I am getting ready for my fourth show and am now in my second year of painting. I have to say my artist ego has taken a beating. However, I have grown by leaps and bounds as an artist and personally. A year ago I was on top of the moon just to be accepted at a show and get lots of praise from friends and strangers. Now after a few more shows I am still getting lots of praise but few sales and I am starting to think less of the business of shows. There is a tremendous amount of money and time put into shows and I have only made enough to make some of my investment back. I have seen other artists and how they talk potential buyers into loving and buying their art. One thing I know about myself is I am not a good salesperson. I would rather just say hi to people and ask them questions about themselves than to yammer on about my art and how great it is. Don't get me wrong, I love painting and even looking at my art and showing it to friends, but am a bit insecure when it comes to selling it.
All that being said, I will do this show and possibly one or two more, but unless sales get better, I may stop doing them after that. My problem is, I love to paint a lot, so I will have to either learn another way of marketing them or start giving them away! My house is becoming overrun with paintings!
