I am a landscape and seascape oil painter. I have been painting for over 30 years. Inspired by the beauty of nature that surrounds me. I try to paint daily while life continually gets in the way! Life? What is that? It's what happens when I am not painting! Being a wife and mother, finding the remote, the shoes, signing permission slips. Where is the permission slip? "Mom why is there alizaran crimson on my permission slip?" I paint en plein aire as often as possible, and studio paint when I can't, like at 1:30 in the morning. Often enlarging small plein aire paintings onto a large canvas. I hike all over Mt. Diablo and the surrounding hills gathering field notes for my large paintings in the form of sketches, notes, small oil sketches, and photographs. I have been chased by cows, tangled up in barbed wire, soaked in rain swollen creeks with slippery crossing rocks, and all the while I have to make sure I am back in time to pick up a kid from school! Back in the studio, I get to work on the day's information I have gathered. Recreating it on a large canvas. When I hear, "what's for dinner?" Dinner? What's for dinner? I should know this. My mother always knew this. It should be on the table in about ten minutes from now, and I haven't a clue as to the answer of that question. I am still trying to figure out how I got alizarin crimson on the permission slip!


Please enjoy my work, I will post as often as possible. Feel free to leave comments or to contact me by e-mail.



All works © 2010 Catherine McClure Lindberg No images may be reproduced without express permission from the artist.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Art Fair Business

Danville's Mountain 24x36" oil (sold)

Hi there, it is cold here in Northern CA, so I am posting one of my summer pieces to warm me up! Hills are very green right now, but will start turning gold as soon as the rains stop sometime around April. By July they are golden.

Art fairs, Street Shows, any outdoor art show start up after April. Some sooner, but as a painter I don't venture out before the end of April. Even then I may get rained of once or twice. You MUST have your clear plastic and clamps to cover your work. Professionals do not go running home when it rains. And if you did, you may not be invited back to the show.

Now is when you need to be selecting your shows and applying. Entering art shows can be and art form in itself deciding which one to enter. Take good photos of your work to send in with your applications.

Time to rethink what shows worked for you and what shows didn't. Maybe a show didn't bring in the revenue you wanted. But think about the show, how was the networking? Did you hand out a lot of cards or flyers? Did a lot of interested patrons sign your mailing list? Was there high quality art surrounding you? Has that particular show done well in the past? Do not be too quick to write off a show. Times are hard right now, I do believe it will pick up. Look at the show as an opportunity to network, and to exchange ideas with other artists. Quite often a zero $ show can actually be your best show!

Are you new to shows? Artists need to make several appearances at a show before they really are up and running with the sales. The public needs to know that you are stable. That you really do do this for a living and are not "fly by night." I have realized that people want to buy your art. Then they want to come to your booth at the next show and tell people, I bought one of her originals. Or they want to talk to me about their purchase, tell me all the complements they have received on it. They want to tell me where they hung it. Your collectors become family and they like to come visit you whenever you are in town.

Time to pour my cup of coffee and start pouring over my applications.

Next post: Rethinking your booth at the show.
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