Covington Art Fair

So, I was at the Covington Art Fair in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this past weekend.  How this little gem of an art show has not been on my radar before now, I have no idea!   Perfect show!  I will definitely be applying again.

Inquisitive, interested, well-heeled patrons, parking directly behind my booth, roomy enough to hang art on the sides, in a lovely, safe city.  Doesn’t get any better than that!

Video

This short video is a quick view of my booth at the show.

New Lighting System

I got a new lighting system from Propanels and a new battery generator from Bluetti and totally love it!  The Covington Art Fair was the first time using the new system and it passed with flying colors.

Track lights – ugh

For the past many years, I have used track lights and a deep cycle marine cell battery to light my booth, especially when using my dark gray Propanel walls.  I even had three sets of light bars that held the three tracks, one for each wall.  I either needed two batteries for a two day show or I needed to carry one back to the hotel at night to recharge.  And, weighing, 50+ pounds, that was no easy task.  The track lights were a real pain in the butt.  Being jostled along in the van driving to and fro a show, the tracks were tricky and took a lot of fussing to get them to work.  Sometimes they didn’t work at all.  In short, I really hated those lights.

Unique lighting system for shows

Thankfully, Propanels has come out with a new lighting system.  One guy told me that they created the light bars in response to requests for something to hold the track lights.  But, over the years, have learned that tracks are better for permanent installation, NOT mobile use.  So, they developed their own lighting system specifically designed for mobile use.

Since I already had their light fixtures (used with the tracks) and their LED bulbs, I just needed the bar to hold the fixtures.  Graciously, they said that if I sent in my fixtures, that they would rewire them for the new bar.  The new lights are permanently wired and plug directly into a socket.  In other words, you plug ’em in and they just WORK!   They gave me a discount for my fixtures and bulbs and said they would rewire for free.  So I mailed my fixtures to them to do that.

Bonus freebie!  Woo hoo!

Very quickly, I received back my new lighting fixtures all wired and ready to go.  And, much to my surprise, they included six new LED bulbs!  At no extra charge.  So they really did a great job and gave me a good deal.

Lightweight battery generator

And instead of a heavy, marine cell, battery, I got a lightweight, 21 pound, 712 watt hours, Bluetti battery generator.  No invertor needed.  And easy to carry in and out of a show to recharge.  If I want, I can add a solar powered charger.

Other artists were very interested in my new lighting system and came by to check it out.  I was very pleased with it’s first run at a show.  The extra light made the colors in the paintings really pop and many commented on the color and the sparkle of the paintings.

Booth with new lighting system

Stashed painting

So, one advantage of being able to park directly behind my booth is that it serves as a giant “closet” to store extra paintings and gear.  When a lady pulled a print out of the print rack and said, “I love this!”, I looked at the print to see what she was talking about.  And, amazingly, I had that painting stashed in the van.

Just framed and never exhibited

I had just framed the painting a few days prior and didn’t have room to hang it in my booth at the show.  In fact, the painting had never been hung on a wall or been exhibited anywhere.  I asked if she and her husband wanted to see the painting and they said, “yes!”.  So I pulled it out of the van and showed it to them.  After some thought, they decided to buy that painting.

Sharing the magic

While I am always thrilled when a collector wants to buy one of my paintings, there is always a twinge of sadness to let a painting go.  Especially a painting I never got to enjoy myself.  One of the things I love about doing shows is hanging new paintings and being able to enjoy them.  Being able to see the paintings and bask in the beauty of the scene, the vibrancy, the joy, the exquisite glory.  Soak it all in.  But, I can’t keep them all and they need to go out into the world to work their magic in other people’s homes and lives.

So, I let it go.  On it’s way to Connecticut now.  Turns out, Bobbie and Jeff’s 54th wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days and the painting will help them celebrate and commemorate the joyous event.

Inspiration

I am getting ready to start a new 36″ x 48″ or 30″ x 48″ painting and may use this plein air spring scene as the inspiration.

Overlooking Sciscoe Creek Valley, April 19, 2021

Original blog post about the painting

Overlooking Sciscoe Creek Valley, April 19, 2021

Upcoming

Stay tuned for a new, online exhibition of curated, summer paintings which will be available for purchase.  The exhibition will open, tentatively, July 11, 2023.  The show will feature paintings inspired by summer including 4th of July fireworks, the state and county fair, beach scenes, and summer forest woodlands.  Everything we love about summer!  Some new paintings and some from the vault.

I’ll let my VIPs know as soon as the online exhibit is up and running.  If you are not already a VIP, be sure to join!

That’s all for now!  Thanks for reading this far.  I know I packed a lot in.

I love you!

Happy trails,

Charlene