I'm in a Gallery!

"Home Again, Home Again" Isn't Home Any More

Those of you who have been following this blog and my career know that I've been planning to find and approach a gallery for representation of my work for awhile. It's actually a little ridiculous that I haven't done this long before now. Instead, I've been happily representing myself and enjoying talking to and cultivating clients directly. But ... the do-it-yourself approach will not help me achieve my loftier career goals... which I'm determined to meet.

So, on Tuesday I packed up husband Randy's van (my vehicle is a mess) with lots of paintings and headed off to Richmond to meet with a gallery owner I had contacted. He was interested in my restaurant paintings -- so I brought lots of those -- plus threw in some still lifes for good measure. My thought was that I would show him some of what I had and hopefully he'd want to try out a couple in the gallery... at some point.

Well, that's not the way it worked. I brought in one, and he loved it. Then, I brought in three more. Then three more. Then three more. I ended up with ten in the gallery and he wanted them all! I was flabberghasted.

I left with an empty van, a piece of paper listing my ten pieces, and a bad case of anxiety -- It felt just like dropping off my daughter at college the first year. What had I done?

It made matters worse that two of the paintings I meant to just show (not leave) were being carefully considered by a client for purchase and that I was planning to include my restaurant paintings in a show in Alexandria next week. Wow. Life was getting complicated.

I know that everything will work out okay. I'll figure out another group of paintings for the upcoming show. This gallery is where my work should be and they will represent it incredibly well.

More on the gallery, what pieces you'll find there, why I chose them ... to come.

"Home Again, Home Again", 30"h x 40"w, oil on linen, copyright Jill Banks 2008.