Life As An Itinerant Artist

Stories and anecdotes from fifteen years on the art show circuit. 

Images tagged "hartwick-pines"

The Journey

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108 Comments

  1. hj on March 14, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    As a kid, we went to white sands to play in the sand dunes. It was raining, but being of the intrepid Schmidt clan, this did not effect us, and we ran around, jumping off of white sand dunes, weirdly looking like almost snow.

    The reason white sands is white sand is because it’s gypsum sand, very different from the normal, infinitely busted up rocks of normal sand. When it’s wet, it sticks to you, like glue.

    So my parents and all four of us kids are now covered in this stuff that will not come off. Normal sand brushes right off when it dries, not gypsum sand. Somewhere my dad has pictures of all this.

  2. John Miller on May 22, 2008 at 6:34 pm

    I’ve meaning to write to you for a while now. It’s finally time now. I walked around the show in Tucson and saw 8-10 booths of photos, of these there only 2 or 3 that were actually good photography, not counting the guy who shoots only eagles, wolves, and penguins, etc. (cute photos only).

    I stopped and saw your work…I thought it was outstanding, I really liked it the way you matted your prints, the presention of the photos, everything had a touch of class to it. But the best part was that your photos were good, as we say in the business a “good shooter”. I didn’t say anything to you, you looked like you couldn’t wait for this show to be over, and I understand why.

    Here’s a note to you. I gathered all the business cards from the photographers at the time that had them. I’m surprised at the ones who didn’t have cards. Anyway I looked at their sites and most were not very good, but again yours was good and the blog that you write is good reading, keep up the good work. I really like like reading it.

    Take care and thanks

  3. Hugh Lambert on May 23, 2008 at 7:52 pm

    I used to love it when visiting Chase Galleries in Chicago. They sold “art”prints—mostly lithographs. I recall one of a painting of Albert Einstein. A numbered lithographic print: 1300 of 5000. At the time at Robinson’s we thought a really good run of a Black Velvet display was 3000. Oh, and we didn’t number them.

  4. Hugh Lambert on May 24, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    It looks a bit like someone attempted to make a deposit at the withdrawal kiosk.

  5. jamesp on May 26, 2008 at 11:30 am

    Tucson was, looking back, quite a bit of fun, but somewhat of a carnival. I had some after-show orders, and the street traffic was non-stop. Quality of the show is very much crafts and buy/sell, which tends to annoy the “serious” artists, such as myself and the other 25 artists at Tucson. But the 4th Street Fair is what it is, and doesn’t pretend to be something else.

  6. Hugh Lambert on June 1, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    Very interesting take on the holiday. When I was growing up it was called Decoration Day so my focus tends to be on those who gave their lives that we might enjoy the benefits you have observed.

    Kind of a different point of view than the thoughts on my blog. I like your thinking, but I have a hard time getting there. But that’s another blog.

  7. jamesp on June 2, 2008 at 9:19 am

    Often we don’t think about the people right here in the homeland who work in dangerous professions — that includes farming, construction, mining and oil exploration — who risk just as much, and sometimes lose it, to bring us the good life. One thing’s for certain though: things just aren’t the same as they used to be.

  8. Debbie Kishineff on June 7, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    Jim…
    Thanks so much for this mountain of information! It certainly is on point and is exactly what I needed. I realized as I read your post that I really hadn’t taken the time to visualize EXACTLY what I wanted the site to look like…a very important first step! I will go through the article item by item and check it all out and hopefully something will start to make sense in my poor tired/frustrated/overwhelmed brain :o)

    I don’t even know how to access the “guts” of the the minimal page that my brother put up for me but I think that I’ll get the add on from Go Daddy (web site tonight), get something up for now with pics, artist statement and contact info then let it rest for awhile and ponder where I want it to go. I think I’ve just built it into such a monumental task in my mind that it has me totally freaked out….so thanks for the voice of reason!

