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Well it was good for me and I’m very grateful for that since I really needed a good show.  I was beginning to get a little discouraged.  It wasn’t good for others.   One person near me zeroed and another didn’t make expenses.  I talked to others who were not happy on Sunday morning however I wasn’t happy on Sunday morning.  I didn’t start selling much of anything until about 2:00 on Sunday afternoon and then everything changed and I ended up with a nice profit.

There were definitely issues.  Please promotors, resolve this year to make friends with the fire marshall and include them in your planning!  This is the second time I have seen a fire marshall throw a monkey wrench into a show.  This one consisted of 10 booth spaces that needed to be relocated early Saturday morning.  Extreme kudos to the security staff who went above and beyond their job to do what they could to resolve the situation since they were the only ones on site.  The layout of the show was rather convoluted and relocating 10 booths made it even worse.   

Setup and breakdown were not bad for me but the layout was pretty tight so it might have gotten bad closer to the center of the show.  There was plenty of space behind my booth.  Porta-potties were sorely lacking (4 total) and at the opposite end of the show from me.  The coffee shop near me was very gracious with their bathrooms.  Artist parking was a long way away.  According to some artists that I talked to there was some buy-sell there.

Compared to the museum show in Boca, this is a more mid-range show.  I didn’t do well at the Boca museum show with mid-range work and high-end work didn’t seem to do well here.  Attendance seemed reasonably good but very slow in the morning for both days.   The weather on Saturday was chilly and grey.  Sunday started out very cold (by Florida standards) but turned into a nice day.

   I'm having problems trying to sign in to AFI from my iPhone.  When I punch my e-mail address and password into the sign in blanks, it comes up telling me I do not have an account.  Has anyone else had this problem?  

I’ve been told to adjust my expectations with this show.  On any decent weekend show, you’ll get 50 to 80 thousand people walking through, walking their dogs and such; at this show, over ten weeks, you’ll get 80 thousand people walking through, but they are art buyers.  So, the weekend seemed alarmingly sparse in comparison, but I’m assured that many of these people come back several times with their $12 seasonal pass, after they’ve measured their spaces. The crowd here comes to buy art, and quite a few of the artists are out of the gate strongly this year with a big sale in the first weekend, a change from last year.   Many of these buyers have several homes, and they want their selections shipped to their other homes, so be prepared to deal with shipping.  Home showings are also de rigueur, and those can turn into a terrific social event for the artist of honor.  I can’t wait.

One goal I have set for myself here is to learn to paint faster.  I am absolutely pea green with envy over the painters who can complete a large-scale painting in a week.  And those painters out there who can do one, two paintings a night?  Well, I just turn into the scene in the Exorcist, head-spinning, pea-soup spurting and all. 

I realize I simply cannot afford to spend six months on a painting, no matter how tightly detailed I am. From observing some heavy hitters in the field (a big shout out to Kelby Love, who has generously given me painting tips and is as magnificent a wildlife painter as they come), it can be done without sacrificing detail and quality. So, I am taking advantage of the relative quiet and have churned out several full color sketches ready to go to a finish over the past few days.  Today I worked productively on four different paintings, which I think is a record for me... my work is cut out for me.

Last night, we attended a private soiree given by a fine art photographer- Andy at Century Editions-  for artists at the Expo. Andy, you know how to give a feast!  If he can shoot as good as he cooks, he’s got my next works!  How he got a hold of buffala mozzarella that good west of the Hudson is beyond me, but for a few drooling moments last night I was back home on Long Island...

I have been concerned about Framer Dude getting bored out here in the middle of nowhere and doing something really stupid, like buying a super-charged dirt bike and tear-assing across the desert and impaling himself on a cactus. But, he has once again utilized his many faceted skills and abilities and has become the stand-in grillmaster here at the Expo.  The café king and queen here had to return home suddenly today for an emergency, and as Dude was being his usual yenta self, bored and helpful and inquisitive, he found himself the de facto short order cook with a recalcitrant gas grill and a stack of all-beef patties.   Tonight, he’s counting his tips and checking out Kawasakis and Yamahas...I may still find myself picking cactus quills out of his butt in a month.

Marjorie and Billy, the thoughts and prayers of all artists here are with you, and no one beats your chili!

