INVITED TO SHOW ART IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA!
You never know how contacts may affect showing your art. For instance, my husband was out with a couple of his friends one morning. One, I'll call Calvin, had recently moved down from Columbus, Ohio. My husband told him I was an artist and Calvin asked if he had any pictures of my work. Well, of course he did! He whipped out his phone and began showing off my work (I have him well trained, LOL!) The result is that Calvin mentioned that he had a friend in Columbus who was also an artist and who showed his work in Savannah, GA in a coffee shop/ mini art gallery.
Well, long story short, the next time I spoke with Calvin, he said he would like to introduce me to his friends in Savannah. One thing led to another and the end result is that my artwork is now on display in Glo's Coffee Corner! It is an eclectic little shop in Savannah! It's really cute, and I have a 20' wall of art on display!
One requirement to have your art in another city is that you must have a way to collect money when artwork sells. I use my PayPal business account for this. You can set up an app called PayPal.me. This allows you to send a quick link to a buyer so they can pay for your art and take it home in just a few minutes. And you get paid without having to go pick up the money. It's convenient and it's secure. After the buyer completes the transaction, I text the owners of the shop to verify the sale, and the buyer leaves with the artwork! It is quick, easy, and I have my money!
I also have a SQUARE account that I use at art fairs, or if the customer is with me. I can also send out invoices with SQUARE. However, the PayPal.me is easier I think. So check it out and I think you will like it! You do not have to handle a buyer's card so that info stays private, and they like that! A win-win situation all around.
When we took the trip up, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from St Augustine, we decided to spend the weekend and tour some art galleries in Savannah. There are several in the area so it was nice to see the differences in them. Art galleries have personalities and if you seek representation, you should look for one that fits with your style of art. You do that through research or by visiting the galleries. So when we travel to an area where I am interested in being represented, I will take the time to visit those galleries if possible. I keep track of the ones that are compatible with my style, including their contact info to apply, which is usually an email address. That may be available on their website, or you may need to ask for it. If you like the gallery and feel it is a good fit, don't hesitate to ask for any info you may need. Talk to the salespeople and get a feel for how they do business. If you aren't comfortable doing that, then just observe them with customers as you browse the gallery. You can learn a lot by doing that. Are they open and friendly, or are they aloof? Do they approach the customers and visit, or stay behind a desk? Are they willing to answer questions, or do they cut you off? All these things are important to know. And, be sure to dress nicely when you go. If they think you might be interested in purchasing art, you can get more information out of them!
It's funny how that works. My mother told me years ago that your appearance is very important. Nice clothes impress, she said. I laughed at the time, but as it turns out, she was right. I don't mean expensive clothes necessarily, I mean no jeans and T shirts. I don't want to offend, but there is a place for everything, and jeans are not the impression we want for art galleries. Slacks or skirts are fine along with polo tops, etc. Notice how the sales staff at the galleries are dressed, no jeans there! These days a neat, clean appearance goes a long way toward impressing professionals. We must remember, people DO judge by appearance, whether they should or not. I will say that one thing I have learned from traveling, people are becoming far too casual in their dress. It is nice to be comfortable, but when did showing our underwear become acceptable or wearing our pants down below our bottom? I just don't understand, but enough of that! My point here is, if you are an artist who wants to succeed, then you must dress to succeed. It's all part of the plan as they say.
Savannah is very interesting in the art gallery arena. They have an art college, hence a lot of artists.
The galleries range from very funky to very upscale. For example, a gallery named A T Hun Art Gallery is very funky with modern, fun art, very eclectic. On the other hand, there is also an art museum which is top notch, and then everything in between. As I have said previously, there is a gallery for every artist's style of art. A newer trend I am seeing these days is art galleries that are co-ops, meaning they are run by the artists themselves. Each artist pays a monthly fee and mans the gallery as well. Another is galleries that specialize in "local" art, from their area alone. You see that a lot in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Artists are even required to live in certain counties to show their art in one art guild.
Most of the galleries in Savannah as it turns out are co-ops run by the artists. At least the ones I had time to visit. So I will keep researching for now. We went out to Tybee Island while we were up in Georgia and saw some galleries there. One or two had more trinkets than art, but we stopped at one called "JUSTABREEZE" Framing and Gallery that turned out to be just what I was looking for. It was small but had beautiful handmade furniture, art, and jewelry. The owners, Tammy and Loren Kuck are a retired couple who are themselves very talented. We talked for a while and they liked my "Oceans on Glass" paintings which fit beautifully with the theme of their small gallery. I'm sure we will have a very successful relationship and they have friends who live just a few miles from us here in St. Augustine!
I have photos below of my "art wall" at Glo's Coffee Corner. Enjoy! Oh, they wanted to hang one of my "Oceans on Glass" pieces right by the front door! So I have that photo too! Thanks for looking!
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| They decided that they just had to have this one too! Since there was no more room on the art display wall, they took down one of their paintings and put mine up instead by the front door. Nice! This is a picture of the shop "JUSTABREEZE" on Tybee Island, GA   The painting was just hung up here for protection. The wall of art will be rearranged |
