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How Does an Artist Get Ready for a Major Tour of a Studio?

Serious artists often participate in studio tours or host one by themselves. There must be any number of issues to anticipate when you're planning your set-up. What does it take to ready your studio for a tour?

   Sidney Oliver 

Sid, you are right, it takes a whole lot of effort to participate in a studio tour.

Since I live in Rappahannock County, VA, I am able to participate in an annual art tour comprised of visitors from at least a one hundred mile radius driving around the beautiful county stopping in to see all of the artists in their natural habitat. For the artists, it's an extremely fun, profitable, and exhausting two days. The old Washington School in the county seat of Washington or Little Washington, Virginia displays the work of every participating in a gallery setting. That way the guests get an idea of which studios they want to see.

3 of the 4 works I had on display at the Washington School weekend gallery. The 19 refers to my studio number this year.

Above a map is given to each person who pays $10 to go on the tour.

Knowing that this occurs each first weekend in November, I pretty much plan for it all year. If I do a painting I think might go well in the school gallery space, I'll make a note of which one. Regardless, I still wait until the last minute to make a final decision. Usually, three paintings are allowed, but a 4th was added this year. One always wants to show one's best work in this lovely display area.

Nest of Lichen was my 4th painting on display

The paintings for the school display are taken several days in advance to give the skilled volunteers time to properly hang each painting to its best advantage. This tour is not just for painters, so pedestals are brought in to display other forms of art.

Studio schedules for my helpers are made in advance. I seem to need one person who is responsible only for using the Square apparatus and for ticking off the numbers of people coming through the door. A separate person is a greeter, while another is a floater. My job is to bounce around speaking with as many people as possible.

Back at the studio, I frantically try to straighten, clean, hang, clear out needless items of furniture, and move things around which will allow for an uncomplicated flow through the studio.

The most difficult part of the entire ordeal is the pricing. Naming is sometimes hard, but it pales in comparison to the pricing, which is more of a feel than anything as pricing paintings are loosely based on a variety of factors. Once priced, I enter the titles, prices, and photographs on the Square apparatus that takes care of charging, taxes, etc. I go back and double-check everything and then I type out the labels and affix the labels to cards which I then affix with adhesive to the closest thing to the previously hung paintings. Again, I check that the labels and the information on Square are identical.

Now for the real fun of hanging the paintings, which can be quite entertaining when one feels inspired and not so much when one doesn't. I have developed a theory that one doesn't hang like-minded paintings in a grouping as one would do if one were decorating a house. Groupings look too good, too comfortable. They do not jar the potential client out of the complacency of being just an onlooker. One needs to keep the potential client's interest. One needs to lead the eye, but one doesn't need to calm the eye. Hanging in a museum or in one's house might entail a different theory, but this theory I have developed does tend to go against instinct.

How and why did I develop this theory? The gist is that I painted quite a few 6X8" paintings of hay bales in my hayfield. I hung them in a grouping in quite a few shows with no sales. In a desperate attempt, I realized the problem might be that viewers had a difficult time differentiating between them, so I interspersed them with large unrelated paintings. They sold. My unsolicited advice, which I rarely if ever give, is to resist the urge to group similar items in a display meant for selling.

Below are some photographs of my set-up in my studio. This is not worthy of a museum, but I think the visitors aren't looking for that. They like a little chaos. 

I hide the kitchen area with shutters and screens.

I block off the back storage area with an easel and painting.

It is a busy look, but I have to wisely use each inch of space.

Fabric is used often to hide unsightly items.

Flowers are used to create an atmosphere of warmth.

In the foreground, magazines and museum booklets with sections on me are laid out for perusal. Some whimsical matted works are laid out on the drafting table. On the top right, you can see that a stair railing is used as an aid to hang paintings. A book by my son is even displayed to the left.

A painting is temporarily hung on the porch.

I liked that idea so much that I'm going to try to figure out a way to use some outdoor paint to permanently feature something like this.

Before opening, a fire is lit. It's a nice fit for a slightly cool day in the lower fifties.

The doors are open at 10 am and until 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, the studio is flooded with people.

Visitors are allowed to try their hand at using a palette knife.

A myriad of fun people appears to turn a workday into a day full of fun.

At the end of the weekend, debriefing occurs as to what to improve for next year. As the numbers were counted, I think close to 400 people came to the studio over a 2-day period. With no major glitches, with plenty of paintings sold at the studio and at the gallery, and with some stimulating conversation, the effort proved to be more than worthwhile. My only request for next year is for a new pair of feet.

As you can see, I do...

Enjoy the process!

   Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver. 

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Copyright 2019 Ruthie Windsor-Mann All Rights Reserved