Here is my booth, lovingly set up by Framer Dude:

And many of us right before the bell rang at 10:00 on Thursday:

This festival has everything a successful art festival should have, good crowds, beautiful setting in an upscale mall, middle to upper household income, artist ammenities, quality art, and a volunteer staff that is organized and helpful. Why then are the artists not making the money that this type setup should bring. First some hard numbers, I surveyed several artists in many different mediums and these are the figures they gave me. A husband and wife team from Tennessee with two booths, non-functional plaster and whimsical wood carving, grossed 250.00 each, metal sculpture 850.00, jewelry 1300.00 other artists wouldn't give exact numbers but none I spoke with were happy and I spoke with about 20% of the artists.

I do 35 to 40 shows a year in setups ranging from upscale neighborhoods to cow pastures. This show is held on a street that winds through an upscale outdoor mall which is in my opinion the problem. I saw lots of packages carried, Dillards, Macys, Barnes & Noble, Build a bear, Gymboree, but not a lot of art. What I noticed was that even if someone was coming for the art festival and strolling along looking at art then noticed Barnes & Noble on the corner and decides to go in.

I do successful mall shows and the organizations putting on these shows separate the art show from the stores by putting the art show in a visible space in the parking lot, eliminating direct competion. That is my suggestion for this show.

Co- chairman Pam and her volunteer staff work very hard to secure good sponsorship and advertising. I think this show has legs and with their continued guidance it will learn how to walk.

 The show fees are low (180.00) so if you're local or are looking to string a couple of shows together I would recommend this show.

Well, Ellen and I had last weekend off after three straight shows.  So we made the most of it.  We got tickets to visit the brand new Salvador Dali Museum in downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday, I got to play golf and win more skins money on Sunday, and then we settled down to some of Ellen's famous homemade chili on Sunday night.

Well, I was sleeping beautifully, getting into every art show in my dreams, when my stomach decided to come "unsettled" around 1:30 AM.  Gee do you think it might have been the combo of an extra bowl of chili, than butter nut pecan ice cream and a shot of Cardenal Mendoza  Spanish brandy that did it?  That's why God made Alka Selzter.  As I sat on the couch letting the healing salts do their work it dawned on me about our recent visit to the Dali Museum and Ellen's comment as we left.  She noticed the Fountain of Youth and it spurred a warm flash in the past, but at the time I couldn't quite get a handle on it.

By the way, the Fountain of Youth was a great tourist attraction figured out by the city fathers back in the 30s.  It was just plain sulphur water, the odor of rotten eggs flowing from a pipe.  According to the legend, the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto discovered this on one of his gambling jaunts in this neck of the woods.  De Soto was not that great of an explorer, but he made it big time when he later opened up his famous night club in Southbeach Miami--Hernando's Hideaway,Ole!

Hey folks, I gotta take my shots where I can get them.

Anyways, the Fountain finally became apparent to me, and it took me back to the 1950s in St. Petersburg.

I grew up as a kid in a golden time in America,post-World War II.  It was an age of innocence and exploration.  In 1952, I contracted polio from a neighbor, who eventually succumbed to it.  This was the age of the "Iron Lung."  No Salk Vaccine yet. I was confined to a wheelchair for almost three years.  Went through extensive hydrotherapy and stretching exercises and came out unscathed at age 10.  No withered limb, no braces, no nothing.  I was truly blessed.  When the doctor told me it was time to ride my bike again, I was more than ready.  I had three lost years to make up.  Which brought me to baseball and my first home run.

Back then both the Yankees and the Cardinals played their spring training games at Al Lang Field on Bayshore in downtown St. Pete.  Next to the stadium were two baseball diamonds where they also practiced at.  Also Little Leugers played there too. I played for McGhan Plumbing along with my best friend to this day Richard Lane. It was my first game after polio and I was wired.

The Rebels pitcher, Dave Pontius, threw a terrifying fast ball.  We usually just started swinging at it the moment we saw his arm whip over his head.  We prayed he would never hit us, or we would certainly be dead, or maimed for life, probably consigned to being one of those "Artists of the Street."  It was the last inning, score tied, and I hadn't been able to touch a pitch of his yet.  He fired one high and inside, I hung in there and swung as hard as I could.  Lordy Mis' Clawdy if that ball didn't sail over the right field fence out of the park.  My first homer.  There would be many others but none like my first one.  OK here is where the Fountain comes in.  The original Fountain of Youth was located on the corner of Bayshore and Third Avenue south, right behind the fence and home plate.  Well I remember Richard and I both going over to the Fountain and having a drink.  Phew! That water stunk but we drank it anyway.  Richard told me if we kept coming here and drinking that stuff we grow up to be old men like the rest of them and probably get to hang out on the green benches by the old Doc Webbs Store.  Well, Doc Webbs is long gone but Rich and I are still here, but neither of us feel like old men--yet.

