Open studio artist's walk
 

Hi,

I've signed up for an artist's walk, open studio thing where my studio will be open for a weekend in early Oct. for the public to walk through, view, and meet me. Has anyone here done anything similar?

This seems to be a perfect way for me to "come out", without taxing my body very much. There will be a reception the night before the artist's walk and each artist will have one painting on display for the weekend at the gallery organizing the event.

I'll have to clean my dining/studio up, and plan for some treats to serve. Any other suggestions?

Jean

Plenty of business cards, flyers, etc. And nice smelling candles!

Hi Jean,

I did this three times about a decade ago, and these are some of my experiences:

1. If your studio is somewhat isolated geographically, it may be better to team up with some other artists and have a small group exhibit. This increases foot traffic a lot since people can take in several artists without driving all over the place, You'll probably be competing with several artist's collectives where people can see many studios at one stop. Viewers tend to go into art overload at some point, and may never make it to your studio if they've already seen too much.

2. I've never gotten any good direct sales from these events, but that may be because I was mostly showing high-ticket art furniture items, not paintings. A friend of mine took a bunch of her sketchbook drawings ( small charcoal, pen-and-ink, and pencil drawings ), matted them, and shrunk wrapped them in plastic. She sold them for $20 or less and did quite well with these, even though her paintings did not sell well. I bought two of them myself!

3. Collectors and gallery owners do use these events to see what's out there. I established a long time association as well as a friendship as a result of one of these events. Another friend of mine got a number of illustration portrait assignments from the New Yorker magazine as the result of a staffer having seen his work at an open studio tour 7 years previously. 7 years is admittedly a very long hang-time, but the point is the the exposure value may be there, even though your direct sales may make it seem not worthwhile.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Artisit's walk
 

Hi John and Kim.

Thanks Kim, candles are a good idea, I'll find some nice ones. I've begun printing out postcards with my info on the back, I'll have plenty of those.

John, the walk is organized so that the starting point is the gallery. All artist's info is there, along with examples of their work. In theory people will choose where they want to go based on the work they want to see. Hopefully I will get people who want to see realistic artwork and I should stick out like a sore thumb. Madison has very few portrait people. I'm located in Madison and easy to get to, but not near any other artists. The rules state that this must be your home or studio, so I don't think I would be able to form a collective of others artists.

I don't really expect to sell much, just plant seeds. But I may start matting some sketches just in case.

This is the first one in Madison, and hopefully it will become an annual event.

Jean

Jean

The open studio tours I did were organized exactly like yours. One difference probably is that there were 300+ Artists in the ones I participated in, and they have been running since the 1970's. It is not possible to visit all the studios in the events around here, even if you wanted to.

What I mean by artist's collectives are buildings in which large numbers of artists rent studio space or live-work spaces. There are many of these around here. But maybe Madison doesn't have any? Anyway, the organizers never put any restrictions on individual artists getting together to share a space if they felt like it.

It'll be really exciting if you're the only realist painter in the event! I have no idea what Madison is like, so I haven't a clue what you're in for in some senses. But it is a college town, isn't it?

Big college town
 

John, The University of Wi. is here, lots of beer, brats, and football. The area is very liberal and casual. In art we seem to have a lot of angst, watercolor florals, landscapes, and experimental art. There is a great deal of "fun" art, fiber, weaving and jewelry, pottery etc.

I stick close to home most of the time, have been studying, painting and drawing and don't really know many other artists in the area. Guess this will be my chance to meet them.

When I was quilting, I was in an incubator (business) where many artists had studios, none did anything close to reality. We had a gallery for shows and open houses ect. that I participated in. There are a number of other "artsy" areas here, and I imagine they may be in the walk. But, I don't believe there are any portrait artists around.

It looks like there may be around 50 artists participating (a guess). I'll report more later.

Jean

Frazzled beyond belief
 

Well, today is the deadline to have photographs and bios to the gallery for the "master book". My oldest son was in an accident and broke ribs and his hand badly (the one he needs) and is staying with us to recuperate. Needless to say I've missed the deadline but talked to them and will have all ready by tomorrow. I now have a mat cutter that I don't know how to use (Logan Simplex 702 I think), all kinds of mat corners (must be at least a thousand), and frame corners, all from a photographer that is no longer working professionally.

