, Panama in July. I had no thought that there could still be places like this left on the planet and am then grateful to our hosts at Playa Venao Hotel and Resort and all the newfound friends nosotros met while there. I am eternally grateful to all of the locals who shared their precious, yet plentiful waves with me every day. At that place was an off shore wind blowing virtually every twenty-four hour period at some bespeak in time, and there was rarely a mean solar day nether head high surf!
This was the typical view every morning in front end of the puddle.
Our resort had near everything yous could enquire for including an amazing breakfast included every solar day and an incredible infinity pool.
The beautiful infinity puddle in front of the interruption!
The cottages were 5 star with massive high ceilings to accommodate the long or brusk boards, Air conditioning, exotic sheets and beds of the finest linens and fabrics. Needless to say, the wife was quite pleased and on a surf trip, that's a very big bargain!
The quality of the surf goes without saying and so I leave you lot with these few shots of some of the all-time surf I accept always gotten.
Kris checking out the river after the storm.
Every day was filled with new adventures and new friends. The positive energy of the locals was amazing. I desire to give thanks everyone who purchased ane of my prints too! It's nice to take my work going around the globe and I hope to render with even more images of Playa Venao shortly!
Thank you to my bros at the Beachbreak Hotel side by side door likewise for giving me the opportunity to pinstripe the numbers on your doors while I was in that location. Nathan has a first class operation that he has personally carved out of the jungles of Panama. A huge cheers to my hosts at the Playa Venao Hotel and Resort whose staff met and exceeded all of our expectations for service. Thanks also to Alex for transporting us from Panama City to Playa Venao and to Richy Arosemena, the local photographer who has inspired many of my latest paintings.
Last simply non least, cheers to Owen Rayfield, my former student and successful eating house owner of "Mantaraya" Mexican food.
Reflecting on the 2014 Boardwalk Art show
Reflections on the MOCA Boardwalk show: "Sometimes you become the behave and sometimes the bear gets you". This time he got me. Sales were definitely downwardly for me and I did not make booth. Non fifty-fifty close. I will of course do the testify every year considering how much talent at that place is from all the applicants. It is truly an honor only to get into this show, evidence sales are non the principal reason for doing it. I personally will practise this show every year because I live here and support the local MOCA arts scene. I was very proud of some of my young man artists who won awards too! They threw a terrific party on Saturday with swell food catered by Steinhiblers restaurant which is peak notch and and so some! The coordination and effort that goes into this show is fantastic. Last year I lost my tent to some bizarre straight line winds and did not fifty-fifty prepare up Friday after Thursday's total wipe out in the current of air tunnel on 25th street. Sat and Sunday terminal year I exceeded making berth and made a hefty turn a profit. This twelvemonth not so much. This yr I purchased the water barrels which I would highly recommend and got a booth in the centre of the block. Try to avoid the end streets! Doing the Boardwalk bear witness is an almanac badge of honor and I was proud to be a part of information technology. I have found that often times its non at all almost the sales for some shows, simply rather the crusade, whether it's for the Edmarc foundation in Portsmouth, The Hope Business firm Foundation in Norfolk at Stockley Gardens, or shows like the boardwalk. Met some terrific future clients and artists and as e'er, had a greatly wonderful time in my home boondocks. Thank you for having me. My cup is half full and I am pleased to exist a part of such a rewarding experience hosted by MOCA!
Packaging tips for load in and out at shows
I always seem to be the showtime in and virtually concluding out at these outdoor art fairs and continue to larn something new at each 1. For instance, I accept these very expensive Italian wood frames that harm and so hands. I had the perfect protective covering with custom made chimera wrap bags that I created and card board corners. Afterward that I used the black divide cream used on PVC (without the adhesive) to put on the long parts of the wood frame edges and it worked fantastic. Perfect for aircraft, not so much for outdoor art fairs, considering it took forever to remove, store, and then reinstall the packing materials. Some other downwardly side to bubble wrap and black cream is that if left in the sunday, each piddling bubble acts as a magnifying glass and melts the black foam to the bag. That was a painful learning experience!
Note the time consuming corners, bubble wrap and foam insulation.
I take moved on to a totally new organization where I create the plastic bags from heavy duty vinyl film you buy at home depot. I duct record the edges inside and out then they don't stick to the painting or the plastic bags as they are inserted into the newly created 1/four" inch foam envelopes I make. I get the foam in rolls from ULINE in the 48" width and they are like crazy big! They were then big, I had to have the two rolls and unwind them into 4 rolls and so they would fit through my front door. The toll for those 2 rolls was just a bit over $200.00 but I take plenty cream now to practice about a bazillion paintings, at to the lowest degree! What'due south really nice is that once I skid the painting into the vinyl bag, it glides into the white foam envelopes really fast! The plastic protects the canvas surface also. The foam cushions it when they are stacked in the vehicle. Information technology used to take me iii to four hours to take down my show at these events. We now take that down to near and 60 minutes, or an hour and a half. I also take my smaller pieces in foam envelopes and put a lot of them in standard boxes I got from ULINE. With the similar shape and sizes, they fit well, load in and out surprisingly fast, and add an extra layer of paper-thin protection when stacked.
