Summer

A beautiful, pink blooming crepe myrtle against a blue sky. 

Cave swallows

A month or so ago lots of birds were excitedly flying back and forth in the covered entrance to the apartments by the gallery. I found they were building a nest and starting a new family. All the birds took part! I took some pix, identified them as cave swallows, and enjoyed learning about them. Now the babies are growing and will soon be out on their own. These pix are the best I could get.

A pretty display of leaves and white flowers.

 

My Studio

Back in Greenville, when much of my free time at home was spent in the back yard studying nature ala Thoreau and looking for tiny interesting things to photograph, I considered that special place to be my studio. Apparently since jumping into the painting wedge of the art circle in Wilmington, I have abandoned the concept of anything other than an actual room to be a studio. During the past week, my gallery and I hosted a plein air event. For strictly plein air painters who paint nature in nature, the outside world where most of their painting is done is their primary studio. 

I have not been posting to this blog because I don't paint much, and I had in mind it would be about painting. However, I consider painting to be a frustrating task put upon me by other people who expect me to paint. And I am not into show and tell. Some folks I know, many of whom are or have been art/painting teachers, immediately want to give feedback or correction upon glancing at an image of some sort, of anyone's, when they are not asked. As I am an emotionally secure person, I endure it kindly when I am the recipient of their knowledge, but it has taught me to appreciate and validate where other people are on their journey. After all, doing arty things should be therapeutic and pleasurable. It isn't life or death. 

So back to square one. Rather than neglecting this blog, I will use it to post something, anything, that I may see in the greater studio of my little world, especially around the Cape Fear River, for as long as I am here in the gallery. Seems like when I go out, there is always something interesting! 

Today along the river, a big cargo ship was either coming or going. I am curious about them, like where they are from, what they carry, if drugs are aboard, who works on the ship and what do they do, how it would be to travel on the high seas and then wind down a comparably narrow river to a port. The stories they could tell!

How to start an art gallery.

When I had the opportunity to open an art gallery, I had no idea of what to do, and I soon found out there was nobody to teach me. 

But here is what I have learned in the past couple of years.

Your mission statement, your business plan, who you expect your customers to be, long term goals are of course good things to have in mind, but also consider these things. 

No two galleries are the same. Each is distinctive. Don’t try to make yours like anyone else’s. Be yourself. 

Do your business right. Make sure you are financially stable enough to handle it. Be responsible to the public and to the artists. Be trustworthy and on good terms with them. Build relationships in the art community and with your frequent visitors. Don’t procrastinate with anything. 

Don’t be overcome by emotions. Don’t take anything personally. 

Have enough knowledge to be able to answer any question about the art and the artist. 

Think of the gallery as your work of art. It must be balanced and cohesive like any single artwork. 

Be pleased when someone comes in to look. You are educating them. 

Don’t fall for money spending traps. There is a lot of promoting you can do that costs nothing. 

Keep things as simple as possible. There is always extra stuff to figure out. 

Get help/advisors because we do not know everything. But don’t let them take away your vision. 

You be you. 

Happy First Birthday to the Gallery. whew . . .

Last year on this day, as some passwords reflect, the Gallery was officially born. I had taken ownership, the wifi was installed, the credit card machine was available, and art was coming in. Big plans were made, but the unseen enemy (covid) was not in agreement. The good news is I have survived, day by day, hour by hour, like most things we must endure. Sometimes it has been ok, even fun, but many days drag by, and ... will they ever end? Because I am an honorable person, I am sticking with it. God has a higher purpose that I cannot see and will probably never know, or else He would not have given it to me. Persistence.

My happy thing

 Sometimes it gets so boring here in the gallery.

Only one visitor today so far. I have figured out that no matter how much it is lit up on the inside, it does not appear to be open. So I ordered a tacky LED Open sign. Hopeful.

At least I have the river where I can go while still keeping an eye on the gallery. If I am stressed, I take my camera. That's a sure fire diversion that makes me happy. This is one from yesterday, taken right after the sun went behind the little island. I must have taken a hundred pictures of the same thing, but whatever . . .