Art Chowder November | December 2017, Issue 12 | Page 12

Art Chowder: What do you think you’ll
dabble in next?
Andy: I’d like to dabble in metal sculp-
ture. We’ve done some already. We have
these Texas Longhorn cattle, and my son
wanted to make a longhorn skull. We cut
and welded all these little plates together
and it turned out really cool. It’s sitting
out on a truck of mine, and I love it.
I’d also like to learn how to do acrylic
abstracts.
Art Chowder: Do you have a process?
Andy: I mostly work from photos. Many
times I’ll use multiple photos and blend
them into one painting. I lay the scene
using Photoshop; I compose the picture,
play with colors, and once I have it the
way I like it, I print it out, sketch, and
paint it from there.
Art Chowder: I hear that you’re an art show
pro—a “King of the Canopies.” Do you
have any advice for artists just starting
out “on the circuit”?
Andy: Know your venue. Plan according-
ly. I’ve learned a lot over the years that
would be good to know before jumping
into this.
First, you need to know if your stuff
is good enough to get into the juried
shows. If not, don’t go that route. Do
something different. Start small. Go to
some farmers markets and see if your
stuff sells, and how much—then try
something bigger, some little artsy/craft-
sy shows. See how it goes. Grow into it
slowly.
Second, know what your venue can
support. Bringing prints and note cards
to a smaller show might not work very
well. In my experience, people will walk
in and pick up your beautiful $50 print
and say, “Oh, I want to buy this.” Then
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
"October Gold"
60 x 38” Oil on canvas
they’ll notice you have cards, drop your print and go, “Oh, honey look, we
can buy the $2 card instead!” I’d suggest selling cards in packs of eight. I’d
also sell them in a card shop elsewhere, not where they are going to com-
pete with my prints. I don’t even bring cards to larger shows.
Third, I’ve learned that people will stop and focus on something for only
a minute or two. If they walk into your booth, and you’re sitting there
painting, they will hang out for a few minutes to watch, then leave without
buying anything. You have to pay attention to your customers.
Some artists will wheel and deal with people to sell stuff, like a cheesy car
salesman. I don’t want to be that guy. I find what works for me is just to talk
to people. For example, a couple walks in.