Are art fairs worth it?

So I had my first art fair of the year this weekend and although it was just as I expected it to be I can’t help but feel deflated. I’ve put a lot of time and effort in to the build up to this event; creating the paintings, getting prints and cards ordered as well as stationary and signage, making sure I had the right lighting and stands to display, lots of promoting on socials and my website. All that effort and for what… £35 in print sales!… I knew it wasn’t going to be a massive success, and I kept telling myself the event was for exposure, to get myself out there, get some experience and learn from it but even still it’s a hard pill to swallow after such a big build up.

So it makes me wonder, is it really worth it?

Firstly is the cost, in total I’ve spent around £400 for this event. The majority of this cost is items I will re-use at other events but it is a big investment though when you first get started. Thinking big picture, if I’m going to do more events this year then the initial costs should be paid back in the long term. Something I need to keep an eye on, I’ll be tracking my costs and sales throughout the year to ensure I’m not losing too much money… If I break even I’ll be happy!

Secondly, is the time and effort, the events themselves are long days. As well as the travelling and setting up, you need to be engaging with people. Making conversations and connections…. This is something I definitely struggle with and find the most tiring. Again, thinking long term here, any connections made at an event could turn into a future collector, so it’s an important part of the process which I need to be mindful of.

Lastly, it’s the time away from painting. Whilst I still have a full time job, weekends are the only time I get to paint and do what I love. Is this time spent at these fairs worth this sacrifice? Could I be better off spending this time creating? Would it be more beneficial working with a gallery instead? Granted I will lose money on commission but I will save a lot of time and effort not having to attend fairs…. the hard part is finding good galleries to work with! Definitely something to think about for the future.

Lots to reflect on after this weekend. I guess this is all part of the journey, learning what works best for you as an artist. It’s still early days though, i’ve a couple more events this year still to attend, fingers crossed they are more successful! But I think the important thing here is to remember what I’m trying to do, my word of the year was exposure and these events are definitely exposing me! Not just to others but exposing me as an artist to myself… helping me understand what’s important and what I really enjoy doing.

So going forward, I will try to keep an open mind, remember the long term benefits of these events. In the end they will be worth it. If not financially they will have taught me a lot and hopefully help me to build some long lasting connections.

If you found this interesting and would like to learn more, then follow along on my socials (links below) or you can sign up to my mailing list where I will be sharing news and updates on my artwork. click here to sign up.

Stay Strange

Cally :)

When is a painting finished?

How do you know when a painting is finished?

Well isn’t that the big question? As an artist, knowing when to stop is the hardest part of the process. Technically, you could continue a painting forever. Adding layer upon layer and never come to an end. I have ruined so many paintings because I couldn’t stop, taking it that little bit too far then have to spend more time trying to rescue it! It’s a vicious cycle and one that can very quickly become tiresome if you’re not careful. So how do you avoid this? Well here’s five tips that i’ve developed over the years that always help me:

Take a break!…..

It may seem counter productive taking time away from painting but trust me. Take as long as you can away from the paintings and you will come back with fresh eyes and a brand new perspective on what you’ve created.

Put the painting in a frame…..

Never underestimate the power of a frame. I use floater frames, so it’s easy to pop the panel in the frame temporarily and see the piece with a clean border. If you don’t have any frames available you can use an in situ app to digitally add a frame to your painting. It gives the same result, helping you to see if the painting is finished or not.

Put the painting on a clean wall….

If like me your studio walls are covered in drips and splatters in all colours then it might be hard to see the wood for the trees! So if you have a clean wall you can pop a few nails in, it’s the perfect spot to hang your painting temporarily. A neutral background will help the painting stand out and bring to light what’s missing.

Work in a series….

My current series is the first time I’ve worked on several paintings together and trust me it’s a game changer!… when you get stuck with one painting or you’re not sure if it’s done, you can quickly move onto another and come back to it later. It also helps to have a few paintings to compare against. You can compare compositions and tonal values across the series and see what’s working.

