Hello 2009

I was looking up a photo on my blog and I realized it has been way too long. So here I am again. Shows have started up again for me and I’m in the middle of doing my first show of 2009, the Audubon Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. It is bitter cold here (well, in Florida terms) and I am so glad this show is inside. I feel badly for the people who came from out of state to be here. The festival is not an art show. It is a combination of field trips, speakers, and exhibits, all about birds. People come from all over the country and some of them are rather disappointed that the weather here is not any warmer than where they came from.

I got two exciting acceptances last week. One from Vero Beach, Under the Oaks for March 13 – 15 which is supposed to be a very good show and the other, drum roll please, is Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival on May 16 – 17. My home town finally gets to see what I’ve been doing for the past 9 years.

It’s too early to tell what effect the economy will have on shows for me. I haven’t done Audubon in four years and my work has changed so much that I can’t really compare. I didn’t make any sales yesterday but I also forgot and left my 8 x 10s at home and with all the people from out of town this is a small item show. The focus isn’t really on the art here so it’s an impulse buy situation and I didn’t have any impulse buy items.

The photo above is from one of the photo trips I took when I was visiting family in Virginia over Thanksgiving.

Updates

Well, as expected, I did not get into Vero Beach. I’m disappointed of course but my schedule for winter and spring is already pretty packed. Also, doing Vero Beach would have meant missing all of Bike Week since I did get into the Leesburg show for March 1-2 , the first weekend of Bike Week. My knee is healing nicely and I expect to be back on the bike by then. I’m still a little nervous about Naples Invitational setup and breakdown but they were nice enough to give me a close in spot so I won’t have to do a lot of walking. I have two weekends left to get ready so I’ve been printing and framing like crazy. I’m surprised at how much new work I have. It’s always hard for me to judge my own work so if you have a favorite you want to see this year, let me know.

I’m behind already. I haven’t done my New Years ritual yet. Each year I write down on slips of paper the character defects I want to be rid of for the coming year and then burn the slips of paper. It’s worked so far. A friend is coming by this weekend and we will do it together.

I use a mailing list generator to send out some postcards before shows. Some interesting numbers – Number of people within 10 miles of Coconut Grove who are married, own their own homes, and make over $200,000 a year – approximately 10,000. Number of those who contribute to conservation causes – 49! There is something seriously wrong with this picture.