There are officially 89 artists participating, this sounds like it will become a big deal in this area. The reception is being held on Gallery night, a night that all the local galleries have open house, then the next two days our studios are open to the public. My oldest son (the busted up one) has designed a nice business card for me, and I 've been printing postcards up like mad. There will be numerous press releases to advertise this event, and so far seems to extremely well organized; imagine a room full of 89 artists all offering suggestions. It's a wonder anything got done.

I'm leaving the bio till last, all I want to write is my name, address, and phone number. How about, "I like to paint people!" and leave it at that.

Jean

Master book
 

Hi all, I turned in my "late" pages to the gallery today for the Master Book that will be there for people to see. My idea of deadline is still heavily influenced by firm, imovable, etched in stone, DEADLINES imposed by the building industry ( I designed and drafted boiler systems, refrigeration, and heating and cooling systems blah, blah, blah).

What a suprise to find that in the art world, deadline doesn't really mean deadline!

I worked all day yesterday on my pages, and this is what I came up with. The photos are clear and as true to reality as possible, hopefully the presentation will be different from other's pages. These photos are horrible but I think you'll get the point (glare from plastic, and out of focus). I dropped them off and was told by a gentleman with a very clipped British accent, "Nice presentation, we have a lot of people looking for art like this. It shows a high level of skill." Now I cross my fingers and hope.

What do you think?

Jean

2nd page
 

This should be the second page.

3rd page
 

Sorry Cynthia, some animals snuck in!

Ooops
 

I still had people on the third, my husband is not an animal. Here are the animals. I've been in contact with the breeders of the Budweiser Clydesdales and I may be painting them.

Jean

Getting ready
 

Hi again, I'm still pulling my hair out, but one very big problem has been solved. "Giselle" will be shown at the gallery (Art Beat) for the month of October. I'm doing this on a shoestring so framing her has been a creative nightmare. A carpenter friend was going to build me one, but had a fire last weekend so is now too busy cleaning up. Saturday, I ran into the owner of a local gallery and frame shop, explained my problem, and he offered to see what he had in "recycled" frames. I brought Giselle in, and walked out with an absolutely wonderful frame, perfect for her, and way, way more expensive than I could ever hope for. I cried all the way home. Now I'm scared to death it will be ruined somehow! As it is on loan for the month of the show, I will put a sign with his business on it, to do a little advertising for him.

Here's Giselle, all dressed up (I'm afraid to take the protective wrapping off till the show). The frame is a dull brushed gold with a walnut inset, 3.5 in wide.

Jean

Detail of frame
 

Here it is up close. These are posting brighter than they actually are.

My studio?
 

Hi all,

My workspace/studio/dining room/bike storage area has to look a little nicer for this event (which is next weekend). So I've started making it look more like a real studio. Here's my mess after a days organizing.


Jean

Wall #2
 

See the bike? My son will have to park it somewhere else, like maybe the garage? Still have to hang things here, the roll top desk should actually close by Thursday if I'm lucky.

You're lucky to have garage space for the bike. I WORK in the garage, so have to trip over the bikes constantly. (Do you recall the Monty Python skit that I suddenly sound like, where everyone tells stories about how bad they had it?) I'm "just waiting" until one of those bikes falls over against my wife's new car. I already have the story worked out that I'll be sticking to. Guess I could put the bikes in the bedroom without consequence. But don't get me started.

Best wishes on your big event.

Thanks Steven
 

I delivered Giselle to the gallery last week. And my work does stick out like a sore thumb. Lots of angst, I seemed to be one of few representational artists there. Of course only half had delivered their work, I went early cause of the "frame". They will protect it with their lives (I hope!)

Steven, I work in the dining room and am constantly tripping over the bike, my exercise ball, cats (see the cat on my chair), dog, toys (3 grandchildren), and all the clothing articles that my dog steals and drags around. The bike is in the dining room cause the garage is full! I have two more walls to organize, then the table and anything else laying around. I'll be afraid to work again by the time I'm done.

