The secret preparations leading up to an art fair.
This weekend sees a brand-new Art fair at Newbury racecourse.
It is in fact my fourth art fair so far this year!
So surely I have a well oiled machine that enables me to prepare for an art fair with no stress or hassle - Well, I am pretty organised these days so here's my insight into what I’m doing this week to get ready for the fair.
- 1. The artwork. Obviously! For me, as an oil painter I have to plan ahead as I have to allow enough time for the artwork to dry. That can be as little as a few weeks after completion and as much as a several months! Once the artwork is dry if I'm going to hang it unframed it's simply a case of adding some D signs and hanging cord to the back, if framed I have to get it to the framers allowing enough time for the work to be done and for me to collect it.
- Packing the work. At art fairs you’ll see bubblewrap, felt folders, sheets, cardboard boxes, wooden crates…all manner of what-have-you can be used to packpaintings. I use silver insulated bubble wrap. You can buy these pre-made by brilliant company called Stiffy bags or you can make your own. It's not exactly environmentally friendly the first time you use it; but you can use these bags again and again and again at so there isn't much waste. In fact by using these bags I've reduced my plastic waste significantly.
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Some of the luxurious mouldings at my framers.
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Work packaged in silver bags ready to load up the car.
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Its great when you sell its also great when your stand neighbours are lovely, funny friendly artists. What a weekend we had!
3. Tools for the job. I need a trolley, a stepladder, drill, screwdriver, screws, spirit level, tape measure. These are just the bare minimum of items that you will need to set up your stand.
4. Prints and print racks. Most art fairs only allow limited addition fine art prints. So another important job leading unto the fair is to mount and wrap the prints so that they look super shiny and are protected when folks flick through them in the browser.
5. Labels. Oh my goodness; labels are the bane of my life. They take a disproportionate amount of time. I like to mount my labels onto foam board so that they look super professional. And this takes time. Does it really make a difference? I'm not sure, but I know I like the look of them next to my work. I like putting red dots on them too!
6. Stand box. My stand box is little Aladin's cave of extra stuff, my labels, red dots, business cards, pen, spare pen, postcards, card reader, spare card reader, glasses, scissors, lucky gonk, blu-tak, Bach’s rescue remedy, mints, memo pad, guest book…you name it.
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My all important stand box for all my bits and pieces
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My cut out and keep stand plan!
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8. Website and social media. I’ve been making sure all my new work is added to my website and that I’ve been posting pictures on facebook and instagram of what will be on my stand, ensuring a key hashtag or two.
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9. Car jenga! You gotta fit in all in somehow. I have a big estate car which can pretty much do the job, (though for some bigger fairs I borrow my brother's van). But I have to be very strategic in how I load my paintings for maximum space with zero damage!
10. Look after your feet! Oh yeah I ought to think about what to wear. It's not too much of a hassle but broadly speaking it needs to be fairly smart, but also needs to look nice with comfy shoes! On the PV night you’ll occasionally see me in heels, but definitely not for me on Saturday and Sunday when I'm on my feet all day.
So I’m nearly good to go.
Why not come and see how I get on, I’m on stand 45. See you there.
Contemporary Art fairs Newbury. Private view, by invitation only Friday 10th May,
open all day Saturday 11th May and Sunday 12th May.
The heart inside the art
I’ve been to Fresh the past couple of years and each time I have been on the stand, selling my work, this year at Fresh my work was represented by Park gallery, which afforded me the luxury or spending a day painting. My painting demo was of a lion. I had absolutely no idea how many people have been on Safari in various places throughout Africa. But believe me I met a lot of them on Saturday. I was enjoying our conversations immensely as I will be heading off to Kenya in September to go on Safari in the Masai Mara. People get very emotional when they see my lions, I try to put emotion into all of my animals, for me it’s definitely all about the expression in the eyes. I love the way the animal comes to life when I start painting the reflections and the glint in the eye. I even received around of applause when I put the glint in my lion's eyes during my painting demo. Later on in the fair a lovely lady bought a big lion from the Park gallery stand. And it turns out this was an entirely emotional response. This lady had worked in Botswana and South Africa on various different reserves, and understandably loved lions. Truly madly deeply. She said to me of the painting “That lion’s face just blew me away”. She told me that so often when people are trying to create the strength and power behind a lion that they make them ugly, but mine was majestic and handsome. [The picture above shows the painting I was working on that day, her painting is his big brother!]
