Compiling Comments
Fruiting Palm
"Fruiting Palm", oil, 20" x 30"
When I first moved to Florida apprehension about the landscapes caused me some angst. Originally living in New Hampshire for most of my life, my works were centered around northeastern locations.
After visiting some art shows during our first year as Florida residents, it was very obvious that most of the artists seen in those shows were painting palm trees, the beach and ocean, fish and shore birds, some still life work, and southern architecture.
You can imagine my surprise during my first show, when I sold three northeastern themed works, and none of the southern themed paintings!
Who knew?
Soon I discovered that my sales were going to be mostly southern themes, but there would always be some clients who bought my northern themed works.
After painting "Fruiting Palm" a client said she loved the piece and may buy it once her house interior is redone. That's encouraging.
But in the meantime here is one of my northern themed works recently sold to a client from Florida.
"A Dream's Path"
After every exhibit I do whether as a participating artist in a group event, or as the solo artist shown, I ask myself the following questions: Did any paintings sell? If not, why? If works sold:What works sold at this exhibit? What comments did I receive from visitors to my exhibit? What genre was popular? What color palette seems to be most liked?... and so on. Not that I'm planning to change my works if someone else sold more than I did, but it's good to know what types of things are selling. To me, this indicates something about the people who visited my works and their feelings aobut my works and paintings at the exhibit. I often take notes on each of my exhibiting events and compare one to another. I note the town or area that the exhibit was held, and look for elements that are the same in each set of notes. For instance, at one show several people mentioned they liked the way I painted water. During the next two shows after that one, although in completely different areas and states, people frequently mentioned they liked the way I depicted water. NOTE TO SELF: More seascapes/lakes paintings needed!