    Debbie
    http://www.barefootdreamers.com

  9. jamesp on June 7, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    The visual look of the site is important, sure, but it’s much more important to determine function before you address form and content. Often, content is driven by function.

    For example, if you want to provide for a mechanism for visitors to contact you (requirement), you can provide different functions to handle input. A form for email signup, or a blog for two-way communication would be two similar functions that both handle visitor input. How these functions are presented in the context of the site has no real bearing on the functions themselves, other than usability and style concerns. The functions themselves may dictate layout — a form always requires a submit button, at the very least.

    That’s why it’s important that you address function — user interface and requirements — first, and not layout.

  10. Karyn on June 19, 2008 at 9:20 pm

    So, just for those folks out there who are saying, yea, right it was a roll of saran wrap, you really can’t make that stuff up. Four days later and I’m still sporting a lovely shiner in the most beautiful shade of bluish-purpley-black. And, I’m staying away from the reynolds wrap…if I’m this good at clubbing myself with plastic wrap, there’s no telling what I could do with tin foil! 🙂

  11. Galley on June 23, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    Greetings from Greenville, Jim. I’m glad to hear you had such a positive experience at Artishpere. It is by far, my favorite festival. Hope to see you back here in Greenville real soon!

  12. Bonnie Blandford on August 4, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    So it’s a small world when I find out that you know Q as well! Good luck with your upcoming schedule and may they be your best shows ever!

    Bonnie

  13. jamesp on August 5, 2008 at 7:16 am

    We met Q through mutual friends Jackie and Randy Kuntz a couple of years ago at Art and Apples. Got to know her a little better at Ann Arbor and Cain Park this year — our schedules coincided.

    It was one of the good things that happened at A&A that year — it was a rainy weekend and sales were slow. Rob Bearup, the metal sculptor from Empire MI, was our show neighbor, and he kept us amused too. Sometimes it’s just your friends that make shows worthwhile.

  14. Q evon on August 31, 2008 at 11:55 am

    Oooohhhh I just love when I rate being part of your world. It is so nice to be in with the in crowd 🙂

    Truly, the treat of the summer was seeing both of you at two shows. Come to Asheville. Come to Asheville. Did I mention…come to Asheville.

  15. Hugh Lambert on September 4, 2008 at 2:51 am

    Maybe that’s why they’re free. Why don’t you design cards for your associates and charge them for their use. How’s that for entrepreneurism? How the hell have you been? And, how iare your folks?

  16. jamesp on September 4, 2008 at 8:59 am

    A distributed mailing will reach far more interested, targeted buyers with a single branded element, than if artists each mail their own postcards. By distributed, I mean that the cost of mailing is spread out over many equally interested parties. Or so the theory goes. In practice, the show organization usually hires a PR organization to do all the dirty work, and the postcard job is relegated to a junior, who isn’t given a proper set of requirements, or the requirements aren’t understood in the first place.

    Typically what happens is that the artists don’t mail the cards at all, or use their own cards. I have generic cards that I use in place of show freebies, as they promote MY work. But these wouldn’t work for everybody.

  17. jamesp on September 8, 2008 at 8:00 am

    To change the lights to 12V DC, buy fixtures that have an internal transformer, but use 12V lamps. Open the fixture, remove the transformer and rewire the lamp cable directly to the prongs of the fixture. I use standard 110V tracks, but with the 12V fixtures, I rigged a special outlet box that has alligator clamps instead of a 110V plug. That way, I plug the standard fixtures into the outlet box and the clamps go to the pos and neg terminals of the battery. The batteries themselves are carried in plastic boxes made for marine use — the boxes help keep potential acid leakage from the batteries from harming anything else in the trailer.

  18. Rick Pahl on September 19, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Parker,

    I just want to say hi and let you know someone is reading and enjoying your posts. Keep ’em coming!