OK.  Now back to present day and our visit to the Dali  Museum.  Ironically, the Dali Museum is located where all those old baseball fields were.  In fact I parked our van in garage that was almost on the exact spot where I hit that home run 56 years ago.  How's that for deja vu!

This new museum replaces the original that was down the road the last 25 years or so.  It is an architectural masterpiece, crowned with this great spiral staircase that takes you from the ground up to the fourth floor, where the greatest single collection of Dali Masterpieces reside.  There are six out of Dali's 18 masterworks in this one museum, the rest are scattered around the world in collections.  A couple from Cleveland, the Morses, bequethed this body of work to the city if they would build a museum worthy of it.  So St. Petersburg did back in the 70s.  Then through a vast private fund-raising program, they managed to build this new hurricane-proof edifice that just opened on January 11.

Dali has always been one of my alltime art heros.  I even put him up there above Edward Weston, Cezanne and Matisse.  He was a eccentric but also a brilliant business man.  A master at self promotion.  We all could take a page from this guy.  He was a visionary.  He also was very facile and great at painting or any other medium he decided to throw himself into.  Who else would paint on a bronze like he did of the bust of Geronimo?

The docents told us that to be considered a "masterwork" the work must have taken more than one year to complete, be at least five feet wide and a gazillion meters high. Two of my alltime Dali favorites are here--the Hallouscigenic Toreador and the Lincoln in Dail-vision which is really called "Gala Contemplating the View from a Window." (hereafter the Toreador will be referred to as the "HT."  Mea culpa Salvador.)

Well here 's a neat little trick I learned about viewing these pieces.Before going to the fourth floor, hit the bar-restaurant on the lobby floor.  Have a pitcher or two of sangria, maybe even a shot of Patron, then go view the Lincoln piece.  Normally you have to stand back about 60 meters to see the piece evolve from Gala into Lincoln's face.  But thru the magic of sangria it becomes readily apparent at 25 meters.  Neat trick, don't ya think?

Then we moved on to the HT.  This is my alltime favorite.  It is at leat 10-feet wide by 15-feet high.  They will let you stand two feet away from it if you wish.  You can look closely and watch as these apparent armless busts of marble  torsos atop pedestels  change into the face and hat of a toreador and also some change into a fallen bull with many bandillollers stuck into him.  It is an awesome piece.

But then I had a curious revelation.  If Dali had,say, tried to jury into the Cedar Key art Show via Zapp they would have probably juried him out.  Heck, they would need more than a few seconds to figure out what this guy is doing.  And how is going to be able to fit that masterpiece into a 10x10 canopy?  So I suddenly felt a lot better.  I got juried out of Cedar Key and so did Dali.  I was keeping fast company.  This was as good as the Elvis thing at Nickos Diner (see my December 2010 blog about Elvis and the Diner and the meaning of life).  I can't wait to see what other famous guys I going to pair up with this year.  I am defintely on a roll.

Well, we left the museum and Ellen noticed the Fountain.  I guess we have come full circle.  As Bob Segar said, "Isn't it funny how the night moves?"

Well, this weekend I head to Smyrner-burner-land for Images.  Going to do my first "Tequila Report of 2011" from there at Clancy's Cantina.  I have $350 barter tab with them, so Webbie and I are going into serious training so we can overthrow that notorious tequila-swizzler, Connie Mettler, from her lofty throne up in Iceberg-land, Michigan.

 Watch out Connie--we are gonna get ya

Well, I hope I helped you off to a fun week.  I gotta go play golf.  The mats can wait, they are always there.  Aloha, Nels

PS: As was thoughtfully pointed out to me, it is "Salvador", not Salvatore.  What was I thinking?  Too much sangria.  Thanks Lu.

...that this is where you are supposed to be?  For the past couple of years, I've toyed with the idea of attending a workshop for a week, and hopefully be able to choose someone who is a good teacher and a good artist.  Now, here, it appears my search has been fulfilled, because I am surrounded daily by hard at work artists.  The energy here is amazing, intense and positive.  Other artists echo my sentiment; they accomplish more work in the ten weeks here than the rest of the year.  I've truly missed the old art school feeling I remember of pulling all nighters and the determination to create, create, create.  I have even found the courage to plunge into a stylistic change which has been lurking in the back of my mind as I've found myself a bit bored with the photo-realism I'm known for.  It seems as soon as Framer Dude and I crossed the AZ border, the name Georgia O'Keeffe  rose, unbidden, into the forefront of my mind.  Now, I have been somewhat familiar with her work most of my adult life.  But when I did a Google search the other night on her images, her work resonated within me for the first time. Aha,  I thought to myself, THIS is where abstraction meets realism !  I'm not going to say I understand abstract art or "get " it all the time;  I'm not too proud to say that I still don't really get Pollock.  But seeing Georgia's realistic intimate landscapes (as I have come to call mine) and her consequent progressions into abstractions of the same subject, I see what she's trying to say.  It's a catharsis of sorts.

