Art in the Burg day

I was up before the sun and off to Middleburg, Virgnia by 7:25AM on my art sale day in Piedmont horse country. The sky clouded over on the hour and fifteen minute drive but I arrived ahead of schedule and got started quickly setting up my area. I had 12 vertical prints and 10 horizontal prints to hang in rows on wooden easels. I also had to lay out my table and get ready for visitors and meet the other artists. I got so wrapped up in the hanging and visiting I forgot to shoot my display when I finished setting it up later I snagged a few shots while I had a few minutes of quiet time. In the end it was over before I expected and easy to break down thanks to the great space and the great team hosting the show. We enjoyed conversation, art sharing, some sales, vegetable stew and cheese with crackers cookies and special thanks to my new art pal Gail Guirreri-Maslyk for a delicious  cup of coffee! She needed one and I wanted one, and so she went to the grocery store and bought the fixings then made us a pot! It was just perfectly brewed and enjoyed with some sugary treats I never eat anymore.

Chris, Peter, Tom and Gail 

 parish house Peter Wood staked out the front door to sell his rusty metal creations and fill the guest book with contacts 

My favorite of Peter's rusty metal sculptures. 

Our day was busy and visitors came and lingered and enjoyed looking and many buying some new art works. I was showing my new series of flower sketches and prints for the first time and also my hand bound books. I also took a few folding book prints from the old days in Artomat® that always attract gift buyers or people who need something small to delight. I was happy to see my pal Judith from West Virginia for the first time since 2007 and meet her buddies one of whom is also a graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY were I studied so many years ago. I even had a visitor from my gang of sketch crawl friends drove out from Reston. It was a perfect day even if the sky was threatening rain on and off all day. We managed to stay dry most of the day in our lovely parish house great room meeting hall. The carpenter who built our easels did a fantastic job and they worked better than anything I have used to hang and display art in a room where you can not put nails in the walls. So I am very happy today if a little tired. Thanks to everyone who made yesterday possible and a handsome success for my new works. For a first time event it was very good and we all were excited at the prospect of a return next year. I now look forward to reorganizing my prints and sketches for the next installation in Crystal City Arlington, Virginia across the river from DC at Artomatic 2012.

Jim the painter with two visitors, Jason Alexander the potter and wife Maria who are talking to a third visitor (left to right)

My book/portfolio table and display easel, after 6 prints in frames sold. 

ARTOMATIC 2012 this is my wall on the second floor of 11 stories of office building, soon to be painted and filled with flowering sketches!