  19. Connie Mettler on September 29, 2008 at 9:52 pm

    Hi Jim,

    Just discovered this post of yours. I think it is a very fair evaluation of the event. You have caught what we are trying to do here–keep it small to maximize the sales of our artists. Make set up and the takedown as easy as possible for the artists and make it easy for patrons to get in and out also. Sure wish the Michigan economy would give us all a break.
    Thanks for bringing your fine work to Pontiac this year. Good luck with the rest of your shows.

  20. jamesp on September 30, 2008 at 10:36 am

    September shows were better than I expected in Michigan. The latest economic turmoil and the upcoming election does not bode well for discretionary spending, but I’ve been surprised before. I’ll wait and see.

  21. NDMann on September 30, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    If you get a chance, the little town of Madison or Vevey Indiana just downriver from Rising Sun also have shows… well established shows.

    I was in Taylorsville, Ky. that Saturday, and when asked, I described the attendance as “sparse”.

  22. jamesp on September 30, 2008 at 12:25 pm

    I’ve heard that the Madison show is good from friends. Haven’t done it myself, however.

  23. ErvinTW on November 11, 2008 at 3:05 am

    Thanks! Nice post.

  24. Josh Maxwell on December 22, 2008 at 10:31 am

    I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.

  25. kat on January 15, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    I’m a newbie to the outdoor art scene. Can you write a blog entry sometime telling us how you select which shows you apply for and how you find them.

    Thanks!!!
    Kat

  26. jamesp on January 15, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    That’s a great idea, Kat! I know this subject has been covered quite a lot, but I’m always game for a challenge. A couple of resources you might find helpful in the meantime are:
    artshowphoto.com
    artfairsourcebook.com (subscription site)
    Sunshine Artist magazine (subscription)
    Depending on the area you’re from, there are local and regional resources that can be helpful as well. And don’t forget friends, local galleries and word-of-mouth as ways to get the down-low on shows in your neighborhood.
    Look for a full post in the near future!

  29. jamesp on March 8, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    One thing that I didn’t put in the original list: Communication! Many shows don’t respond to phone calls or emails. It’s impossible to get in touch with them to have a simple question answered. This is simply unacceptable in today’s linked-up society. 48 hours on an email response or a phone call should be the outside limit. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to contact a show and NEVER gotten a response, on simple questions like: “What time does the set-up run?”, or “When are you mailing artists packets?”.
    Artists have questions on setup, the parking situation, lodging, traffic control, judging, you name it. Don’t make it hard to find out the answers. If it’s not posted on your web site, make sure that SOMEONE staffs your office during normal business hours and is charged with providing answers to artists and patrons alike. Anything less is doing your show a disservice.

  31. Leo Charette on March 30, 2009 at 8:58 am

    Jim, I feel your pain.

    I did a show like this a few years ago, Hampton Bay Days (http://www.baydays.com/vendors/arts/). Mercy, they estimated 100s of thousands of people in attendance and indeed there were that many, but not for art. The worst was a patron looking at one of my matted prints and tossing it angrily back into the bin once he viewed the price. They came the beer.

    Looks like our paths will cross again at Crocker Park in Oct. I hope Carolyn and I can get together with you and Karin.

    Cheers,
    Leo Charette

  32. jamesp on March 30, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    Don’t get me wrong — I like Tucson, and spent some time there after the show, hiking in Sabino Canyon, up in Gates Pass, and driving some of the back roads. It’s a neat community. It’s just that the show draws the wrong type of crowd. You can’t have buy/sell and fine art together in the same show. It just doesn’t work.
    See you in fall, Leo — have a great summer!

  34. jamesp on April 17, 2009 at 8:11 am

    As our friend Wendy Baxter commented, “You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel.”