I have met artists here at the peaks of their careers, and they are generous in  sharing their acquired knowledge and providing constructive critiques.  Understand, I have worked in near solitude for the past 10 years, where productive interaction with fellow artists was brief, few and far between.  I couldn't have chosen a better workshop, and paid less, since this is a ten week gig, plus there is the opportunity to make sales.  I broke the ice today and sold 2 (small) pieces, with a strong bite from her friend on a much larger piece.  Here, the artists have a silly little dance that they all do to celebrate each other's sales (after the celebrant patron has left the vicinity, of course.).  I will be inducted tomorrow morning.

Did I mention our Happy Hour?  Every day, at 5, a metal artist sounds his gong, and many of us who have been hard at work all day rush to gather at one artist's booth, who takes his role as master artist seriously and master of happy hour very graciously.  Framer Dude is in awe of him.  He is the consummate successful professional artist who is able to enjoy life to the fullest and is utterly gracious.  As Dude stated last night, "He cranks out a %$#^&!@ painting a week, gets paid $%^@& good $$$, and %$#&!  parties at night!  Why can't you be him?"  Or something like that,  I didn't hear the rest of it, I pushed him off the log into the fire. (Dude was between his fourth and fifth Jack so he didn't feel the third degree burns til this morning)  Anyway...patrons sometimes mingle with the artists during this very informal setting, and they get a kick out of hanging with us.  I have met some terrific artists who are terrific people also, and for a relative newbie like me, it's a brilliant view of what one can accomplish in the short-term, as well as long-term for life goals.

Anyhow, I just know that this is where I am supposed to be right now, and quitting my 40K a year job in FL was just a part of it.  All my pics are on the Mac right now, so I'll share them later.

You knew it had to happen. There are empty properties all around the "Rust Belt" part of the upper Midwest. Every now and then some enterprising person comes along and starts an incubator or small business in these spaces. Sometimes the mall or building owner even gives the space for free in order to keep the spaces full. Yesterday I was talking to Jeane Vogel in Crestwood, MO (outside St. Louis), who has a very successful arrangement with the managers of Crestwood Court. She opened ArtSpace a couple of years ago and it holds an artist gallery, art space for workshops, classes and lots more, increasing traffic to the mall and giving artists great studio space with access to shoppers.

Here's a great story that appeared in an online blog, DetroitMakeItHere.com, yesterday: Artists could soon overrun vacant corner at Nine and Woodward. 

The gist of it is that two entrepreneurs are planning to take over the empty Old Navy store that sits in a prominent location on Woodward Avenue (Detroit's main drag) in Ferndale and offer space to artists for short time leases. It really sounds great. I lived in this neighborhood of Detroit for almost fifteen years and am a serious cheerleader for all the people who continue to strive to keep hope alive in the beleaguered city. The arts are alive, people love the arts and I'm sending best wishes to Chris and Tiffany Best with this new venture.

If you live near, don't overlook this opportunity.

Hi,

I am doing some research for the group that is putting on this festival, so they can get some feedback this year from the artists. So please give me your thoughts and opinions on this event whether you were an artist there or whether you just visited the event. I am unable to attend this year because I will be at the Manatee Festival in Crystal River Florida. This is very important for all artists that do outdoor arts events.

The feedback in the past has been negative as well as positve. My own experience there, 2009, was not as favorable for the artists me as it was for the mall stores. This year is the third year at the same location and the advertising has gotten better. The group putting it on has been listening. So, I am offering to serve as a forum for the artists and let the promoters for this event know what YOU think.

Thank you,

Roxie Spell

www.naturesclayart.com

July 20-23
At the Tower
On the streets and campus of Ann Arbor, Michigan
175 Artists
Deadline: January 20

The Street Art Fair is one of the highest ranking art fairs in the nation and for good reason:

    ·    It draws collectors who rarely attend art fairs
    ·    It attracts the finest artists
    ·    It works with many cultural community and educational institutions to produce exceptional
         community art activities
    ·    It works throughout the year to be a blue ribbon presence in the Ann Arbor community

This is the original event on which the other Ann Arbor fairs have patterned themselves, as well as many other fairs across the nation. It is the creme de la creme of art festivals.