Note the velcro tabs installed to go along the plastic from flying in the e'er present winds and rains.
You have to tape the inside seam so that the plastic bag does not stick to the tape, or plastic bag.
I too added velcro tabs to keep the loose vinyl from flapping in the ever nowadays wind and pelting that you can expect at almost every show! Improve prepared than sorry.
Finished i/4 thick foam envelope. You're gonna need a lot of stamps for that ane!
Good luck out there this yr at your shows! Kris and I are living the dream and loving every minute of it! Make sure you keep your shows positive and upbeat and always think, many of them are non virtually making a profit, winning awards, etc. Sometimes the shows promote a very worthy crusade that is much greater than us and y'all are very much paying it forwards just past being a role of the result, and then be proud of that, fifty-fifty if your sales are lackluster.
Come across ya on the route!
Ed
"Weather or not?"
Soooo....here I sit down after loading upwards my van for my next show, and with it beingness the calendar month of April, we all know that April showers bring Mayflowers, and of course, Mayflowers bring pilgrims. No affair what you practise, the weather is jump to go south at spring shows and the earlier the show is, the greater the chance that information technology will be a bigger surprise than you have prepared for. That'south because here on the east coast of the Us, we get very large cold fronts that meet very big warm fronts and the ii conditions systems collide and class powerful, damaging winds of all sorts along with the possibility of tornadoes too! Allow's non forget about the lighting and hail, two of my favorite weather friends!
I am pondering this carefully because last year there was virtually no warning in the long term and even curt term forecast of what was to come, and come up it did, in the grade of straight line winds in excess of 85 mph! Virtually xl tents went into the ocean that evening shortly later I had put my concluding painting into my van, and mine was one of them. It was loaded down with hundreds of pounds of weights on each corner, ratchet cabled to the boardwalk runway, and I even had 4 buckets of sand on each of the front legs in add-on to the iv cement weights per leg. Each of those was 75lbs each! One of the main reasons mine and others went flying through the air with the greatest of ease was that I chose an end corner in a wind tunnel so I could accept more room to paint at the prove. Current of air tunnels are nasty banshee beasts that gobble up tents with malevolent forces that exceed any violence you could mayhap imagine!
My labs Rusty and Raven were a huge aid at picking up the pieces of my tent that went for blocks! Find the huge barrels that were filled with water to hold my neighbor'south tent.
You can set for this nightmare experience and weather the storms by doing some very unproblematic things. Heed carefully for the weather and if it appears to be rather ominous, then simply lower the tent or take it down birthday. My wife and I have gotten pretty fast at setting these things up and it'south a lot easier than buying a whole new rig. It also helps if y'all have fine art insurance similar I do from RLI at USAA. They were wonderful and supportive after I sent them the before and after pics of my tent. You too need to prepare your work in plastic bags you lot can hands make for large pieces like my 40 X sixty works of art, from plastic you can buy at dwelling house depot. I put them in the plastic numberless and and so create a large white envelope from 1/4" cream sheets that come in rolls from ULINE. Great stuff. I now make those envelopes for all of my piece of work. The rolls come in a wide diversity of widths and lengths too. Have lots of tarps on manus, plenty of ratchet straps (rope is fairly useless in the current of air), lots of extra clear plastic, and have a foul atmospheric condition programme with a listing. I keep this in my trailer and then that I don't forget anything. Y'all can also avoid a lot of this buy selecting the space for your tent that is centered on a big building and avoid the side street openings/wind tunnels. We likewise keep a lot of "sham Wow's" in the van for cleaning up all the time. Have a table handy that yous can put in the heart of the tent and put the work on to wrap it upwards during foul weather. It's pretty hard to wrap up things on the footing when the wind and pelting are coming at you from all sides under the tent. Higher upwards on the table, you lot avoid that altogether.
My brand new tent ripped to shreds at the 2013 Virginia Beach Boardwalk Fine art Testify.
What'due south truly remarkable about disaster is the tremendous corporeality of support you become from total strangers and friends. People came out in droves to help me salvage the parts of my tent and get it back home where I could later determine what was usable or not. It totally gave me a new outlook on my fellow human/woman. People actually are pretty great and they come to your assist when you lot to the lowest degree expect it, which is one of the reasons I find doing art shows such a joy. We always seem to run into some of the nearly wonderful people we would never accept met otherwise. Good luck out there doing your shows, and stay the course, regardless of the weather and all volition be fine.
Source: http://www.edobermeyer.com/blog/?offset=1465989196926
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