  35. Billie Williams on April 18, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Wow, you are so fortunate that you didn’t lose the trailer. (I enjoy your blog – thanks!) Billie

  36. jamesp on April 23, 2009 at 1:33 pm

    Update: the wires I found hanging were just additional connectors for the fender marker lights. Nothing disconnected. Brakes were fine after the wheel was replaced. The shop that did the work for me, Trailer Connection (http://www.trailerconnectioninc.com/) in Joplin, MO, did a fine job. They had me out of there the same day, even though the parts had to come from Springfield MO, 75 miles away. They did the work cleanly and didn’t charge me an arm and a leg. Total cost was around $150, of which about $40 was parts and freight. Very reasonable.

  38. Marguerite on May 27, 2009 at 11:13 am

    This is a phenomenal amount of information! Thanks for putting this here. Your advice makes so much sense, I will be sitting down and making the lists you suggested and starting to visualize the site that I want. I have been depending on friends, but that isn’t working at all well. I am taking courses at a local community college to learn website design, but I don’t want to wait that long to get something up. Thanks for posting the link in the art show photo group!

  39. Jack Johnson on June 10, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    Congrats on the win, and thanks for posting about the shows – very educational!

    – Jack

  40. Andy Chen on June 11, 2009 at 11:58 am

    I’ve always been envious of your boxes. I’ve been hauling more framed pieces to shows and they’re getting cumbersome. Someday, I’ll graduate from cardboard.

  41. Dennis on June 12, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    Jim, even though I’ve done close to 300 shows I’m still learning on how to do things better from people like you. See you on the road.
    .-= Dennis´s last blog ..A business decision =-.

  42. Jim Parker on June 15, 2009 at 8:44 pm

    Now that I wrote this post, I keep thinking of other boxes I’ve made. I probably have enough to write a whole ‘nother post!

    Dennis, thanks for the compliment! That means a lot to me. I learned a lot from guys like you, so try to keep contributing to the artshow community. If you found something useful, I’m grateful.

    Andy, as always, a pleasure — get busy and get that table saw! Stay away from Ryobi, though. It’s mostly junk and you’ll end up replacing it. You can make a lot of boxes with a good chop saw and a drill/driver. Have Lowe’s or the Depot cut the wide stuff to size for you.

  43. Cindy Gordon on June 16, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Hello Jim,

    It was nice to read your remarks. I wanted to add that although the “feet” weight 32 pounds they feel more like 50lbs due to their solid-steel construction. Hence the price. We have an Economy Special going on that is not mentioned on the website of 20% off.

    Cindy Gordon
    Happifeet Weight Systems

  44. Jim Parker on June 16, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Thanks for the note, Cindy. They look like a great solution! Less bulky than barbells, and nicely designed. One advantage of your system is that all the weight is concentrated at the bottom of the tent leg, where it will do the most good. There’s no possibility of them swinging in a high wind and breaking loose.

  45. Cindy Gordon on June 23, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    Yes Jim, the flat base gives a broader distribution of the weight and makes them harder to tip over. I have enjoyed making tents as safe as possible through the years in one all-inclusive package thus limiting the danger for everyone.

  46. Jim Booras on June 25, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    Try http://www.saxarts.com. Click on Go Shopping and choose Browse All Product Categories. Click on Boards, then Mat and Mounting Boards. You can narrow this search by entering “Pre cut Mat” in a window. There are over 30 assortments to choose from.

  51. Alisha on January 5, 2010 at 3:23 am

    I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Alisha

    http://sketchingdrawing.com

  52. Latifah Shay on January 6, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Hi There,
    I have been been pursuing my art professionally for 3 years now,.. and I haven’t even considered art shows. I appreciate you sharing your insight and experience, the numbers add up!! I feel open to this avenue for selling art now, whereas before it just wasn’t on my radar. Thanks!

  53. Tom M. on January 15, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    Congratulation on the award. I’m sure that you can use all the good news you can get in the Detroit area.
    .-= Tom M.´s last blog ..Do Follow Blog, Comment Luv Keyword Luv =-.

