Great post, Lisa. I simply can’t understand why an artist would choose to participate in an art fair and not want to engage with the public. Perhaps it’s the mindset that somehow people will magically “discover” you without any outreach or effort. I think, though, that artists will find that telling their stories and reaching out to their “tribes” can, ultimately, elevate their work.

Thank you for posting this, Lisa. I’m an art fair artist who has experienced this very attitude when I attend fairs as a patron. I don’t understand it either.

I had several friends exhibiting at this fair (I was in Topeka that weekend) and will pass this on.

While I always greet visitors and have my artist’s statement posted in two places, you have me wondering if I have enough of the “why” in mine. Thanks for the view from the other side of the tent.

Best,
Jeane

Excellent post… as an artists I share your gasp! about other artists not relating folks who visit their booths.

I choose to market my work via the art show venue because I get to go toe-to-toe with those who express an interested in my work (I love it!). Though there is a balance between interacting and not interacting, I think overall folks want to hear the story behind the art and get to personally know the artist before purchasing. I also agree with you about the website. Cheers! LC

PS I’m glad to have found your blog.

Lisa: thanks for taking the time to respond to my comments. of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but i do not think my art is just the “product” and they were actually paying for some interaction they had with me. ihave sold numerous paintings to people i never met.
and yes, i have been generating a very stable income with my art for 15 years.
but in general i agree with your ideas that artists should make as much contact as they can with potential clients.

Hi Lisa, I’m so happy to have found your blog! From what I have looked at already, it seems very informative. I am excited to read more and hopefully become more successful because of it.

Here’s my question about this topic. Now, I’m an artist that has been in and out of creating hands on things for most of my life but have found this a time that I wish to start creating more and trying to make some income from it. (I was in graphic design with a paying job when not painting or drawing) My question is HOW do I discover what my story is?

My dad, who is an artist also, has been a big influence on me, unfortunately he is a bit of a pessimist and never bought into the artist statement thing. As I get older, I am seeing with my own eyes that maybe Dad isn’t quite the know all I put him up to be in my mind. So I’ve always just created things without fully knowing my own story. Is that even possible?

I realize this probably isn’t the right venue to have this rather deep conversation, but maybe you could point me in the right direction as to find and put into words what motivates me. I think that maybe since I’m starting out (at mid-life I might add), I might as well TRY to be successful.

Thank you for an informative post and it really is great to hear thoughts from the other side of the booth as one said earlier.

I’ve really enjoyed your experience at Old Town. And, Steve is one of my artist friends – his work is wonderful and I consider myself to be a ‘future-collector’ of his. And, happy birthday!

My Thoughts (on artist/collector interaction and on Old Town art show):
1) I find most viewers need/want time to view. Most of the artists I know (myself included) give viewers a little time (something we sense) to look and then we’ll approach them – IF we pick up on their interest – we don’t want to scare them off. I’ve witnessed what I call “buyer-repellent” for ex; if I try to talk to someone too soon, they leave (do they think they’ll get a ‘hard-sell’?) Artists think that it’s a delicate balance issue – often potential collectors prefer to NOT be talked to until they’ve looked for a while and decided that they like our work. I keep an eye on people and will approach if they have lingered. Or if something just compells me that it’s time to approach. I usually hand the person a business card and start talking to them. We have to balance ‘pushing’ people away.
2) Some (most?) artists at Old Town are super tired – ESPECIALLY on Saturday. Did you attend on Saturday? or Sunday? I think Old Town is one of the only ‘top national art shows’ that requires set up at 6am on the day of the art show. I know some top artists who will not apply to Old Town for this reason. On Saturday there’s a zombie effect … after a good nights sleep, Sunday the energy is higher (I’ve done Wells Street show about 5 times and have walked the four blocks over to the Old Town show – where my boyfriend was exhibiting – to view the show: There IS a difference Sat vs Sun).
3) Among many of my artist friends the impression is that there are NOT new artists in the show – many artists are ‘invited’ via on on-site jury which leaves few spots open for new artists. Bottom line, it’s a competitive show.