During the Easter weekend I found myself sitting at the bottom of the garden where we have a little orchard. It's a very special place for me. Under one of the apple trees is where my husband proposed to me nine years ago. Next to it is a cherry blossom tree which he planted on our first anniversary. Whilst I was sitting on the grass in the sunshine the wind blew and the cherry blossom tumbled to the ground. It looked like it was raining pink. In the same moment I thought of dear friends of mine who were married in Japan. Aya looked so beautiful in her stunning wedding kimono. And the chord was struck and I started thinking about how I could possibly create that image in paint. It took quite a few sketches and quite a lot of reference photographs to put the combination together but this is what I came up with.
suitably inspired by this more delicate approach I went on to create a Thai dancer. When I visited Bangkok I was struck by how much gold there was everywhere! Very modest little buildings sit cheek by jowl next to bejewelled temples. The palaces are covered in gold and my goodness there is such a lot of vibrant colour. One evening we were sitting in an open air restaurant by the riverside and we watched a traditional Thai dance and this painting reflects that evening. The light glinting on her costume and the gold sparkling.
All these paintings will be on my stand, Number 45, next weekend at Newbury art fair.
It's good to Share
Fresh Art fair is at Cheltenham racecourse and runs from 26th-28th April. And on Saturday 27th I will be one of the demonstrating artists in studio 2 at the fair. And I simply can’t wait! There is a real joy about demonstrating. Sometimes people come to an Art fair simply to buy art, it saves them lots of time from trawling from one gallery to another; instead over 60 different galleries, representing 500 artists are all under one roof.
However there is another reason to attend an art fair like Fresh. And that is the presence of the demonstrating artists. At Fresh, up on the balcony of the Centaur building, there are two studio areas where artists will be creating their work for visitors to see. Usually they’ll be three different demonstrations each day, there are also some talks going on as well.
So why does this appeal to the average art buying customer?
It gives them an insight, a behind the scenes look at how artists create.
Sometimes the world of art can be unfathomable and it can intimidate people. But at Fresh you need not worry. This is because if you see something you fancy simply approach the gallery that has the painting that you’ve fallen in love with, and have a chat! The galleries are knowledgeable about their artists and they’ll be happy to answer your questions. My work will be on stand 34 with Park Gallery. This is a beautiful independent gallery and Steve and Clare will be happy to chat to visitors about the work they exhibit and the artists they work with.
The artists like me, being one of the demonstrators, get a chance to talk to visitors about how we approach our work.
I will be working on two canvases during my four-hour demonstration. This is because I’m in oil painter and I don’t want to risk overworking one canvas. The outlines and very light underpainting have already been created and are currently drying in my studio ready for me to take to the fair on Saturday.
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However the stage that visitors will see me working on is much more interesting.
I will be showing people how they can create form with a tonal painting using dark diluted paint. Next I move on to adding colour, followers of my blog will know I use colour in creative ways and anyone watching me during the demonstration will see just how I make those decisions about colour and bring the animal to life. Lastly I’ll be working on some highlights. This won’t necessarily be the very end of the painting but it will give people an insight into what happens when an oil painter adds white to their mix! It’s a very exciting time for the painting. With four hours at my disposal it means you'll have a chance to watch me paint, go for a wander round and have a look at some of the other galleries and then come back and see how I’ve got on! There’s so much to see at Fresh and a warm welcome awaits you. So if you’re free next weekend I heartily recommend you come along and see us.
Click on the button below to find out more about Fresh art fair
Sorolla, Master of light.
A few times a year I make the effort to go and see exhibitions outside of my locality, usually in London, often at the National or the RA or the Tate. And this Spring saw me heading back to my old favourite the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to see the Sorolla exhibition.
Sorolla is Spanish, working at a time after Goya and before Picasso was famous. He has the weight of Velezquez on his shoulders, along with more than a passing hint of English portraiture influenced by Sargent. He had 19th Century realism and early 20th century impressionism at his fingertips. He was brilliant. And yet I know nearly nothing about him before I went.
But this exhibition was entitled Spanish master of light. Where is the light?
The light took my breath away. The monumental painting" The return from fishing" was a sight to behold. I stood and sketched it, I love sketching in exhibitions, but sometimes it's difficult to do when there are loads of people. But it's always worth it. Sketching improves our art but it also improves our eye. I loved this painting all the more for my experience of trying to capture just an essence of it in my sketchbook
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I could feel the mediterranean sun.
Sun so bright it blinds you.
It was truly glorious. No amount of photos can do these justice. This one was taken from a double page in the exhibition catalogue. It merely gives an an idea. I could have stared at it for hours.
When presented with such mastery of light in oil painting, sometimes written notes in my sketchbook became as important as the sketch.
When studying "The pink robe" I found myself utterly transfixed by how realistic and well painted the figures were, yet close-up the brush stokes were broad, the paint thick and unctuous. I kept going up close then retreating back. My notes remind me, when back in the studio "don't be afraid of huge brush strokes"
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I think you might just see an influence in a few of my next oil paintings!
Do you do it from memory? (Or the importance of observation drawing!)
No cheating!
