Beehive Marketplace

On Friday I attended the Beehive Marketplace in Kosciusko, MS.  The good part of the day included a wonderful old Presbyterian church where we displayed our wares.  I carried about 28 paintings and sold two.  It is amazing, really, that when you carry paintings out to sell, you think you know which ones will sell.  Then some of the others, that you just added to the stack, are the ones that sell.  You never can foretell.  In fact, the ones that sold were not my newest ones, but ones that had been admired by customers for years but never sold until now.  So I was happy.  The less-good part of the day was the torrential rain driving home in the dark for ninety minutes.  I was worried and exhausted but I got home safely.  No more out of town shows this year.  On the other hand, I will be in my Miss. Artists Guild show in December at Spectacles. 

Carroll County Festivals

Today I visited two festivals, one in Carrollton, MS and one in North Carrollton.  There were about twenty-five festival booths of arts and crafts and food.  The day trip is about two hours' drive north of my house.  It was a heritage festival, with several historic buildings from the early 1800's.  I took several photos of the town.  Lunch was street food.  Enjoyable change from my usual autumn trips. 

Big Black River Arts Festival

Mid-September I entered this event in West, MS.  Getting up and driving out at 4 a.m. is all right when the weather is clear and dry.  I had about twenty paintings in boxes.  Luckily my space was under a shed, so there was some covering.  I was happy to sell four paintings: one each of oil, acrylic, ink, watercolor.  The largest was a 16"x20" clayboard acrylic of horses in a pasture.  Smaller ones were of cows, an autumn tree, and an ink fancy letter.  Now I have been invited to an event in Kosciusko in November, which I may enter.  It was a happy day in September for me. 

Old School Art Festival

Last weekend I traveled to enter this festival in Carthage, MS.  It was held in the closed school that was built in 1938 and closed in early '80's.  This town is a busy one, with many successful businesses, and some fine houses off the main highway.  I do happen to know some people in the area.  So I entered about 18 paintings in the indoor show, and I was happy to sell one.  It was an acrylic unframed painting of a barn.  I did not know the customer, so much the better.  Actually the people I know in the area did not really appear.  So what.  Maybe I will return to this show someday, but probably not next year.  Now I am deciding on what events to attend for the autumn season.   

Trip to Tunica

This month I took sixteen paintings to the Crooked Letter Art Gallery in Tunica, MS.  It is south of the casino area below Memphis.  The weather had cleared up, and my drive of four-plus hours was safe.  I did get lost a few times hunting for the motel, however.  The town has historic buildings on its Main Street, including the Hollywood Cafe, where I ate lunch one day.  The trip was very pleasant and a welcome change from my office temp spring.  The crops are beginning to grow up, and one can see long vistas of space along the roads.  In two months or so I will return there. 

Ridgeland Renaissance Arts Festival

Today I visited this arts festival which is held every spring in the shopping area a few miles from my house.  It is located on I-55 north of Jackson, MS.  It had dozens of booths of fine paintings and crafts.  My favorites were the ink/oil wash paintings, the metallic sculptures, and the glass wall art.  There were many booths of jewelry and some other crafts, plus many booths of paintings.  Most of the artists were from out of town, out of state.  It was interesting to see so many styles of painting, in particular. 

Travel Local

This month, since it is not yet spring, I have visited an art show in nearby Jackson.  The show I visited was Plein Air Artists, and I went to the reception.  I know some of the members.  They presented their small, usually 8"x10", oil paintings mostly, and next to them, the larger studio piece created from them.  There was a large crowd of 50-60 visitors, and it was quite lively.  The paintings were of buildings, such as barns, and old dilapidated towns, and boats and nature scenes.  Most presented were instate scenes.  I do know that some of the members travel abroad occasionally.  It was quite an excellent show.  I have done some plein air painting myself, but I wouldn't wish to do it often.  Still I admire those who do so.