Helen Dean Art

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Artist’s open studios

November 14th and 15th

I’m excited to be taking part in this in person event

I’ll have lots of new paintings to show and a few works in progress . I am especially looking forward to meeting people as it’ll be the first in person event I’ve done this year - It’s always enjoyable to chat about art.

Open studios is a well attended and well organised event that included 80 studios all over the Waitakere region. You can find out about all the artists and studios as well as a handy map on the official Waitakere open studio’s site. It’s a good idea to pick a few and make a day or afternoon of it, stopping for a lunch somewhere like Deco.


new artworks

As well as the in person event I would like to do something online as well and thought I would share my tidy, visitor ready studio on facebook/ instagram by going live and also make my new mini paintings available. They are usually really popular and it’s nice to offer an affordable way of buying original art.

I went to an open studios event in Auckland City a few weeks ago and I enjoyed people’s spaces and asking questions and finding out about people’s process, where they got their frames made, how long they’ve been painting. I noticed no one had business cards, so I’ve made sure I’ve had some postcards to giveaway.

Another thing I looked out for, or listened out for was the kind of questions people asked. I’ve made a list of questions that often come up- This might be useful for artists doing open studios for the first time as it’s good to be prepared.

Questions for open studios

How do you begin your large paintings?

Do you decide what to paint before you start?

How long have you been painting?

What kind of paints do you use?

Which work is available?

Where do you get your frames made?

What’s your inspiration?

Is this your first time doing open studios?

I want to start painting again, do you have any advice?

Do you do commissions?

How do you sell your work?

Do you do prints?

How do you feel if people tell you they can see objects in your work?

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I hope to see you there,

If you can’t make it, I will post some updates on instagram and facebook between visitors.