Early Saturday morning I carefully tried to balance the menagerie of things I was carrying from my car on the east side of Woodland Park to my booth on the west side. It was quite a trek so I was determined to make it in one trip. There were my newly finished and framed paintings, my money bag, my purse, my snack back, my everything bag, and a couple of random bags along with my breakfast. The walk gave me an opportunity to check out some of the other artists. I was absolutely amazed at the artwork I saw.
Each booth seemed to get better and better. The quality of work just blew me away. Not only that, but their frames were very nice and their tent set ups were like something out of a museum. I saw many large scale paintings that were absolutely stunning. Beautiful colors and subjects that would draw you in. I thought of my paintings, they were all small, 5×7’s and 8×10’s. They weren’t like these grand pieces I was passing. That’s when I got that icky feeling in my stomach. A little voice in my head said, “You don’t belong here.” My feet got heavier the further I walked and the more I saw.
When I made it to my booth I unzipped it, shook the water off the canopy, said hello to the artists next to me, and got to work. There was art work to be hung, tables to to arrange, and I didn’t have time to worry about whether my art was good enough. So I tried to the best to not think about it, but that icky feeling was still there.
Before I could finish setting up people were coming into my booth to look at the paintings. It was still an hour before the show, but I welcomed them in and chatted. Within minutes I had my first sale. A couple of minutes later, another sale. Then another. I was so busy on the first day that I didn’t even get to sit down for several hours. People were coming into my booth and they liked my paintings. You would think that by now I would get used to that, but it still surprises me.
I had so much doubt starting the day. Doubt in the quality of my work, doubt in myself as an artist, and as a person. At the end of the day the walls of my booth were bare. They had bought nearly everything I had – ON THE FIRST DAY! I had to leave and go home to get more art and to paint more. Which, as far as problems go, is a good one to have.
I ended up having the BEST show since I started 3 years ago. My work, though not as big and grand as some of the others, was something that people could relate to, something that connected with them, and that they liked it. I had so much self-doubt that I questioned if I even belonged there. But now I can say that, yes, I belonged there.
And next year I will bring twice as much art. 🙂