The Street Art Fair has a distinctive jury process, unlike that of any other art fair. There are five separate panels jurying specific media or related categories. There are 4 to 5 jurors per panel, one of whom is a member of the Jury Advisory Board. The  Jury Advisory Board meets in a sixth session after all the panels are complete to review the submissions with high scores and determine invitations in each category, balancing the scores, the range of work and the strength of category. Artists selected for the wait list are also determined at this session.

The jury meets over the weekend  of February 11th. All images are projected, statements read with additional information available upon request. The strength of this approach is that they have jurors (who are paid an honorarium) working 4 to 6 hours in their own area of expertise only, or related areas. Jurors see the work multiple times and are able to ask questions and to discuss the work, moving back and forth to compare it to other submissions in the category. Jurors are generally working artists and are often educators at area colleges or museums. They mix new jurors with experienced jurors.

The Jury Advisory Board member brings a familiarity with the fair and knowledge of the goals and programs from having juried the fair on site the previous year. They will bring the overall sensibility of the panel to the final session.

Painter Kathleen Eaton at the AA Street Art Fair

For the first time, a booth slide will be required along with 5 images of work.  The booth slide will be reviewed by staff only, to ensure that the body of work submitted for jurying is consistent with what is displayed in the booth.  If there is a question, the artist will be contacted before the jury session.

For more information on the Street Fair visit their website:  www.artfair.org

To view the application and apply today, visit: www.zapplication.org

The smiling, well-dressed lady in the bright blue bib strode into my booth, extended her hand, and said: "Hi, I'm Sharon.  I'm a Rotarian.  How can I serve you today?"

A Dr. Seuss couplet begins to spring to mind, but never mind that: Let's talk about this long-running show, held at the Venice Municipal Airport about 2 hours north of the Bonita Springs show. 

This local event with the hometown-y feel has been running for years, and deserves to.  Venice is a long-established town along Florida's Gulf coast, about a half-hour south of Sarasota. It's well known for its casual charm, beautiful beach, relaxed atmosphere, and an established working art community.  The Rotarians take over the outskirts of this active airport, just off the easternmost runway, and bring in artists, crafters, a rock band or two, an antique car show, and a smattering of food vendors to make a nice weekend for the show's dedicated followers.  Sharon the Rotarian was just one of the group's members who devote months and months of planning, and they do a fine job.

Logistics are a snap: You can check in on Friday, park right behind your booth location, and set up from there...a no-dolly weekend, nice!

And yet, there are challenges.  The crowd is unfailingly friendly, but it is an older one, much like the Rotarian membership itself, and not buying as much art as it did in the past.  I overheard the show director commenting that although the show is juried, nearly everyone who applied got in because the number of applications has been declining.  Accordingly, there was lots of low-end craft, bead-kit jewelry and other buy-sell, and "art on a stick". 

Although quality, sales and crowd size aren't by any stretch in a league with Barry Witt's Bonita behemoth, you can have a decent weekend here at minimal cost: Booth fee is about $235, and if you have a camper or RV you can stay overnight right behind your booth (though I commuted from my home in S. Fort Myers).  There's a decent artist dinner on Saturday night with free beer and wine, breakfast both mornings, booth sitting by the likes of Sharon the Rotarian on request, and a crowd that enjoys and buys. The Rotarians even grant awards in multiple categories (first place is $250), plus a best in show ($500). 

I made about 5x my booth fee plus the blue ribbon for photography, against expenses that were otherwise limited to a tankful of gas and a couple of bucks for the coffee vendor.  Not a bad way to spend a weekend if you weren't in Bonita.

This would be an EXCELLENT show for a less-experienced artist/crafter to "get their feet wet," with lots of experienced veterans around to learn from. 

And if you're one of the artists who complain that there's a dearth of community-run shows that love what they're doing and care about the artists, put this one on your list for 2012.  The Rotarians work hard to serve up a slice of the "good old days," and they deserve our support. 

Last week it was painted bottle-stoppers and beer signs (Cape Coral), this week it was good paintings  and signs of conspicuous wealth being spent on art(Bonita Springs).

Connie, in a related blog mentioned "ho-hum another art show in Florida this weekend" (referring to BS art festivals.  But, as anybody knows who has done this show, it is not a ho-hummer.

