At the beginning of the month I took part in my second ‘ Open Studios Waitakere’

This year I decide to do a bit more preparation and made a few plans. The previous year I’d noticed that a few times I was talking to a couple of people in the main area and another couple would come in, have a quick look around and then leave even though they might have chatted if they’d found me alone.

So I decided to make more use of the tiny office area next to my studio that visitors have to walk through. I hung up finished paintings with labels on the wall ( first time to do this) and I put out a sign-up sheet for my newsletter and to win a fine art print of one of my sold paintings. I also put some small paintings on paper , which were in clear bags for people to flip through.

In both rooms I decided to add some text because if you’re like me, when you look at art , you want to know the story behind the paintings or the artist. So I put up a short bio and also a description of my painting process. Certain people went around reading everything but others didn’t notice the text and came to ask me about my process instead.

I also made sure that I displayed some works in progress as well as some finished pieces. I put some of my paintings on paper in frames because I think it helps people see how the art would look in its end state - hanging on a wall.

Although I prepared much more, the night before I woke throughout the night with anxiety, having dreams where people turned up and I was still in bed and i hadn’t tidied my studio.

Taking part in an open studios event At HOME

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For me, doing open studios gives me an opportunity to connect with a real life audience.

Working alone in a home studio, I don’t get to see reactions to my work or have many conversations about it. Answering people’s questions helps me to articulate my ideas in a way that is different to just writing things down. I realised that when talking about my inspiration, I find I’m searching for particular words, so I need more practice speaking in a more concise way.

It was good to meet other artists that visited. You get a feeling that people are artists from the questions they ask or the way they are looking at things and there’s a kind of excitement once you realise you can ‘talk shop’ . I enjoyed talking about studio spaces - they’re never big enough, comparing the best places to get framing done, recommending art books, and how to fix paintings to the wall when painting.

Some of the most memorable conversations for me were with people who weren’t currently making art and were missing the creative side of their lives. With other life commitments they were finding it hard to fit it in and didn’t know where to begin - but knew they needed to. I’ve been in that position myself so I could identify with that feeling and I hope that I was able to give them a few ideas to start off. I really want other people to find the happiness I have from rediscovering making.

Sometimes visitors told me - “Yours is the studio I most wanted to visit in the brochure” and I could see their eyes light up when they came into the main room with all the colour. I’ll admit that it felt good, better than getting likes on social media.

Do you see anything in the green painting?

Some people would have only visited because I was the next one on the map on their way to another studio. Not everyone was interested in non representational painting. I found it interesting to hear people a few people pointing out things they could see in this green painting above.

One person saw a man at a computer desk on the left , a musician saw a person playing a piano. On the right another person pointed out a tree and another a bird with a long tail. One visitor saw a whole city scene with high rise buildings , pointing out different corners and streets. It’s interesting how sometimes the eyes search for meaning in abstract work.

So while the best thing about partcipating in Open Studios is the connections, the chance to sell some art is a definite positive bonus.

I made sure that I had lots of smaller, affordable artworks available that people could buy, perhaps on impulse.

This year I added prices to my paintings on the walls because I know I always want to know how much things cost if I’m browsing.

But by mid morning a small group were just leaving after chatting for a while and one of the women as she walked out the door asked

- “Are any for sale? “

..... Ah, so I hadn’t made it obvious that my paintings were actually for sale. I think I had been too subtle with my little pricing labels - Just as I am when posting on instagram, not wanting to be too sales-ey .

So in a quiet moment I made larger signs with a sharpie on coloured paper and a sign saying “ Art for sale at studio prices” I was pleased to make a few sales over the weekend and meet some people who intend to get back in touch about larger paintings. I know that for larger paintings people usually need time. Time to consider a space, talk with a partner, and decide whether now is the time to treat themselves. This is why I like to do a newsletter so that if a painting stays in someone’s mind they can find me by checking their inbox.

At the end of the two days of open studios, I felt tired but really happy. I wrote down all the questions I was asked in my notebook before I forgot .I think that I am going to answer these here on my blog maybe I could do one a week?

If you couldn’t make it to open studios and have a question I’d love to hear it and try to answer.

Studio visits by appointment

**…until next year**

Open Studios Waitākere is an annual weekend event involving 40 artist studios. You can find out about all the artists involved, a map and interviews on the Open Studios Waitākere website click here