Use an art journal….

throughout my process I regularly journal; taking pictures of my work, sticking them down and writing about them. What’s working? what’s not? what have I enjoyed? This method helps me decide if a painting is finished or not as it forces you to pause and think. Self critique is a valuable tool as an artist.

I’ve used all five methods on my latest series “Macabre Messengers”. Click below to see the paintings.

I hope you found this useful, these tricks are great to have in your toolkit and should help you to improve as an artist as they have for me.

If you found this interesting and would like to learn more, then follow along on my socials (links below) or you can sign up to my mailing list where I will be sharing news and updates on my artwork. click here to sign up.

Stay Strange

Cally :)

happy new year!!

Happy New Year!

I hope like me you managed to get a nice break over the holiday period… I managed to get a very rare 2 weeks off from my day job which meant I could spend lots of time painting and planning for the year ahead. It felt great to focus on my artwork for several days and really enjoy the process. Is this what it’s like being a full time artist I wonder?… Maybe one day I can step away from the day to day corporate grind… but for now I need to squeeze the art in as and where I can!

I’m not one for making new years resolutions, like most people I don’t keep them! But what I’ve done this year is put together some goals. I’ve also given myself a word for the year, EXPOSURE…. Sounds a bit scary I know and that’s the point! Exposure is something I’ve always been scared of whether that’s on social media, attending events or right here on this blog! But I need to accept that to be taken serious as an artist I’ve got to put myself out there and that requires some exposure, not too much though… 😉

I’ve applied to a few local art fairs throughout the year, fingers crossed I get accepted… Although the thought of being at a fair terrifies me, I know it will be a good experience and I’ll learn a lot the more I do, hopefully get a few sales too!

Another one of my goals this year is to build a consistent studio practice, sounds easy but with a full time job, running a house and life getting in the way it can be difficult to squeeze the time in… Maybe I need to be more selfish this year? Maybe the cleaning can be left a bit longer, or the social invitations can be kindly declined… It’s difficult but I have to put the time in to make this work and sometimes that does mean thinking about me.

Now I best get painting! I won’t do very well at an art fair with no art to sell!….Lots to do and there’s never enough time!

If you’d like to learn more about me then follow along on my socials (links below) or you can sign up to my mailing list where I will be sharing news and updates on my artwork. click here to sign up.

Stay Weird

Cally :)

My first art fair!…

So I had my first fair, (technically my second but that was years ago so doesn’t count!)

It was a small local Christmas gift fair. A good stepping stone to get me prepared for the bigger ones I want to apply to. I managed to get a few paintings done, plus had some prints and cards already from previous work I never sold a few years ago. I also designed a Christmas card especially for the fair which went down well!

The day was great, there was busy times and quiet times but generally a good day and a great experience. This is what went well:

• Xmas cards sold well, I’m glad I got them printed.

• Stolas the crow was a great talking point! He definitely caught the attention of a few people.

• Met some lovely people!

I also learnt a lot which is why I wanted to do the fair, so I could build my knowledge and skills ready for a year of art fairs in 2024! Here’s what I learnt:

• Don’t be afraid to ask for emails! Mailing Lists are vital for an artist, so getting as many email addresses as possible will help me in the future.

• Sturdier browsing - My card stand made the table wobble when people used it and the box holding my prints fell down a couple of times. Need to invest in better equipment!

• Clear signage - Although I had pricing labels, I think they could have been clearer, also a sign with a little bit about me would be useful for people to read.

Although it was only a small local fair, it’s given me the confidence I need to do more and now I know a little bit of what to expect. I’m looking forward to see what 2024 brings!

Hopefully you’ve found this interesting, if you’d like to learn more about me then follow along on my socials (links below) or you can sign up to my new mailing list where I will be sharing news and updates on my artwork. click here to sign up.

Stay Weird

Cally :)