Autumn Art Studios Tour Follow-up

Another Studios Tour has come and gone, and although I feel pretty beat by Monday, it's always a fun & enjoyable weekend. It's not just the weekend itself, but all the prep work leading up to it - getting art and merchandise ready, making some snacks, cleaning up the garage and setting up. I set up in the garage because my "studio" is one room of our 3 bedroom house that includes my office, computer station, painting & drawing table and way too much un-organized stuff - not suitable or very interesting for visitors! My "satellite studio" is our living room couch - I often sit there and work on scratchboard drawings while the TV drones in the background. Oh, how I'd love to have a real studio where I could have everything self-contained and totally functional, with lots of storage and wall space and a separate entrance for clients . . . someday perhaps. I've certainly drooled over some of the studios that my fellow artists have! But I make my set up work and I manage to crank out a lot of art.

I was trying to count the years and I believe this was my 8th consecutive year participating in the Tour. I had fewer visitors to my place this year than last (it was especially quiet on Sunday) - that's a bit disappointing, but I still had a good time. Those that do venture out are intrigued by my art and techniques and I have a great time sharing my thoughts and creative processes with them. Most of my sales come from existing clients and friends and family - always a good thing! I had a few visitors inquire about classes, so there's a bit of extended business down the road.

On the left is one of the originals I sold during the Tour: "Double Trouble", an ink on scratchboard drawing of 2 cats snoozing peacefully on the counter. One of my wonderful pet portrait clients purchased it. I created it to accompany a poem that appears in the November/December issue of Perspectives, a publication of the Arts Council of Placer County (the organization that sponsors the Tour). Click here to read the poem.

Well that's it for now, with the Tour over for another year, it's time to get going on the backlog of pet portraits that needs to be finished by Christmas!