In March of 2019, I received a phone call that I will never forget. After exhibiting at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo for over 10 years, they called me and asked if I would like to be the featured artist for their 2020 show. Since SEWE is probably the most prestigious wildlife art show in the world, I was stunned and very excited. But soon, the excitement became mixed anxiety about preparing for the show and making the best of the opportunity I had been given. This is an article about preparing for a fine art exhibition.

This is the first of a series of posts discussing preparing for a fine art exhibition. My hope is you will find this information beneficial for your exhibitions. Please bear in mind I will be using painting as an example, but these ideas apply to most any form of artwork.

Is the Show Right for You?

Make sure it’s the right type of show for the style, subject, and price range of your work. An offering of low-priced craft items will establish a low-price mentality in the minds of the attendees. It’s very difficult for anyone to seriously consider buying your $5,000 oil painting when the person in the next booth is selling Santa Clause gourds for $5.

Preparing for a Fine Art Exhibition by Planning Your Work

Your next consideration should be to figure out how much work do you need to bring? Size will affect quantity. Larger paintings consume more wall space; therefore, you don’t need to come up with as many ideas. However, you must consider your market. Will the clientele be willing or able to buy large works, or is it the type of crowd that is more willing to purchase smaller/lower-priced work? If this is your first time at the show, try contacting some artists who have previously exhibited there, or you may even ask the show’s organizers for advice. Bear in mind that you may get varied responses depending on the artists’ experience and attitude, and some show organizers, in order to get a booth fee and nice photos, will brag up the event no matter how poor attendance has been historically. Look for consistency in the responses you receive, or better yet, if possible, attend the show as a visitor and take note of attendance and sales.

Check Your Inventory

Do you have enough paint, canvas, and stretcher bars? What about frames? Some wholesale framers will run out of inventory, and custom framers need more time, so order early if possible. Painting in standard sizes will make this easier. One strategy I implement is to paint my larger and/or custom-sized pieces first so there is more time to get the frames made. The smaller/standard size works (with the exception of studies for larger paintings) I save for last since it’s easier to obtain frames for those pieces. Do you have enough framing hardware and frame wire or any other framing materials you will need? Order these items in advance so you are not having a panic attack the day before you leave for the show (I’ve been there).

Preparing for a Fine Art Exhibition by planning a Showstopper

A good strategy, especially if this is your first time at the show, is to paint at least one large show-stopper. This will be your best idea and hopefully your best painting. This large work will be your highest priced item which will set the stage for your more reasonably priced smaller works. But most importantly, it will draw people into your booth. Another strategy that I often implement is to do smaller studies for my larger works and bring those studies to the show. This does several things: doing studies will ensure that your large piece turns out well, people who like the large painting but cannot buy it will have the option to buy the smaller study, and it gives your booth a look of consistency. You may be thinking that some people will look negatively on having multiple works of the same idea in your booth, but in my experience, people rarely notice the similarities until I point it out to them. Just make sure that your smaller studies are worthy of being displayed.

Marketing Materials

Final considerations for preparing for a fine art exhibition. Do you need to update your business cards and/or brochures? Will you have enough for the show? Places like Vistaprint make it very easy to design and print nice cards and brochures at a reasonable price. Just make sure you place your order at least several weeks prior to the show. Do you have a sign-up book? Did you update your website with new images and updated pricing? If anyone is interested in your work it is almost guaranteed that they will visit your website, perhaps even while standing in your booth. Make sure everything is consistent. Also, have images of your work (unframed preferably) on your phone or mobile device. If someone expresses interest in your work but give the classic Terminator line, “I’ll be back,” try to get them to sign up in your book, then send them a text and/or email of the painting they were looking at with the title, size, price, and a friendly message.

Go to Part Two which will deal with transporting and hanging your work. To see my artwork, visit www.JasonTako.com and visit my YouTube channel.

Jason Tako is a nationally known fine artist who specializes in western, wildlife, plein air, and Historical Native American subject matter. He spent his learning years sketching the wetlands and wooded areas of rural Minnesota. He has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and Western Art Collector Magazine and he was the Featured Artist for the 2020 Southeastern Wildlife Expo. See his work at www.JasonTako.com and his demonstrations on his YouTube Channel.