This past weekend a local arts organization , South Coast Artists, held an open studio event and I was one of 75 local artists to open up and welcome the public to see our place and process and well as our finished pieces. The SCA Open Studio tour spread across four coastal towns and featured a wide range of talented artists. Although the weather was a hot and humid, 143 extremely enthusiastic visitors toured my little paint studio. A few friends came by with a plate of cookies, pizzas and bottles of cold water to keep me hydrated and fed. My husband set a festive mood by wearing a different loud print Hawaiian shirt each day. I set up a demo with all my brushes and palettes in a corner of the room while people busied themselves looking at about 40 paintings on the wall and table. All my visitors were very kind in their feedback.

My daughter had set up a box with a sign that said “Sketches” and filled it with all my painting trials, brush practices, things too small to mat, and some not-quite-successful experiments. We priced them very low and didn’t think they’d get much attention. Wow, were we wrong. People loved looking through the box and finding a few treasures to take home. That box was almost empty by the end of the day while just a few matted larger paintings went to good homes. The lesson I learned was that in a tough economy, when there is so much competition from life’s necessities like gas and food, art stays on the wall. However, if you make a personal connection with people through art, they really want to take home a little piece of the experience with them. Even if it’s just a quick ten-dollar sketch or a greeting card. It’s a good way to plant a seed that in subsequent years might grow. 

Here’s a link for more information if you’d like to check out August’s SCA Open Studio Tour!