Virtu Art Fest in Westerly, RI

So this past weekend was my big art fest for the year. The Virtu Art Fest in Westerly, RI had a total of nearly 200 booths in Wilcox park. It was a beautiful setting and the weather was almost perfect for the weekend. It was actually a bit warm, but I got lucky and was set up where we were shaded by a big tree which kept things perfect!

Setup was on Friday and I was especially anxious about it as I had heard bad reviews based on the effort involved in getting stuff in and out of the park. That being said, I went in with expectations of it taking a bit of time. The traffic in town was mayhem and I ended up circling the park several times trying to figure out a spot I could park and haul stuff in on my own. I finally settled on driving into the park itself where things went slowly as it was single file waiting your turn for unloading.

The volunteers were driving lawn tractors pulling trailers which seemed to work quite well. They would unload everything into the trailer and drop it off at your spot while you parked. The volunteers were extremely easy to work with and worked hard to keep everyone happy. I was able to easily find a spot to park not too far away and then got to work setting things up.

By the end of the day Friday I had everything ready to go with the exception of bringing in the big paintings and hanging them. Being able to get this all done on Friday left me feeling a lot more comfortable about getting started on Saturday.

I was especially happy to have my oldest, Kenna, attend the show with me both Saturday and Sunday. She helped out giving me breaks, talking to folks, and loading up Sunday evening.

Saturday was a bit of a disappointment for me. Being my first year doing this I really didn’t know what to expect, but the crowd seemed disinterested and mostly walked by without much more than a glance. There were plenty of people there, but I got more interest at the Daffodil bazaar a few weeks earlier, which was a tiny show in comparison. It made me begin to doubt what I was doing there.

I have to say though, being surrounded by artists helped. I had several that said they ran into the same thing and that sometimes that’s just the way the shows go and that tomorrow would be different. They were very encouraging, but the drive home that night was exhausting.

So Sunday we came back with a little bit of a re-organization and ended up putting the table towards the front so that the smaller paintings would be more prominent when people passed by. From the beginning things felt much better. People were regularly stopping in and mentioned their appreciation for my work. Having the little stuff up front got them more attention as well – my desktop series continues to be a popular line.

During both days I managed to get some painting in and managed to paint three of my desktop series sized paintings along with two 8 x 10s. I definitely enjoy painting where people can come up and ask me questions or just watch while I’m working. The smaller size seems to work best as I can hold them in my lap while working on them and interruptions aren’t a problem. The paint would dry on the pallet a little too fast for anything bigger than an 8×10.

Then I got my first sale! A couple came in and spent some time trying to decide between multiple paintings. They ended up buying one of my 11×14 pieces – Hidden Falls. (Probably to the disappointment of Kenna as I had been asking which would be the one she would steal as I had planned on giving it to her for helping me out this weekend – she likes to collect my paintings as well)

Additionally I sold three other paintings including two of my desktop series and an 8×10. As with every other show I’ve sold paintings at, I had a young boy purchase one as well. It’s encouraging to see them interested in painting.

By the end of the day I felt really good. I have broken my own records for sales and I talked to dozens of people who really liked my work.

Sunday evening Kenna and I packed things up and I managed to pull the van around to a spot where we could load up without having to wait in line for the volunteers to bring our stuff over (a much longer line on Sunday as everyone was leaving at once compared to bringing stuff in Friday and Saturday.) It was a bit of a haul going uphill, but the cart I bought helped out enormously. Between the two of us we were packed up and ready to go in a little over an hour or so.

If nothing else, this show let me know that it’s going to take time to build up the interest in my work, but it’s not an impossible thing. As big of a pain as the load in and out was, I expect that I’ll be back again next year.

On to show number four this Saturday! I’ll be at the East Woodstock Congregational Church Sprint Art/Craft Sale in Woodstock, CT.

JUNE 1st, 2024 10am-4pm

Come and be amazed at the work of over 40 talented crafters! In our building and also on the East Woodstock Common. Lunch will be offered.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1110028210203536/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D

https://www.facebook.com/eastwoodstockchurch.org