No peaking in your wallet first
. Just grab a piece of paper and any old biro and just draw anything you can remember from one side of a £10 note.
Give yourself about five minutes.
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So here is my £10 note from memory; some recollection of Bank of England written on it, the Queens head in profile, and a few squiggles. A vague idea of the layout and no detail whatsoever!
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biro sketch from memory
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Now here’s my £10 note from observation. A £10 note in front of me. It still only took maybe 10 minutes at the most, with a biro, so no rubbing out, and there are plenty of mistakes and wiggles and errors. But you can see the difference. This is what happens when you have reference in front of you compared to working just from memory.
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biro sketch from observation
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Sketchbook experimentation
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Stag in Oil on linen completed after sketchbook work.
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So for me by far the best combination is some reference photographs, loads and loads and loads of sketches all surrounding me and my easel and then I can try and create my masterpiece.
My top 10 tips for buying art at an art fair
The Wey gallery stand at last year's Fresh Art fair. The Wey will be at this years' Fresh at Ascot.
Amongst the most famous art fairs in Britain are The Affordable Art Fairs, and Fresh Art fairs. These are “gallery only” art fairs and as a buyer you get an opportunity to see the work of hundreds of artists from dozens of galleries all in one place. It's incredibly convenient and really exciting. Last weekend was Battersea affordable art fair which is busy and large and wonderful. There are other types of art fairs too, where you can buy directly from the artists too. Amongst my favourites are Contemporary Art Fairs who host Windsor, Surrey and Newbury art fairs. This weekend is Surrey art fair held at Sandown Park racecourse.
1.Research. If you get a chance to go to the Art fair website before you visit. This way you can see which artists are exhibiting. You might also be able to get a discount on tickets in advance or even find the artist on social media to gain private view tickets on the opening evening.
2. Do a lap.
Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming wandering around. I recommend you do a lap first. Have a relaxed wander around, collect the business cards from the artists you are interested in then go to the café for a cup of tea and decide which artists you're going to have a chat with.
3. Don’t be afraid to talk or not talk! Whichever you prefer.
Personally I believe lots of people really like to browse before they engage with the artist. Feel free to do that. Some artists will greet you with simply a nod and a smile, others will introduce themselves. If you are uncomfortable chatting straight away then simply say “we’re just browsing” or indeed say “we are on our first lap”. All the artists will know what you're talking about and will leave you to browse with out any hassle.
"Talash" my latest tiger will be on stand 50 at Contemporary art fairs Surrey this weekend.
Sometimes GCSE or A-level students want to take photographs of my work. If they speak to me first and pick up one of my cards they can then have access to my members page on my website - on that page they will find tutorials and all sorts of helpful things for their coursework. So sometimes speaking to the artist means they get far more freebies than if they just surreptitiously take a photo. So don't be afraid of asking…most artists will say yes but only when you ask first.5. Relax. I think there are lots of programs on telly with art critics that don't appear to speak the same language and make the art world unfathomable for most of us. This is not the case at an art fair - If you are buying a beautiful work of art for your home you need to be happy and relaxed. Maybe you want to hear the story about how the art was created, maybe you don’t - you’re the one that wants to buy the art; you're in charge.
6. Take a break. Art fairs can be overwhelming as there's just so much to choose from and sometimes you really can't take it all in. So do feel free to stop off at the café sit down and have a nice old chat and a cup of tea while you work out what you want to see next.
7. You can't like everything! Walking on by when you’re not interested in a stand isn’t offensive to the artist. We understand.
8. Decision-making. This is a tricky one I think it's perfectly reasonable for somebody to want to go home and think about buying a work of art if it's a large piece or if it's an expensive piece. However I have seen the pain of somebody going away to think about it and coming back to my stand and seeing the piece they’d fallen in love with was sold. I have noticed a rise in recent years with people buying work after the fair directly online. The choice is yours.
9. Have an open mind. You might surprise yourself with what you like. You might also be surprised at the high quality work you can get at affordable prices.
10. Enjoy yourself. Buying art should be a pleasure. Enjoy it all.
Art fair season is here, and I can't wait.
People are becoming comfortable buying original works of art, and developing their own tastes and styles. Art fairs are a great way to spot emerging talent, there are many hidden gems to be unearthed. You’ll be able to buy high quality artwork at an affordable price and have a good day out in the process!This year, the first art far on the calendar is Bath Art fair as it turns out, it's my most local fair and I'm delighted to be a part of it. Bath Art fair has been going for a few years now, but this year we have a brand new venue in the heart of Bath, at Bath pavilion. The private view is on Thursday 28th Feb and the fair continues through 1st and 2nd March.
Creating the perfect stand, regardless of its size. Curating your own work by allowing each piece enough room to breathe whilst maximising your space and meeting your customers is what is an art fair is all about for an artist.
