Hannum Road - Hannibal, NY

Wandering around internet map sites can lead to interesting discoveries. My family traces part of its heritage back to Upstate New York, in Fulton and nearby towns. One town over, in Hannibal, NY, there's a Hannum Road. There's a good chance the road was named after some distant relative of mine - perhaps a farmer who owned the property in that area - but that story is probably now lost to time. Here, we see this rural road in fall beneath the waning light of day.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

An Art Gallery Visit

On Friday, I visited a local art gallery (Benfield Art Gallery) to learn what it would take to be represented there, and it was an interesting experience. A few things I learned:
- As expected, the art market is rather saturated, even in fine arts. Considering how few people actually buy fine art for their homes, this market situation is not surprising.
- Art galleries in bigger cities (Baltimore, Annapolis, etc.) have greater reach and more customers, but also tend to cater to better known artists, with even more competition to be represented there.
- Representation can happen if you catch people's eyes during open shows, which happen once, maybe twice, a year. Still, you need a resume of sorts regarding artistic achievements and such to be considered by art galleries. (This illustrates the importance of an internet presence, where there are fewer barriers to entry.)
- Pricing for framed watercolors on paper that are comparable to my works typically range from $200 to $450. Lesser known artists charge prices at the lower end, of course.

So, while they liked my work, there is still a process involved to even be considered for representation, but the visit was still worthwhile. I recommend that any artist who's looking to sell their work visit a local gallery since it is a good way to learn more about the art market. Pricing examples in particular are worth the visit since there's almost no good information on the internet about that topic.