Art Fair - To Do or Not to Do...

Last night was my first 'Art Walk / Fair' of the year.  This one was Art Walk St Albert and it is held on the first Thursday of the month from May until September.  I was actually supposed to have also been in the May Art Walk, however it was snowing and cold that day before and morning of, so I pulled out of that one, fearing for my art and my toes. Here is some info for VENDOR artists considering a booth at any art fair.

- The  Cost. St. Albert Art Walk is free for outdoor vendors to set up, who have applied.  This is great if you are just starting out and want to test the water's. ( It's great for anyone really).  check out prices of applying when you want to do an art fair.

- The location. This one was great, as it is in front of St. Albert Place which holds a library, studios, City Hall, the Arden Theatre.  Quite busy with people coming and going for the first while.
You get plenty of exposure, even if you aren't making sales.

- The Duration of the Art Walk.  Lots of work to prepare for a short duration Art Walk - from 6 until 8:30 pm.  I spent most of the day before-hand setting up my tent to make sure I had all the bits, laying out my paintings, making portfolio, labels, price lists, etc.  With time I will get faster at doing this.

- Weather - it is uncontrollable - I came prepared with gloves, toque, layers - but we were all a little chilly.

-Your set up.
Costly Version.  We lucked out, the rain held off and the wind was moderate.  Saw 2 easels go down and I was eyeballing my neighbours tent as it was not pegged or sandbagged.
Your options are - going big and getting the tent and its accoutrements - which DEFINITELY REQUIRES 2 PEOPLE for set up and takes MUCHO time.  I purchased my tent on-line from Impact Displays for about $380 and search their website well, as I found a package that includes all 4 walls and a small awning for just about the same price as just the tent.  It comes in a handy wheeled bag that almost fits everything back in again, but not really.  My display racks were 8' lengths of wire shelves from Canadian Tire or Walmart, that are zip tied together.
- Staying small and portable, which my neighbour on the other side had, with a nice professional display rack and table that looked like if it started raining she would be warm and dry in her car before I could hardly get started!  She had an additional box of prints and other items to show people who were interested in her art stored neatly under her table.

- The People.  This was a very friendly location.  Most people had positive comments and didn't mind chatting.  I gleaned information on which paintings they reacted most positively too and kept track in my guest book.  (COWS!) Most were just browsing but I enjoyed chatting.

- The other artists - all super friendly and very willing to share their tips and tricks.  THANK YOU for sharing info on who your printer is, where to get the best prints, etc.  It was recommended that I get some prints made of my work to sell at a lower price point for those who could not afford the original oil paintings.  Guess what I am doing today!

Chugging Away

I am trying to paint almost daily right now, as my part-time teaching job is quiet until November.  Then it is almost back to full-time teaching and less time for painting.  I have put the finishing touches on the two paintings below.  The top, Bagel Shop, is part of my show in Fernie next year.  The bottom is one for my niece of her beloved cat.  Fun to mix it up a bit.

Bagel Shop - Oil on Canvas 12x12

Oil on Board - Myles

Wool Felted Bison

As most artists do, I work part-time outside of my own 'studio'.  Lucky for me I am teaching art / pottery / crafts at the Art Gallery of St Albert to school kids, so I still get to be creative.  Yesterday was my first day back and I really enjoyed making clay Pumpkins with the kids.

Today was a break from painting to test out an upcoming craft as part of some of our First Nation projects.  This was my first ever 'stab' (ha ha) at a 3D wool felted animal.  It turned out pretty good so hopefully it will make it onto the curriculum in January.

Art Fair

Tonight I participated in my first St Albert Art Walk.  It was the last Thursday night of the art walk season and only my second time ever taking part in one of these events.  Although it was veeeery quiet, it was a good learning experience and I enjoyed chatting with lots of interesting people AND I sold my first Art Fair painting!! YEEHA!

Getting Ready
Getting ready for one of these events is time consuming and it is best to watch some Youtube videos, check out a few websites and get some pointers from experienced people.  Until yesterday, I wasn't really certain how I was going to display my paintings.  I had about 30 pieces, some were framed and wired but several were not.  The best (cheapest) method I found for short timelines was purchasing 6 pieces of 8' x 12" rubbermaid wire shelves.  I stood them on end and zip tied them to my tent frame.

In order to ensure things would run smoothly I laid out everything in my garage beforehand, then took photos of each layout.  This was really helpful when I arrived to set up.  Just looked at my pictures and knew what went where.  My hubby who was helping could assist too.

The garage layout

My 'homemade' tent weights -  sand put in sleeping bag stuff sacks, clipped to the tent legs.

 This was my first time using my tent I had ordered on-line.  It was fairly easy to get up, the wind prevented my putting up the walls, but it was pretty sturdy.  My 'homemade' weights worked fine - might add some buckle straps to them.  It does take 2 people to set up everything though, and was almost an hour doing so. Thank goodness for my free help (hubby).  Take down is only about 15 minutes.

some of the other art fair booths next to mine

AT THE ART WALK 

My spartan looking set up.  I think I will add a centre 'wall' next time and get a nice sign made ASAP

I sold a painting of some poppies that I really liked and had positive comments on.  However, I don't think I planned very well for any sales!!  She asked if I took visa and I said I wasn't set up for that yet   She luckily had some cash - but then asked if I had a bag - which I hadn't even thought of!  Sheesh what an amateur!  

FINAL THOUGHTS

 - I have this monster red display set up, you can see it to the left in the above photo.  It does hold a fair number of small paintings - but it is HEAVY and only fits in the back of a pickup truck. So it has to go!  I will probably get more of the wire shelves and make more 'walls' as they are light to transport.

- I need to consider payment methods, so when people want something I can sell it to them!

- I need to make some smaller, cheaper pieces to encourage sales.

- DO not use a sign (like I did) that says Small Daily Paintings.  People liked them but I think they don't like that you can do them quickly - a few asked how long I spent on them.  Use a sign that says Small & Beautiful Sale.

- I had MANY positive comments on my Cheeky Prime Ministers series and my colourful landscapes .

Building Art Edmonton Day, April 26, 2018

 Lately the posts have been few and far between.  I have been working on 2 commissioned paintings for Alair Homes to celebrate April 26, 2018 which is Building Art Edmonton day.  Thanks to Natalie Harper, from Harper PR for including me, I have had much fun painting these 2 pieces - which I will post next week after the celebrations.

Work at the Art Gallery of St Albert has been pretty busy this spring, too.  The kiddos in the art classes are feeling full of spring cheer - FINALLY the snow is melting and we are all thrilled to see the sun!!

Small portion of a 16x20 acrylic on black gessoed canvas