True, not everybody makes a ton of money among the 210 juried artists, but most come away with a paycheck for the weekend that will pay a lot of bills and booth fees.  At least right now in this economy, it seems all the money you make at a show just goes to pay another $400-$500 booth fee.  Where is the money for me?  But that is getting off the subject which I will pursue at another time.  Back to BS.

First, here is the meat for those of you who haven't done this show.  Back about a decade or more ago, Barry Witt, the only show director they have ever had at BS, left as director of the Feb. downtown Naples show and started up this new show at the Promenade Shopping Center in Bonita Springs.  Initially, he invited about 125 artists (I was one of them) to come to his new show in January.  It was a gang-buster, everybody made money.  The next year he added more, and we all still made good money.  Who doesn't need a good show in January in Florida?

Bonita Springs is actually north Naples and it is filled with a lot of wealthy folks, many from the midwest who call it their winter home.  They love to go to outdoor art festivals and buy.  We are talking a mostly fifties-plus age crowd with disposable income.  Currently, the Promenade Center isn't filled up with leases at all the stores.  In fact when I went by the Promenade, enroute to the New years Naples show two weeks ago, I noticed a lack of cars in their parking lot.  But the Bonita Springs Art League who produces the show always brings in a big crowd, close to 20-thousand.  They all pay a $5 donation to enter, it is a nice little fund-raiser for them.

OK, here is some more important meat.  The show is held on the grounds of the shopping area, you set up your booth on a paved surface.  You need weights.  Booths are tight side to side, so don't expect to hang much there that can be seen.  Most booths have ample room behind for inventory storage, even an awning.  Barry runs a tight ship for setup and teardown, it is wise to follows his instructions to the letter.  Everybody always seems to get out of there ok.

You are selling to a fifties-plus age group and most of them have very conservative tastes when it comes to art.  Yes, yes.  I know there are some who do very well there selling art from the heart.  Most of them have a carefully crafted customer base to work from.  So my comments are directed more to those of you who have never done the show.  They like realistic paintings of boats, flowers, seascapes--you get the picture.  The photographers who do Europe do very well here. Hotels in the area are not cheap and fill up quickly.  On the CLC card I found a great deal down the road in North Naples for $65 a night.  Your break-even point for this show is somewhere around $750-$900 depending on how much you like to eat and drink.  Tequila costs a bunch and so does good fish.

One other important thing.  This is a tough show to jury into.  It is a fair jury run on the Entry-Thing system.  Trouble is, most on the circuit know about the show and want to be in it to make some good moola in January.  Those who make the waitlist, not many get called up, because nobody cancels.  It is just the way it is.  OK that is the meat, which is full of good stuff. Chew on it.

OK, WE TOOK CARE OF THAT.  WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?  Well, I thought you would never ask.

First off, it was great weather weekend and huge crowds attended both days.  By Saturday end, there were a goodly number of artists who did better than $5K for the day.  Margaritas for everyone!  I wasn't one of them, but I was happy.  I made enough to pay a bunch of bills.

When I did my informal, non-scientific poll on Sunday morning.  I got lots of feedback, with some doing $5K-plus and others barely making expenses.  I probably talked to about 75 artists in many mediums.  For example one well-known Florida glass artist absolutely killed killed them on Saturday.  Friends who paint on wood and furniture had a killer day.  They had people calling them on the cellphone to deliver it to their houses.  We all should be so lucky.  One well-known European photographer sucked so much money out of his double booth corner spot. that there was nothing left for his neighbors.  I begged him to give all his neighbors a thousand bucks each to console them.  He said he would earnestly consider that.  A sculptor who does very artistic work had one guy almost buy him out.  Being on a corner near the south end of the show where patrons come in, I was able to observe luxury cars pull up to the curb and have large pieces of art loaded inside.  It happened all day.  My informal survey showed that a number of painters who did art from the heart had mediocre days.  Some didn't even sell $500.

Sunday, the crowds were slightly smaller, the weather was warmer, and the sales were toasty.  It was another good show to have under my belt for January.  I doubled what I did at Cape Coral.  I know, I can hear someone out in the ether right now saying, "Hell Nels, if you only did $300 last week it wouldn't be hard to double that."  I did alright, and the majority there did all right.

Well, it is Monday morning  and it is raining like a SOB, no golf today.

One other aside.  When I say we made a paycheck, I mean I probably doubled my nut for the show.  Didn't make a lot, but it still pays a bunch of bills.  Just thought I would give you a little perspective.