A new Art Fair? Yep Landmark Spring Art Fair it was!
May has been a super busy month so far! I have been developing a new series of work based on British Birds, working on my no longer ‘secret project’ of illustrating six children’s books and exhibited at Landmark Spring Art Fair; phew! Landmark was my fourth fair and although I wouldn’t consider myself a pro, I definitely felt pretty relaxed and comfortable exhibiting. I had heard really positive comments about the fair and the stands are very reasonably priced but, my main reason for exhibiting was the venue! I spent the entire weekend in a Grade II listed church and it was stunning!
The weekend started with setting up on the Friday morning which went very smoothly partly due to the picture hook method of hanging but also because I was very selective on what I decided to hang. This was partly due to the lack of parking which was managed brilliantly by Landmark, and also a little experiment as to whether my stand would be a little less overwhelming. I decided to include a basket of mounted originals, a rack for Giclée prints, decorations and my large Hummingbird and Tanager pieces.
The ‘less is more approach’ worked and I was really happy with my stand. I was especially pleased with the large Hummingbird and Tanager pieces which I previously had professionally framed with non-reflective glass; it was an investment but so worth it! If you haven’t seen non-reflective glass it is amazing; there is literally no reflections and you can see all the tiny bits of detail which is incredibly important for someone like me who spends hours adding so much detail to their work! I am a convert!
I was extremely lucky with my fellow exhibitors. I was able to catch up with a few artists I have exhibited with before and I had amazing stand neighbours! It’s quite an intense weekend but at the same time you are also hanging around a lot between chats with the visitors and so I felt so lucky with the people I met there. They are not only incredible artists but lovely people and they made this weekend for me!
If you would like to check out their work; Harriet Brimmer, Suzanne Winn, Emma Price and Mandi Baykal-Murray. They are most definitely worth a look!
The Friday evening Private View is generally quiet on the sales front as the visitors are normally family and friends. The Saturday warmed up a little and I had some lovely chats with buyers and visitors local to the area who popped in to support this event. I remember one particular lady who shared some of her ‘wild adventures’ from the 1960’s!!!
I received some really lovely comments from visitors, especially about my three large Hummingbird and Tanager pieces. I was so happy when the Lovebirds no.1 original found a new home with a very sweet little girl, as well as several Giclée prints and handmade cards. The fair was going well and I still had Sunday to go!
Sunday began better than I could ever have hoped when I sold Flying Jewels to such a lovely family. The lady fell in love with it as she approached my stand and I could not be happier that it found its home with this family. It was the first of my ‘big’ pieces to sell and because it found a home with someone that felt such a strong emotional connection, it made it all the more a memorable experience.
There was some additional interest in the remaining large bird pieces and email addresses and contact information was exchanged. We will see! I firmly believe that the professional frames and non-reflective glass had such a positive impact, it was an investment which worth doing and I was very lucky to be able to.
Landmark Arts Fair was a big success for me; the exhibitors I met, the visitors I chatted to and the pieces of work that found new homes. I will definitely be tempted to exhibit there again next spring. But first, I have six books to illustrate and new work to complete for the Art:Surrey fair in October and I am feeling very motivated after such an amazing weekend!