Years ago I used to do a show in Dana Point, California. It was a beautiful location right by the ocean. From my booth I could see the tall ship Pilgrim. I sold pretty well at this show.

For a variety of reasons (mostly that I kept forgetting to sign up), I stopped doing this show. Well, this year I thought I should do it again. My reasoning was that my newer artwork more reflected the location. I am doing much more nautical art and I figured it would be a great fit at this show.

I got up early the morning of setup and arrived at the show location 10 minutes before the allowed setup time. I like to do this whenever possible just because it is easier to setup when you don't have to contend with your neighbors.

When I got to the check-in area, there was no one there. Not even the usual line of vendor vehicles waiting to get in. Did I get the date wrong? No, there were lots of barricades up and other pre-show stuff going on.

I found the person in charge and I was in the right place, I was just the first one there. They showed me to my space and I started setting up. About 20 minutes later a few other vendors started straggling in.

Then I noticed who the other vendors were...

There was the window replacement contractor, and the local credit union, and the made in China seller, and the made in Vietnam seller, and, well, you get the idea. When I had a chance to walk the show, I found that maybe 5 out of 50 or so vendors actually made their own stuff.

There were many other changes to this show as well. Like music that didn't fit the theme, and making visitors pay to get into all of the event except the vendor section.

Needless to say, my sales were not very good. And, I was really disappointed.

And what did I learn from this experience?

Two things: First, shows change and you've gotta know when to keep doing them and when to stop. And second, heed my own advice. Investigate a show before doing it.

If you want to avoid the mistake I made, get this book, The 35 Questions to Ask Before Applying to a Show:

I recently started coaching a fellow artist. Although she has a background in marketing, she is not sure how to apply all of that to selling her own artwork. She knows she needs to do something, but she i't sure what. Her first thought was that it was her website that needed updating and she asked me to work on it.

She was right, her website was just a bunch of photos with no story behind them. I started out by asking what her objective was. She wants to sell her art.

Okay! Now that I know the objective, I can ask some questions.

• Do you have an email list? Sort of.
• Do you send emails out a on regular basis? No.
• Do you have stories written about each of your art pieces that gives the viewer an emotional connection to the art? No.
• Do you want to only sell your originals or do you want to also include print-on-demand items? Ummm, what?
• Do you have a hook to get people to want to continue to visit your website? No.

Turns out she needs a lot more than just her website fixed. In this case, this artist is in need of an extreme makeover. All of the above mentioned stuff needs to be done all at once. Each of those puzzle pieces fits with all of the others.

Let's break them down...
Your mailing list is a list of pre-qualified leads. These are people who saw your work at a show or who have visited your website and liked what they saw. These people are gold.

That mailing list needs to be nurtured. Sending out a newsletter or other communications on a periodic basis will keep you at the top of their mind. And maybe give them a nudge to visit your website again.

When they do get to your website, if you have a story to tell, they will have a reason to make more of a connection to your work rather than just looking at a pretty pictures. The more emotional the connection, the more likely that they will buy.

Not all artists can or want to have print-on-demand products available for sale, but for those who do, you are giving your customers an easy way to purchase your work. And you're giving yourself an easy way to sell your work. If you're not familiar with print-on-demand sites have a look at FineArtAmerica.com, CafePress,com. or Zazzle.com. There are many other sites of this type, but this should give you a good idea of how they work.

And, if your customers don't buy from you right away, you need to have something to entice them to continue to visit your website. There are many ways to do this. You could have a blog on your site that answers some of the common questions that you get. You could offer them a freebie like a free calendar that they can download and print themselves (click here to see mine). Or you could send them to a page on your website that has an easy tutorial.

All of these pieces feed on each other and should be done concurrently. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. And there is no right answer to which one to do first. My answer is pick one and do it!

Over the summer I was working on this piece as a tribute to my father. He served aboard this ship when he was in the Navy.

As I often do at shows, I demonstrate my techniques. One particular afternoon as I was working on this piece, a lady came up to me and wanted to know what I was doing. As I was right in the middle of a perfect section to demonstrate, I gave her the full description of my process. I showed her how I look at the photograph to get the shape and size of each element just right. I showed her how I cut out each tiny piece, I showed her how I glue the piece down. And then I showed her how I stitch it to add the detail.

When I finished with all of this, she asked, "Where did you buy the kit?"

My mind first went blank. Then it started racing. I was thinking, "Um, did you not listen to my explanation? Did you not watch me do this? Does this even look like a kit?"

After all of this quickly went through my mind all I was able to say to her was, "It's not a kit."

I still don't know what a good comeback would have been. And I am still dumbfounded by this question. I guess people just continue to surprise me. And, I think I'll just not have an answer for this one. Chalk it up as another one of those things to laugh about after the show is over.

So if you are struggling with how to respond to people at shows, then you need this book, The Shy Artist's Guide to Answering Questions. Click below to get one.

It's been a while since I lasted posted. A lot has happened in that time, the most significant of which has been the passing of my father.

This has been a very difficult time for me and my family. And, it has had a very direct impact on both my writing career and my art career. I am hoping that as time goes on, things will become easier.

For now, please bear with me. I will get back to writing again soon.