I’m finishing up the final tasks to get ready for my show at the Sheridan Lawrence Gallery in September, and as I’m doing them, I’ve been reminiscing about the many shows in the past. Most of them have blurred together in my memory since they went off on schedule with no problems, but the shows that had the problems still make me shudder.
The worst was actually the one that paid the best, but for the wrong reason. My gallery had sold to a new owner, and my show was still scheduled for the same date I had signed up for two years earlier. The main problem was that I also was doing free-lance graphic design for two companies and they kept adding to my jobs even when I protested that I needed some time off to prepare my show. By working long hours and my husband framing the still wet canvases, I was able to come up with a minimum number of paintings.
After the show, the unsold paintings were put in the racks in the back room. Unfortunately, a heavy snow storm hit and the roof leaked down on all the paintings in the racks. By the time the owners were able to get to the gallery, the leaks, which had mixed with tar from the roof, had dried on the paint. The insurance company paid the artists to repair the paintings if they could, but if not, they received full payments minus the gallery commissions. It turned out to be a sold-out show, but somehow it was a huge let-down.
SCHEDULE MIX-UP
The second worst was really two shows which inadvertently got scheduled for the same month and the same opening reception date in two different galleries in Seattle and Portland. The Seattle gallery had made the mistake, but by the time it was discovered it was too late to change. I never worked so hard, but I managed to get both shows done. I just didn’t make it to one of the receptions.
In over 50 years of painting and shows, I’m proud that I’ve never missed a deadline or canceled a show, but I once rescued a gallery which had an artist cancel a show two weeks before the opening. The gallery owner called me frantically and asked if I could come up with a show fast. He knew that I had just picked up several paintings from another gallery, so I was able to help him, but it wasn’t a show I would have put together as I normally do.
COMPOSING A SHOW
I have always designed my shows in the same way I compose my paintings. I like a theme running through and a balance of colors and sizes. I usually paint 17 paintings and this has worked for me for many years. Now that I’m showing larger works, the numbers are fewer, but the painting time seems to have increased. The upcoming show will feature acrylics, oils and watercolors and includes two diptychs. They are all landscapes with an autumn theme.
Below is one of the diptychs, a 48″ x 48″ oil entitled “Window View – Radiant Autumn”.
