Hello friends, what a busy few months it has been! To give a quick summary, in May, I learned that my application to the 2019 Ruidoso Art Festival had been accepted. I was equal parts excited at being selected for what looked like a great event, and stressed when I considered everything I still had to complete before attending my first show. Without getting into the details it was a race to the finish! But in the end, display panels, lighting, transportation, lodging, prints, frames, materials and so much more was checked off the list one by one. At the same time, I was working late nights to try to produce new work for the show as well. To give an idea of the time crunch, I finished my last painting one day before leaving- it was still wet as I traveled to New Mexico, and I ended up varnishing and framing it mere minutes before the doors opened on the first day!
In the end, God blessed us, and all the time, energy, and effort paid off. I was able to sell four original paintings over the weekend, in addition to a large painting being claimed before I even left for the show! To top it off, that painting, “Gunnison Crossing”, took the 3rd place ribbon for oils and acrylics at the show. There is still a great deal I have to learn and need to improve as I go forward, and already I wish I could go back and correct some of the mistakes I made before the show. But we learn as we go, and for a first show I was incredibly encouraged and thankful for the outcome! Hopefully I will have more news to post about upcoming shows in the near future!