There is something indefinably wonderful about meeting your customers and explaining the work to them. In fact one of the great pleasures about attending an art fair is being able to speak to the artists, find out what their inspiration was, and how they created their work.
You don't have to worry if you've never been; It's a lovely way to spend a day, browse the artworks, chat to the exhibitors and try to work out a short list of your favourites.
If you want to take the plunge and buy, you can do so directly from the artist. Most artist have their own card readers and we'll get your work wrapped up in bubble wrap for you so you can leave with your beautiful new artwork straight away if you want to.
I had a wonderful time last year and I'm hoping for a super year again this year, with the added bonus that the Private view, on 15th March just happens to be my birthday! I'll see you there with a drop of fizz!
Wild Woodland, my new solo Show at the Ytene gallery
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Over the years I've met a few artists that are represented by the Ytene gallery, and I first came across them at the New Forest show a few years ago. I was really interested in getting my work into this beautiful gallery.
Last year I got my wish, and they took a selection of my paintings in the Autumn, along with some limited edition prints. The gallery and their customers liked my vivd oil paintings on subtle linen background and the pieces sold really well and before we knew what was happening just two of my pieces were left in stock! Helen, the gallery owner, and I were delighted. |
Morgan the Stag in Wild Woodland, oil on linen,
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I delivered a whole selection of work inspired by the New forest.
Residents and regular visitors know that animals have priority in the New forest and can roam freely. Some of my favourite reference sketches and photos come from long walks in the forest, usually involving a pub lunch. My other photos come from pulling over on the side of the road, getting out and reaching for my camera, while a beautiful highland stands in the middle of the road watching the world go by. In fact A whole herd of cows tootling along the road is not uncommon when travelling through the forest.
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Walking in the New forest in search of inspiration
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New forest pony in the winter sunshine
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New forest traffic jam.
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"Leaps and bounds"
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Here I am delivering my work for Wild woodland
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"Balmoral"
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What I'm reading this month
New Year; It's perfectly planned!
From years and years of being a teacher, where every second of our lesson time and indeed our free time was precious beyond belief, I have 20 years of time management and organisation skills honed to a tee.There is a myth that creative thinkers are chaotic and disorganised… though I’ll admit that part of my need for planning and organisation has definitely stemmed from my years of being a teacher and now they are serving me well in my years of being an artist
.So here are my top three - I'm not altogether sure I’d be able to live without any of them!
I have a wall next to my desk with blackboard paper stuck on it.
This is much more practical than having a real blackboard of this size, which would be very heavy and could damage the wall or even damage me if it fell off the wall!
Blackboard paper is really easy to apply and you can get it in plenty of DIY shops or indeed a favourite online retailer! I love it!
I have a wall panner on the blackboard too, so I can map out art fairs and exhibitions which tend to be booked well in advance, then I can see at a glance when things are busy.
Then I can write on the blackboard around the year planner what plans I need to get done that month. There's a lot of goal setting and new collection planning this time of year!
actually a decent diary and a planner, well a decent diary, a planner and then another planner; this is getting complicated.
I use an Erin Condren planner, a week to page with a notes on the side this really helps me coordinate arrangements, visits and meetings with other people. Its in colour, it has a customisable cover, this year I have one of my lions on the cover, the paper is luxy and thick enought that I can write on it with a fountain pen. Gorgeous.
In addition to this I have another planner which doesn't leave my studio. It's the Makers Yearbook and it's fabulous. It's big enough for me to write anything I need to. This is quite a lot of work but it's not something that needs to travel so it's good to have a big fat chunky diary that can contain all the info.And for the first time this year I also have Carrie Green Perfectly planned planner. I'm also a member of her online Female Entrepreneurs Association which has really helped me become accountable for my own business. So I''ll be using this planner in conjunction with her online monthly planning sessions. Day to day it might end up being more of a reflective journal than a planner, I'm not sure yet...we'll see how this one pans out.
Creating artwork, for me at least, is the easy part of my business. The difficult part is working out how to sell it ,when to sell, where to sell it, and who to sell it to!
To do all of those things you got to have a plan.
Any of my former students or colleagues will possibly be laughing out loud at this point or maybe even rolling their eyes. They will know that I am obsessed with mind mapping. I used to recommend mindmapping to my students particularly for revision and notetaking.
In my life as an artist I use mindmapping all the time to plan and to strategise my art business. It really helps me get all my ideas down on paper (or screen) really really quickly whilst leaving me with a great visual reminder of what I'm up to. I can plan almost anything with a mind map. From my holiday packing to a detailed written press release. I even mind map my blog posts! (When Mindmapping on screen I use imindmap software - but a pen and paper works too!).
For me visuals stimulus is key to my planning strategies…who knew!
