Northumberland Art Fair

My part of the Figure8 pitch

Although the first day of the Art Fair started out bright and sunny, it soon clouded over and the hordes of punters simply didn't turn up. After a while, just sitting around becomes very tiresome, and there's only so many times you can get up and walk around the table.

We'd been told that the Museum at Woodhorn received about 1000 visitors a day, but this certainly wasn't demonstrated at the weekend. Considering this was a Bank Holiday weekend - and a sunny one at that - we were lucky if maybe two hundred people came through the Art Fair building in the three days it was open.

Things started to look bad when we arrived for the first day of the Fair to find that the spotlights were all directed onto the floor rather than the walls where the pictures were hung. Requests for someone to come and alter them were met with the advice that "only the Caretaker is allowed to do that and he isn't here today. He was here yesterday when you were setting up, however". So that's alright then.

It became very clear that there'd been next to no advertising. The organisers claimed that, by keeping the cost of display panels as low as possible, they'd been restricted in their advertising revenue. But some advertising costs nothing. For instance, searching for "Northumberland Art Fair" on Google produces as the second hit, a link to my own ArtSlant entry for Figure8's stand at the Art Fair!

There were no signs or banners in the area round about the Woodhorn site or, indeed on the Woodhorn site. On the door of the building where the Art Fair took place, instead of a big sign announcing our presence, there were a couple of notices directing people to another building where a Recipe Book Project was taking place. A little research showed that there were no similar notices on that building informing people of what was going on in our building.

I spotted about half a dozen sales during the event, most of them in the £35 - £65 range. From talking to visitors, it was quite evident that those who wandered through the hall had no idea that the Art Fair was being held - they'd just come to the Museum for a day out.

There was a questionnaire to fill in at the end to assess pitch-holders' views. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when they were read.

The most difficult question to answer was "What did you like most about taking part in the Art Fair?" After some thought I put, "Apart from comparing complaints with the other pitch-holders, I can think of nothing."

After the Fair

By the end of the Art Fair, I'd sold nine paintings. The task for me now, in the weeks ahead, is to consider what I might learn from how the Fair went and what conclusions might be drawn from what was sold. There was also a lot of very valuable feedback from people I spoke to who, although they didn't buy anything, talked about the work and indicated what it was they liked.

Some interesting facts: with one exception, all the paintings were sold in twos. Several of the buyers said that they thought they were reasonably priced, one that they were underpriced, and this might mean that I could have sold them one painting at twice the price. But I don't think this is necessarily the case: there's an obvious attraction about a pair of small paintings.

Again, with only two exceptions, all of the work that sold was nicely framed. Although I know there's a market for gallery wrap canvases (and that's what the two unframed ones were), I think many people who buy want something that will look good on the wall straight away. I overheard a couple of people buying from a fellow Figure 8 artist, asking him whether they should get it framed. I think unframed gallery wrap may unsettle some people.

Would I do it again? I had terrible misgivings about the whole thing before it started, but as I got into the swing of it, I really began to enjoy myself. It involves a lot of tiring standing about, excitement followed by disappointment as punters arrive, pause to look, then wander off. But that's more than made up for by the chance to engage visitors in conversation about the work, and it surprised me how much they evidently like doing that.

So overall, if the cost of hiring the stand was affordable, I guess the answer is yes, I'd do it again.

Art Fair So Far

This is a photograph taken on a friend's mobile phone at the Art Fair VIP Preview on Thursday night. That's me clutching a glass and engaging a couple in a bid to sell them something. It worked, in fact, and despite my early misgivings, the Fair has proven a great success for me. I've sold seven paintings so far, with a day to go.

So no time for more writing, that day is ahead of me. Back again soon.

Setting Up

We set up the Figure 8 Stand today, ready for the NewcastleGateshead VIP Preview Evening tomorrow. Considering we knew nothing of what would be expected of us, and having received no advice from anyone at home or in the blogosphere, I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well.

To give credit where due, I have to say that we'd have taken hours longer than we did, were it not for Mo's Mr Grumpy. He's a wizard with the spirit level, pencil and electric drill. By the time we left, shortly before the 6 o'clock close, there were people who'd been there all day and had barely got past the fixing on mirror plates stage.

Here are two photographs of how our stand looks. My pictures (in the first photograph) are the set after the right angle.





I have to be there early again tomorrow. The Art Fair Police will be coming round to inspect the stand and make sure our modest table doesn't intrude beyond our allocated space, then once we have their blessing, the place will be thrown open to the Press, about whom I intend to remain mute, in the hope that I might get some more publicity (I got one of my paintings shown in the Art Fair supplement in today's Journal).

If you're around, do try to look in on us at Stand N2, in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall at The Sage, Gateshead. I'll be there most times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Opening times are:

Friday 12th September 11am-6pm
Saturday 13th September 11am-5pm
Sunday 14th September 11am-5pm

Almost Done

High Level Bridge (work in progress) (Private Collection)

Another few hours at the Art Club today with this little picture. There's not a lot more to do to it, just a few chimney pots and a bit touch-up here and there in the background. I was hoping to get this one done in time for the Art Fair and it looks like I'll be successful in that.

If everything I plan to do for the Art Fair goes as well as this, I'll be a happy man, but I already have to make an urgent visit to the dentist tomorrow to replace a filling, so I think it wise not to count my chickens just yet.

Newcastle-Gateshead Art Fair

The next, and probably final, Figure 8 project of the year will be the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair next month. And despite the fact that it only takes up three days, it's been excercising our minds considerably.

The problem is that we don't know what to expect. We have good experience of gallery exhibitions, but an Art Fair is something new to us. I think it's a fact that none of us has ever even been to one. We're treating it as something of an experiment, just to see how it works, with no great expectation of sales. However, should we find ourselves in the happy position of people falling over themselves to buy our work, we have definite problems. We have no credit card facilities and the organisers aren't providing any, so we'll be reliant on punters with wads of cash or carrying cheque books, and who carries a cheque book these days?

I know that at least some of you out there in the blogosphere have experience of art fairs. If you'd care to share the benefit of that experience with tips, caveats and general advice, I'd be very grateful. If you'd rather email me than try to get it into the Comments, you can do so at harrybellartist at gmail dot com. You'll be doing me a big favour. Thanks.

Edging Closer

Edge of Town (work in progress)

Almost there. Isn't it funny how the painting mood can take you? I couldn't get motivated yesterday. I looked and looked at this painting yet, despite my knowing that I couldn't make the work move on without actually starting to put paint onto the canvas again, I couldn't make myself do it. Instead, I worked on some correspondence and arrangements for the upcoming NewcastleGateshead Art Fair.

And then, after watching the latest episode of Dexter, I found the will and began painting at 12.30 this morning. Maybe I just needed an input of serial killing.