  54. Dave Piper on February 21, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Parker, parker, parker, etc.:

    I really enjoy reading your facebook posts. Please keep them coming. Hope to see you guys soon. Dave

  56. Mark Florek on March 28, 2010 at 11:45 am

    Thank you- It was like I just took the hike again.
    Mark

  57. Tim Frick on May 1, 2010 at 8:00 am

    Great pics and story. I was a 5 minute drive from Wind Cave while I was there, but didn’t make the hike. I did drive toward Payson and through Globe and Superior though. It was right after a rainstorm so it was pretty intense. Lots of waterfalls.
    .-= Tim Frick´s last blog ..2010 Hermes Creative Award =-.

    • Jim Parker on May 1, 2010 at 8:24 am

      Sorry we missed you in Fountain Hills. View from the top of Pass Mt. pretty spectacular and not a lot of work to get there.

  59. Joe Emerald on May 11, 2010 at 5:11 am

    I’ve just started blogging (having converted my existing static site to WordPress), and I’ve been following your advice very closely. As a professional copywriter of over 10 years’ experience, I admire your model of providing high quality content as the basis of everything you do, and will try to emulate this approach on my blog.

  65. Canvas Art Prints on October 14, 2010 at 10:16 am

    A great tutorial on the basic to resizing images. Many people forget the importance of having a gallery wrap finish – it looks so much more professional than having a blank white border, especially if you have picked the print colour to match your decor.

  66. Canvas Art Prints on October 14, 2010 at 10:20 am

    Thanks for the informative piece, however I personally prefer to make my own canvas print frames from fir wood or pine. This allows me to customize the frame as I need and is much cheaper than buying prefabricated stretcher bars. Thanks.

  67. Timothy on October 15, 2010 at 2:26 am

    I love the watering hole photo. Lot of emotion going on. Gloomy, but surreal.

  68. Steve Lents on November 14, 2010 at 9:28 pm

    I am curious as to why you use only white matting on your finished products?

  69. Jim Parker on November 15, 2010 at 9:25 am

    I do over twenty shows a year, & my work is carried in several galleries. I have over 100 images in inventory at any given time, in four standard sizes. Logistically, it’s impossible to keep individually styled mattes and frames for each image and each size. It’s also a much more consistent presentation that changes for each region and venue. The other reason that the mattes are white is that these are 6-ply and 8-ply mattes and they only come in white and black.

  70. Ariane on December 20, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    I love that you are steering artists away from advertising. There are so many “nearly” free ways to get the word out these days that self-promotion is the way to go – esp. for artists who are unsure of themselves.

    Having to self-promote pretty much guarantees that you will start to pay attention to the details of presentation that set you and your art apart.

    I have one thought about branding. Because of the social media paradigm, branding is as much about the artist as the art – though if you look at some of the greats, i.e., O’Keeffe, who she was as an artist had as much appeal as her art. So, in some ways, the story never changes, just the scenery and the players.

    I’m really excited to have artist Lori McNee coming to speak at the smARTist conference this year because she’s discovered ways to brand using social media – the new kid on the block! (And of course, I discovered her on Twitter!).

    • Jim Parker on December 21, 2010 at 8:46 am

      Thanks for your comments, Ariane! The thing about marketing and promotion is that it does take time. Advertising seems like a good way to let lots of people know about your work, but the end result is just too scattershot to be effective. And it’s very expensive compared to the alternatives.

      And it’s great that Lori will be at your conference. I’ve followed her on Twitter for a while now. Good stuff. (@lorimcneeartist on twitter)

  72. canvas printing on February 7, 2011 at 8:21 am

    yes i agree on the gallery wrap finish,, uch better in my opinion

  74. Diane on March 31, 2011 at 11:44 am

    How do you put a stretched canvas (already completed) into a metal frame? When I put the canvas into the frame it is flush and I was given the clips to secure it but…. cannot figure how to do it.

