February 17, 2010

 ACE Newsletter

Spotlighting Your Work

 by M Theresa Brown

Hi [[firstname]] 

Participating in both indoor and outdoor shows is a great way to connect with prospects and show your work.  In reality, you are  your own portable Art Gallery, bringing your work to people who often only see "live art" at such an event.

If you are at an outdoor show and it's a beautiful, sunny day with moderate temperatures, Mother Nature has given you an edge to spotlighting your work!
But what if you are at an indoor show? The fluorescent lights are 25 feet above your allotted 10 x 10 space. You are next to John Doe with his stained glass on one side, Jane Doe with her watercolors on the other side and a whole line of artists across and down the aisle.  There is a lot of nice art at the show. How are you going to attract attention to your work? In such an environment, with low wattage lights high above all the displays, the artist who took the time to study lighting and arrange his booth to its best advantage with lighting everywhere within the booth, will be the winner of the spotlight award!

Walk through an art show (or any show) at a civic center or school and your eye is immediately drawn to the brightest display. Without exception. If the artists on either side of you (or across the aisle) have lighting within their booths, people will walk right by your booth location.  They will not even see you.  Your display, the one that you thought "popped" with its beautiful art, expensive screens and comfortable flooring simply fades into the background of the overhead generic lighting. You have to spotlight your work for maximum visual appeal!

With today's CFL (compact fluorescent) and LED lighting*, an artist can arrange lights all over his booth without the prospect of blown fuses or heat producing problems.  Stylish clipon lights, swing arm lamps and even table top lighting provide an ambiance that will attract your buyers like moths to a flame, and induce them to linger. And that is the whole point. There is no such thing as too much lighting when an artist is paying money to display his art with the hopes of sales**.  There should be no dark corners in your booth.  Everything from hanging art to pottery looks better if it is spotlighted. Be proud of what you have created!

We buy  electricity at all shows if it is available-both indoor and out. Outdoor Commercial rented tenting is thick and can create a dark cave like feeling inside and the contrast from walking by on a sunny day and peering into gloom will keep a browser walking.  You need lights.  Our own tenting has a skylight to help the natural spotlighting process.  Plus, electricity will power not just your lighting, but  fans or heaters and further add to  the comfort of your browser.

Most artists, sitting within their booths, cannot see the contrast between their lack of lighting and the powerful lighting of another artist nearby.  But the buying public can! So at your next indoor show, invest in lighting and extension cords ahead of time and see what a difference it makes to your sales when you spotlight your work!

*We are often asked about "problems" caused by the color of CFL and other bulbs. The short answer is "Any light is better than no light" If no one sees your work it doesn't matter what type of light you are not using.

**Our indoor display of nine wall panels has 18 lights!