My Thoughts (on websites)
Most of my 3-dimen artist friends seem to have a website: Most of my 2-dimen artist friends do not. I’m 2-d and at this point I don’t have a website but I have bought “Mobile Me” so that I can post images and selectively give people that location to view my images. Some artist do not make reproductions and can’t imagine keeping track of which pieces are sold vs in stock and have done just fine without a website. I’m one of these. Sometimes people give me a hard time about not having a website so I’ve done a bit of market-consumer research and have asked them why they want me to have a web site … I’ve gotten lots of ‘reasons’ (not all good ones) but the best answer I’ve gotten is that their spouse is out of town and they don’t feel comfortable spending money without their spouses input. In that case I give that person a wide variety of my past business cards with a wide variety of images so they can show their spouse. I offer to email images. If they’ve seen the ‘quality’ of my work, they feel more comfortable commissioning me to make a piece for them. I tell them they’re “standing in my website” (I say it with a smile) – and that all the work that I have right now is right here in front of them. Also, I tell them they can google my name and click on images at the top of the page to find my images posted by some of the other ‘better’ art shows which post images of accepted artists.
2) images can be copied easier with 2-d work – so some of my artist friends just don’t want to ‘put their images out there so vulnerable’ I’m on the fence on this, if someone emails me or calls me to either commission a piece or see if “that x piece” is still available, then I send them some digital images and they either buy or not.

My Thoughts (on the WHY)
1) I agree, it’s important – it would be interesting to try at the next art show just ask the artist a question, or ‘linger’ in the booth of the artists who’s work you like – And I re-read you initial post, you said you spent time – could it be that YOU felt like you spent enough time to warrant some contact but to the artist it was just browsing? Some people want to be engaged right away, others don’t want any contact until they’ve ‘decided’ – everyone shops differently. The collectors I’ve dealt with don’t always care about the why – they like my work and they like me and that’s all they care about. “Will they enjoy looking at it in their home”. I actually give them a short overview and ask would do you want me to tell you more about the process, the materials, the inspiration? I find this allows some open ended questions that sometimes they don’t even know that they wanted to know about. I make sure I tell them what I want them to know about me and my work.

If you’re curious, a little about my background: I’m a second generation art show artist who initially had two past corporate careers (Health Care, then MBA-marketing, brand management) and now I’m a full-time artist. I still feel like I’m an ‘emerging’ artist and am enjoying it so very much. Chicago is one of my favorite markets and have 4 shows scheduled there this year.

Final thought:
As each new collector is about to walk out of my booth with their new piece I tell them the following: “One more thing, I got a great email from someone who bought a piece which ended with the following sentence – It doesn’t seem quite fair, you’ve probably already spent the money and I get to enjoy your art forever”. I find it nicely reminds both of us that money comes and goes but it’s when we allocate our hard-earned money in exchange for something that we’ll hold precious … that’s what it’s all about and it always gives me a chill.

I re-read your post about your experience at Old Town.

I must not have made myself clear enough – the intention was not to show anger or even to intimate a feeling of pain – the intention was to show that after reading your post about what you interpreted from your experience at Old Town, I felt then and feel now that you really made some judgements about the artists at the show with a pollyanna-esque lack of insight into the world of a street artist.

Making suppositions about the professionalism of artists that have been judged into a show like Old Town because they have a handwritten artist statement or because they do not have their website on a level to your liking – and then withholding your purchase until you found a piece to your liking done by an artist that you approved of during your stroll at the show – really does smack of condescension along with a pronounced if not profound lack of insight.

Lack of insight leads to weakened credibility. I thought when I read your post about Old Town and again when I read your response to my response, that your credibility – your credentials to critique artists at a recognized street show are damaged if not inherently flawed – in fact, I got the perception that you were irritated if not angry with the artists at the show.

Hammer or twist away at what I said about business cards, or clients, or whatever else you want to pick out – the bottom line is artists at street shows large and small deal with all kinds of people in their booths. There are people like I described in my first response to your post, there are people like me, and there are people like you that parade in and out and by the booths all day every weekend in every major city throughout the warmer months – I sell to them. I put beautiful paintings into their homes and offices and send them out of my booth smiling. Some people are not my customers and never will be. I don’t pre-judge my buyers and then make a business decision based on how professional they may appear and I have no reason to believe that my collectors are concerned with my website or my artist statement or if I gave them a Wal-Mart greeting when they fall in love with one of my paintings.

Art is more than a widget or a good or a service – it’s deeper than that. Real artists, genuine critics, and knowledgeable, genuine patrons already know that without making judgements on fluffy side issues to push their own agendas.

I left a reply – are you going to allow it to post?