    • Jim Parker on March 31, 2011 at 11:54 am

      Many times, stretched canvas is framed with a “float” frame, not a standard frame. Float frames don’t have a front rabbet, but instead let the canvas sit flush or over the edge of the frame’s sides. A float frame is attached to the canvas by drilling holes in the flange on the back side of the frame, and screwing the frame into the canvas.
      If you’re using a standard frame with, say a linen liner, generally the frame is secured to the back of the canvas with “Z Clips”. These come in different heights to compensate for the height differential between the back of the canvas stretchers and the back of the frame.
      Without seeing your frame and canvas, it’s hard for me to know whether those clips will actually work with your art.

  76. Bonnie Blandford on April 23, 2011 at 10:18 am

    Beautifully told, only sorry there was a story to tell. But I’m one who says you are handling this really well. Anger is healthy and you should be very angry.

    Glad you had a great show to help balance this out. Now go spend that money and your “free” time and make your new trailer even better than the old! Good luck remembering all those odd things that you rarely use but are indispensable when you need them that you stored in there…

    • Jim Parker on April 23, 2011 at 10:34 am

      Thanks for the comment, Bonnie.
      I couldn’t sleep the night after Artan was stolen, and tossed and turned for over an hour. So I got up and made a list of everything I could think of. I’m sure I missed a few things that were stashed in boxes, like that battery-powered fan that we use at Ann Arbor… Too bad the money we made won’t cover all the losses. It’s a shame that the best show of the year (actually best show ever) stile l turns into a loss.
      I got a very nice note from Jay Downie, who is the Director of the show in my inbox a couple of days ago, asking if there was anything they could do to help recover the trailer. I applaud the effort, but I think the trailer is probably long gone. I’ve heard that they take orders and the trailers are sold and transported across borders before we even know they’re gone.

  77. Holly Olinger on April 23, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Jim- when I first read about this theft, I couldn’t believe it. Everything I’ve ever seen online about you points to a person operating at the highest level of this industry. Your bad fortune is my wake-up call as my first trailer will be delivered next week. You can bet the very first thing I have done is to order a wheel boot to prevent this from happening – or at least to make it damn hard for anyone to take my new baby. Good luck getting it all back together. I hate doing things twice so I can really feel your pain. Best wishes.

    • Jim Parker on April 23, 2011 at 6:18 pm

      I had a wheel lock for my first trailer. It required removing a lug nut every time you parked the trailer, which in practice, especially on the road, proved impractical. Whatever deterrent you employ needs to be bombproof, and easy to deploy, even in a howling rainstorm. Send me a link if you find something good!

  78. Pat Falk on April 24, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Your story brings back memories when our van was stollen during a show in 2001 in Florida. Fortunately, our art was in the booth with us but other items were in the van like camera equipment, and now we had no vehicle for transport. It happened to be Super Bowl weekend, and there were no vehicles available for rent. The police did recover our van with much damage and had it towed. Fortunately, we had great artists next to us (from Michigan by the way) who took my husband around to different tow lots to recover our van and the wife stayed with me on the street where my art, tent and display was piled. The perpertrators were found and we even had to go to court. Time lost was immense and sales were nonexistant. Even with insurance coverage, it took a long time to recover from the whole ordeal. But we did recover and so will you, and you will be wiser. Artists are a resilliant bunch. Much luck as you rebuild.

  79. Brian Neumann on April 25, 2011 at 11:39 am

    Hi,

    Do not know if this is much value but I use two locks on the hitch, one for the hitch and the other to lock my safety chains together so the best thing they can do is drag them along or be caught not using them.

  80. claudia on May 3, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    I am so sorry about your loss….. it reminds me off the paintings I had stolen which I sent to a show to a museum in Mexico. After a year of trying to get them back from customs (who claimed they did not have them) I contacted the Embassy, the Conuslate etc…. three years later- all 7 paintings were sold at a Mexican government auction. The person who bought them contacted me and said he would exhibit them in mexico. I did no ask for them back, was just happy to know where they were- and in a good collector’s hand. Three months later, he was killed and my paitnings disappeared again.
    I have no idea where they are now.

