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This must have been "art fair weekend" across the whole country. I also participated in my one and only annual art show this past Saturday and Sunday.
I show only portrait samples and do a demo from a photo (an existing commission, so at least I get some work done!) I did this same show last year, and got two commissions for two figures each (one three quarter length and one full length) from it.
This year, like last, I gave out perhaps a hundred cards and had many serious enquiries about commissions. I won't know for a while if it paid off in direct terms, but the exposure keeps the idea of portraiture "top of mind" for the thousands of people who did see my booth. In this part of the country, portraiture is not something that people think of as a "must have". I believe that most prospective clients need to see the work repeatedly and think about the idea for a long time in order to make a decision.
Like all advertising, it's hard to quantify the immediate benefits and only a long term campaign brings results. This show brings in huge crowds and is in a fairly affluent area and since the booth fee is small and I had the canopy and signage from last year I feel it's worth my effort.
I put in four days of work to do it (two days of the show itself, and about two more days of prep/loading/unpacking). I'm pretty tired out today from all the physical set up and take down, and from demoing for two days for eight hours straight. Now it's time to send out "nice to have met you" cards with a sample of my work on it to the ones who signed my guest book and see what happens.
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