Passions of an Odd Chick

Sunday, February 13, 2011

ART SHOW! A success- whew.....

one of the front doors
THE DAY of the BIG art SALE!
If you click on the above image you will see my name written on the door! I was so excited when I walked up and realized they had even decorated the windows.

The next thing I knew the girls were leading me over to counter to show me flowers that I had received from my Mom, my daughter and dearest friend! okay, I'm dropping tears by now.
But that was just the beginning of all the love and good things I would embrace for this special evening.
Friends came in from my church, my bookclub, my neighborhood, my yoga class, my art guild, all the way from ARizona, my HEART friends, little kids, older friends, new friends, lots of new faces, timid artists I could encourage, artists who had mentored me, artists who wanted to know, "what's next?". Even Sweet Farmer and his shop buddies (well my buddies too). I was so wired last night I could barely sleep.
 I SOLD 8 originals!!!
11 prints!!
25 card sets!!!
Many large single cards!!!
My art box!
ABOUT $1600.00 worth in one night as best I could tell.
THAT DOUBLED MY INVESTMENT PEOPLE!!
Yes, I was worried. I was a little naive about how much an artist really invested to show their paintings. I had not counted all the costs like framing, matting, printing, postcards, postage, staging, etc. That doesn't even count the time to create the art.

I learned so much!

But BOY I'm glad it paid off! WHEW! And these paintings will hang for another 2 weeks so I expect that I could sell a few more in that time. 
But the greatest gift- HONESTLY- was the time people took out of their busy lives to come out and support me and encourage me. It would have felt successful to me to just have had the guts to hang them and to know that lots of people liked them. BUT BUYING THEM IS SUCH A VALIDATION, I admit.
And those of you who have encouraged me from afar, THANK YOU and wow! dreams happen if you just dare to be brave and true to your calling deep within you.
Italy - HERE I COME!
Can you tell- I'm still running on a heavy dose of relief and unadulterated JOY!


13 comments:

Carolyn said...

Hooray for you! I wish I could have been there - to meet you and see your art on display. But I'll have to settle for having one on my wall in my office! When you land back on the solid earth again, please let me know how to order... And I have to decide which beauty...

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

Yeah! You go girl! So exciting to see your paintings all over those walls and to hear that you had a very successful event right and I'm sure more great things to come from all of this.
Marketing/selling art has quite a learning curve and I've so appreciated you sharing your experience.
Congratulations!

Poetic Artist said...

YEA>>I knew you could do it..I am doing a happy dance for you..You brave talented and kind hearted friend..I know that had to be so exciting and scarey..PROUD..
I wish I could have been there but the drive is a little too far.LOL.
I would also like to own a orginal piece of your art..
Hugs and Blessings,
Katelen

Kay said...

I am super happy for you..congrats

Å olanje na domu-Waldorf said...

Congrats on your art show! I'm so glad it worked out for you. :) How exciting?!

Diane said...

A very Big Congratulations to you. Isn't it such a great boost to your creative spirit!!
And now your wonderful art is going out into the world--like children leaving home.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Steve Emery said...

Woo hoo! Thanks for sharing these photos, so I could see how it all looked. Beautiful!

I had friends drive 6 hours from TN and surprise me when our gallery opened. I had been choked up a couple of times before that, but their sudden appearance made me lose it. I know what you mean about the little surprises like the name on the door and the flowers...

So have you kept track of where your pieces are going to live? I don't know about you, but I like knowing where they are. It's fun to think of your art spread out all over the place.

I am SO glad this was such a success. And I think you can bank on a few more selling in the next couple of weeks. When do you go to Italy? I was telling Dearest about it on Saturday, how your opening was that day, and about your dream trip.

Jennifer Richardson said...

YES!!!!
So glad you took the leap;
just look at you flying!!!
Way to soar, you!
Grinning,
Jennifer

Anonymous said...

This is such brilliant news! You go girl!

Buffy said...

Hooray,hooray,hooray!!!! I'm so excited for you! You had so much support,love and those flowers. I got teary eyes reading your post.A big Congrats! Oh and I just finished working in your book so I'll be mailing it out today!

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

Congratulations. I loved reading this post and how successful your show was. I totally get where you're coming from about the validation that comes when people buy your art. I agree it's not the only thing that matters by far, but it really does feel wonderful.

Great news about the Etsy shop too. Your dreams are out there friend, and it's wonderful to see.

Ernie Hendrix said...

Way to go!! I'm so proud for you and of you. And I'm sure it reassuring to you to have concrete evidence that others appreciate your art. What a wonderful time you must have had.

Ernie
Gypsy Gold Studio

Dirt Road Quilter said...

WHY did I not know this?! I am calling my neighbor to complain. Once in a while y'all need to pull me out from under my rock! How fabulous for you! Congratulations!