Jean

Animals in the Studio
 

Thank goodness for the space that we all somehow are able to paint in. The sharing part of the space isn't fun though. Do you find fur in your paints? My house contains three dogs, three cats, two to three kids at any given time, a husband and a father. Guess if the house and studio are too clean, no one would believe we are artists. I use tweezers to extract the cat and/or dog fur. ;)

Perspective I have that same feeling here in Austin -- but I'm hoping to use it in my favor, hoping that there are a whole lot of folks out there who would love a nice representational work, if only they could find it or find someone to whom a commission could be offered for "just the right" custom piece.

You may be the "new" cutting edge artist in your locale and not even know it yet. (Even so, don't invest your entire emotional and professional "worth" in one show. The fact that you have taken this big step and gone to such professional effort is already commendable, whatever the outcome.)

Chaos in the studio
 

Lynn,

My area is filled with: husband, three cats, one German Shepard, remnants of four kids, toys for three grandkids, and revolving returning adult children. Since its the first room in the house everything is deposited there first upon entering. This must change! Animal fur is always a problem. I usually try to pick it out with my fingers! Doesn't work very well, I end up wiping it on my jeans or smearing it on my face. Most of the time it ends up on the canvas "local color"!

Steven, Thanks for the wise reminder to keep the "eggs" in different places. I have invested much in this, and fear I will be destroyed if something good doesn't happen. I understand the concept of "planting seeds", but this is my artwork, my guts are on the wall! Lots of self-talk should get me through it okay. I hope this is the cutting edge for this area. We've certainly had angst and abstracts for long enough.

Jean

Opening night for 89 artists
 

Hi, well, I only lasted 40 minutes! Wall to wall people, incredible turn-out from the public. As I expected I was the only one with any representational work. Got a very nice compliment from a well regarded watercolor artist, Roger McMellum, said "Giselle" was the best in the show and invited me to join the Madison Art Guild, a juried organization for Madison artists, and took one of my cards.

My studio/dining/bike storage area sparkles, it hasn't been that clean for 7 years! Postcards are done, portfolio done, paintings all labeled, goodies bought, we even got the roll top desk closed. Now all I need is interested people. Tomorrow will tell.

What is the proper etiquette for opening receptions? This was my first and I was surprised by how casual, noisy, and the quantity of wine flowing. I'm not a good "public" person, and couldn't handle it. Do I need to learn how to handle this type of situation? I'd be interested in anyone elses experiences with opening night.

Jean

Recovering
 

Today I'm finally feeling like I've recovered somewhat from my weekend. Saturday was slow (Badger game in town), but Sunday was better. Passed out cards, talked to people, and sold a painting. So my experience was positive, profitable and murder on my body! I'll do it again.

Since this was for artists of many different types and styles, there was a very eclectic mix. Some political work and now controvery over some censorship I was unaware of. Things are heating up within the organization and there is supposed to be a party Fri night. Think I'll bow out as I don't need chaos and conflict in my life anymore. There is already too much pain and suffering in the world. I don't need to create it and don't wish to engage with the artists who do. Guess I'm getting old!

Jean

Dinosaurs
 

Jean

Too old? Physically maybe, mentally no! No use in getting involved in a mess. Glad to hear you got through the weekend. We all did, thank goodness!

Learn to mix with the guests, they are after all potential buyers. You sound like a neat person so let your personality flow and shine. Don't be shy, just pretend that the strangers you are talking in your life are all members of your family. Aren't we all really family anyway?

Lynn

Hi Lynn,

I've been reading with interest the thread on art fairs. My first and only experience was here in Madison at the Art Fair on the Square. Hard to get into, but I made it on my first try. No tent, no display stuff, (I brought a bed)! I was showing quilts, and I only lasted the first day. A vicious storm pulled through early AM of the second day, tornado watch and all that. Those who were prepared survived the storm and went on to have a good day. I just packed it up. This was way back in 91, even without the storm it was murder on me.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will try the reception thing again, I was told that I was the only serious artist there. I just didn't belong in such a political venue, (this is Madison), and the artists working on their "personal" demons! Why would anyone buy someone else's art therapy?

It was interesting to see what people liked, I've decided to paint things that I love while waiting for paint to dry etc. Here's one that I could have sold many prints of.

Jean