REFLECTIONS OF NYC ARTEXPO TRIP, MARCH 2013

View of Manhattan from Yotel room

It's hard to believe that it was almost 3 weeks ago that my husband, David, and I arrived in New York City to get ready for the 2013 Artexpo on Pier 92! This was our second Artexpo (click here to read the blog post about Artexpo 2012). I was juried into the show again to exhibit my wildflower art. Artexpo NYC, which has been around for more than 30 years and is billed as the "world's largest fine arts trade show," includes both galleries and individual artists (in a special SOLO section) from around the world. A few weeks before the show I received some exciting news that I was one of four SOLO exhibitors chosen for four VIP spaces need the front entrance of the exhibition hall.

Since Pier 92 is a huge, long hall with 75,000 square feet exhibit space and hundreds of artists, this was an amazing honor. Over the course of the 4-day show, my exhibit of Wildflowers was the second booth seen by thousands of visitors! Here's a recap of the week...

Tuesday, March 19: Happy to be back in NYC!

At the Marketing Happiness event.

Having arrived early in the afternoon gave us time to get checked into Yotel. We enjoyed our stay there in 2012 so much that we decided to book it again. Through the Yotel Facebook page I had learned that they were hosting a free panel discussion Tuesday night on "Happiness Marketing" sponsored by Lead Dog Marketing. I was able to secure tickets for both of us. It was a great start to a wonderful week, giving David and I "food for thought" on so many levels. We followed that up with our first evening meal in NYC and though we were both tired from the travel, found it hard to sleep!

Wednesday, March 20: Set-up

David opening crate for setup

We arrived at Pier 92 early on Wednesday for set up. Our crate that we had shipped from Texas earlier in the month was already waiting for us in our booth and David went to work getting it ready to unpack while I began to plan the layout for the space. Once we got all of the paintings and exhibit materials out of the crate, we spent the rest of the day arranging and hanging the art. By the time we returned to the hotel we were exhausted but pleased with how the booth looked and after grabbing supper in Times Square retired for the evening.

Thursday, March 21: Trade Day

View from above

Admission to the opening day of the show was limited gallery owners, designers and other members of the trade. These are the people we come to Artexpo to meet! After getting invitations to exhibit in two galleries as a result of the 2012 Artexpo, we were excited about the prospects for 2013. And we were not disappointed! One of the first gallery owners we met Thursday morning expressed a lot of interest in my wildflowers but was reserving his comments until he walked the entire show. Within a few hours he returned to sit down and discuss adding my work to his gallery! After some follow up discussions I accepted the offer and am now happy to announce that I am the newest artists to be exhibiting in The Carol Schwartz Gallery of Philadelphia! Seven of my paintings are on exhibit there! I also had a nice visit on Thursday from another of my gallery owners that I had met at the 2012 Artexpo, Hashmat Farooqi of Paint Box Art and Frame, NYC. Hashmat shared some exciting news...that he was expanding and opening a new gallery in SoHo and that he wanted me to exhibit my art in the new space! Several more gallery owners expressed interest and I'll have more news in the weeks and months to come. All in all, a very successful first day!

Friday, March 22: First Open the Public Day

Visiting with Bob and Gail.

While Friday was the first day that the public could attend, we still saw a lot of gallery owners, including Bob and Gail, owners of Robert Paul Galleries of Stowe, Vermont. This is the other gallery representing my work as a result of them seeing my work at the 2012 Artexpo. Last fall I was included in a couple of "meet-the-artists" events at their gallery, which gave David and I the opportunity to see Vermont in full autumn color and spend some time with Bob and Gail (click here to read the blog entry on that visit).

Saturday, March 23: And the Crowds came!

Traffic increased with each passing day!

This was, by far, the busiest day of the show. Thousands of art lovers came through the doors, browsing through the art and talking with the artists. Some people come to buy, however most come to look, to get ideas and to make contacts for future purchases. For many, my wildflowers were a true show-stopper, causing people to slow down and enjoy a much-needed burst of Spring color! During the show I posted photos to Facebook and my sister commented that everyone was dressed in black. When I went back and looked, I saw what she meant. I think that's why my colorful wildflowers had such a powerful impact. Since Spring had not reached Manhattan yet (it snowed before we arrived and we saw flurries on the day we left), they were in dire need of the emotional recharge of the refreshing colors of my wildflower art!

Sunday, March 24: Last day and more good news!

Newest collectors!

The final day of any show is probably the most difficult. Everyone is tired and the reality of packing up in a few hours is looming. But it is also exciting since it's the last chance for collectors looking to buy. While our primary purpose is to make contacts, we do, of course, love to make some sales at the show! By Sunday afternoon we were pleased to have one of my large paintings, "Wild Passions," leave with a happy couple from New Jersey where it is now a part of their home and their life. Once the show closed we began to dismantle the booth. We had made arrangements for two shipments to go straight from Artexpo to my galleries. The rest was put back in the crate and labeled for return to Texas. That night we had our last supper in NYC at a wonderful little diner we found earlier in the week. On Monday morning we prepared to leave NYC but not before we took one more walk. With light snow flurries and a stiff wind reminding us that it was still winter in New England, David and I braved the two long blocks to get some locally roasted coffee I stumbled upon early in this trip. We savored New York once last time before we had to check out of Yotel, head for the airport and catch our flight home to Texas.

Want to see more photos from my NYC trip? Visit my Facebook Artist page and view the Artexpo 2013 album I've created.