    Claudia

  81. Leo Charette on May 12, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    Jim, I’m just getting caught up on reading. Damn, WHAT a drag! All the times I bought a traitor to a show and dropped it off in a lot..secured exactly as you did. This shows, if they want it bad enough they will figure a way to take it. I hope you are able to recoup some of your loss via insurance…at least materials cost. I’m so sorry. — Leo

    • Jim Parker on May 12, 2011 at 9:11 pm

      I hate it when those trailers disappear like that! Seriously, I’m getting caught up. New trailer, building out the interior is going well. Have my first local show this weekend — ArtBirmingham. Then off to Reston next week. Hope it will be squared away by then. Thanks for the comments! I do appreciate it.

  82. Jenny Pope on May 17, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    geez! I am a festival artist too. So sorry to hear about your trailer! Don’t people know what we go through already to bring our artwork to them? Hey, see you in Reston, I am booth number 406.

    • Jim Parker on May 17, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      Thanks Jenny. I really don’t think patrons think too much about what it takes to bring a show off. I’ve been asked many times if the show provides the tent and the display panels. Nope! It all comes with us. But the trailer thieves weren’t after the panels and stuff, they were after the trailer. See you in Reston!

  83. bob on June 17, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    that trailer’s so nice i think im gonna steal it!

  84. Jim Witt on September 21, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    It is good to hear that everything is going so well. It is always great when you have such a strong year and are winning awards. Just remember years like this when times are tough and sales are down and so are the awards.

  85. Roger Carr on October 15, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    I have avoided carrying a tripod on my hikes, but was considering taking one with me for an upcoming trip to photograph waterfalls. After reading your post I am going to rethink whether I should add the extra bulk and weight. I love the backpacker photo you used.

  86. Aaron Coleman on March 25, 2012 at 10:43 pm

    My art trailor was stolen in Forsyth, GA in February. It was hitched on my van. It is a hard thing to go through. Its funny how it makes you count your blessings though. I’m like you; it often crosses my mind…what in the world did they do with all that art? I was on my way back to Kansas City from doing shows in FL. I had to invest in the Sprinter to fully recover.

  87. john stuart on May 9, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    Your boxes look really well made. I like the double duty idea. I’m not sure how long I will be doing this and haven’t quite standardized the sizes of my prints yet which makes it a bit more difficult. By the way I figured a great way to protect prints and create separation on framed pieces or canvas. Use pipe insulation which has a slit cut in it an wrap the entire edge. I then stretch wrap it to make sure it doesn’t come loose.

    • Jim Parker on May 9, 2012 at 4:19 pm

      Pipe insulation does work well. I use it to separate frames in storage on the trailer. You don’t really need it to cover the entire frame, just enough to keep the edges from banging into anything else.

      I also use ArtGarters, which were a commercially available product up until recently. Basically they are padded corners, joined by elastic. Four corners, that stay on the frames by virtue of the elastic. She is out of the business now, too bad. Thanks for the comment!

  88. Jim Parker on March 21, 2013 at 10:15 am

    An addendum to this post: I’ve done most of these shows, but not all. Haven’t gotten into St. Louis or Plaza (yet), and am looking forward to doing Cherry Creek and Des Moines this year.
    I’d pull St. James Court and Port Clinton off the list now. St. James has gotten too large, with the four shows, and the population isn’t buying like they used to. Port Clinton is way too overpriced for a local show, and if you don’t have a prime spot on First or Second St., you’ll likely die there. The Boca Museum show is a wonderful venue, but Florida is way too oversaturated with shows now, and South Florida is the worst.

  89. Jim Parker on March 21, 2013 at 10:19 am

    Ok, more. Coconut Grove is swamped with sponsor booths intermingled with the artists. Still many people do well here. I did it once, made some good money, and considered myself lucky. If you have brightly colored fish or beach scenes, or ultra-modern 3-D work, you can do well here. Others, maybe not so much.
    And for me, Sausalito is too far to drive for the exorbitant booth fee. The nut is simply too much for low- to medium-priced work to do well here.
    I’d add Art in the Pearl, in Portland OR, and perhaps LaQuinta in Palm Springs CA. Again, too far for me.

  90. New Mexico land for sale on March 16, 2014 at 9:06 am

    I have enjoyed reading your articles. It is well written. It looks like you spend a large amount of time and effort in writing the blog. I am appreciating your effort.

  91. crystalstif on July 31, 2014 at 10:05 pm

    and the clamps go to the pos and neg terminals of the battery. The batteries themselves are carried in plastic boxes made for marine use — the boxes

  92. the Best Duffel Bags for Travel on October 9, 2014 at 3:59 am

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  93. Bianca Balti on November 18, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Have a lot of great memories out there !

  94. Linda Bishop on April 23, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    Thanks for the great write-up Jim. I’ve been researching this topic for awhile and this is the most comprehensive and clear info I’ve found yet! This stuff can get a little confusing, but you did a nice job explaining. The one area you may also want to consider as a potential alternative is “battery powered trade show lighting”. There are a handful of companies that sell trade show lights that are designed specifically to operate on battery power. Pegasus lighting and Silicon Lightworks were a couple of websites that looked to have some good options available (see: http://siliconlightworks.com/ and http://www.pegasuslighting.com/). I’ve not tried any of their products yet, but it looked promising given the batteries are very small and light and the lights appear to put out a lot of light.

  95. Rafe on December 5, 2015 at 9:57 am

    You haven’t been to Art Basel Miami yet? Wow. Last time I went to that palace my mind was blown!

  96. Tamie Hopper on January 3, 2018 at 11:53 pm

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos online. I was reminiscing this evening about the farm my grandparents had west of Murdo and my fond memories of the times spent there in my younger days when I came across your images. They brought back many special recollections of days gone by. My parents grew up in Philip SD and Murdo SD. I visited my grandparents every summer and I am familiar with many of the areas you took photos of in your blog. I did visit Capa and Van Metre once about 40 years ago. Only thing that was left of Van Metre then was a few foundations and 1 or 2 old shacks that I am sure have fallen down by now. My Aunt and Uncle still live in Midland plus I have many relatives who reside in Murdo or surrounding areas. I would love to know the name of the lady who lives in Cedar Rapids as I am sure my parents might be familiar with the family as they know many people from that area, but have lost contact with some of them. Thank you again for bringing a smile to this lady’s face tonight. God bless.

  97. jamesp@parkerparker.net on January 26, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    The presentation is over, but WCC runs these business workshops for different disciplines yearly. If you are interested in participating, let them know at the contact info, above.

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  2. Life As An Itinerant Artist » Blog Archive » 1000 Words on Finding Nirvana - [...] Comments « Top 25 Art Shows in the US [...]
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  19. Tweets that mention 10 Requirements for a Successful Art Show Item | Life As An Itinerant Artist -- Topsy.com - [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by James W. Parker, Art Skopec. Art Skopec said: RT @dakkid: 10 Requirements…
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  27. Bin Plans | parkerparker design photography - […] Pictures, and more about the construction, here. […]
  28. How a show should be run… | parkerparker design photography - […] country. And that includes the Krasl show in St. Joseph, MI and the Artisphere show in Greenville (written up…
  29. 10,000 Miles Down the Road | parkerparker design photography - […] sales-wise. Florida started out strong, with ArtFest Fort Myers and ArtiGras in Jupiter. (See my previous post on ArtFest.)…
  30. 1000 Words on Finding Nirvana | parkerparker design photography - […] sat down and wrote out a list of what she considered to be the top 25 shows in the…
  31. 25 Random Things… | parkerparker design photography - […] been very useful to have a dedicated space. I build all the rolling stock for art shows here, too.…