My Chelsea experience at Parallax Art Fair!

Parallax Art Fair at Chelsea Town Hall

Phew! The Parallax Art Fair last weekend was amazing! And exhausting! It poured on Friday evening, which made transporting watercolours treacherous, especially since parking was almost impossible - even the local NCP was packed.

Lizzy,still putting up paintings
at the private view!

Squeezing into a tiny Pay & Display spot around the corner, Max and I had only an hour to get everything into Chelsea Town Hall and to put up all the paintings in my designated exhibition area.

Two hours later we were still at it! I'd prepared a scaled drawing of the space but the paintings seemed to hang higher than expected. I wasn't the only artist who discovered this. With no time to re-hang, I believed my pictures couldn't be viewed at their best :(

Lizzy with cousin Graham Barker & art agent, Celia Purcell

With no time to make adjustments, Max and I dashed for the car. Thankfully the place we were staying was nearby. With less than an hour to get ready for the evening's private view I wondered if I could possibly make it in time. Somehow I did it, fishnets, high heels and all, and we cabbed it back to Chelsea Town Hall arriving just a few minutes late.

As my hair frizzed in the heat and humidity of the exhibition space, something I'd have to get used to over the next two days (take a portable fan if you're attending Chelsea Town Hall, people!), I wondered anew if exhibiting at Parallax was such a sensible idea. 

Sandra Blaz, interested in a future commission

Then the lovely London art agent Celia Purcell came walking towards me, wide smile on her face, and I relaxed. I'm always pleased to see her because she's particularly enthusiastic about my 'quirky style'. She loved my exhibited drawing of ‘Notre Dame’ and wants me to paint more for inclusion in her own exhibition nearer Christmas! Celia, I will, I will!

Saturday - before the rush!

Over the two days of the Art Fair many lovely guests from around the world visited my stand and YES! On Saturday I sold my painting, ‘Girl on a Motorcycle’. That made the event for me! The cute watercolour references the 1960s, Vespa scooters and Marianne Faithfull in 'Girl on a Motorcycle' and has long been one of my personal favourites.

Lizzy with Bruce Withington in his Chelsea garden, with 'Girl on a Motorcycle' - SOLD!

Bruce, who purchased the piece, had bought his son Ollie along to the Art Fair. It was Ollie who spotted the painting and wanted it for his bedroom wall. Ollie also happens to be the name of a character in ‘Made In Chelsea’ and I told Bruce how I adored the programme and would love to have my own Chelsea experience. Just like that Bruce invited Max & I to his Chelsea home for Pimm's & strawberries! What a great guy!

Loving my Chelsea experience and totally star-struck (Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys' fame lives a few doors down the road) Bruce took us on to the Phoenix Geronimo Inn, which also features in ‘Made in Chelsea’, where he treated us to cocktails. This fabulous chap gave me my own wonderful Chelsea experience, so thank you Bruce, you're an art lover, thoroughly lovely man and a star!

Parallax Art Fair underway and already there are lots of visitors

Plenty to see & much to talk about!

Artist Bozena Czyz with her work

A closer look

So much to take in across Chelsea Town Hall

Heading home

Silent contemplation. Will she, should she?

See you at Chelsea Town Hall for Parallax Art Fair, next weekend!!

Have been SO BUSY getting pictures ready for Parallax next weekend! The Art Fair in Chelsea Town Hall next Saturday & Sunday is a huge event and it's wonderful to be exhibiting in London again!

Parallax is a huge craft fair with work of a very high calibre and I was dead chuffed to be allowed to be a part of it this year. It means I'll meet lots of new artists and have my work seen by a big, new audience. Which will hopefully mean sales!!

See Lizzy & her work at Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London on 26 & 27 July

As much fun as exhibiting is, for an artist showing work is about building visibility & reputation but primarily about selling. Only a few years ago I'd get so excited about having my work on display that I'd forget what I was there for and miss sales opportunities through sheer inexperience. No longer!

The business of displaying pictures at exhibition is a minefield one enters with caution! Where a picture is selected by a gallery it is hung where and how the gallery or show curator wants it seen. If it ends up tucked in a corner near the floor, well, that's life. Being accepted to have space at an art fair is quite different.

Chelsea Town Hall - Parallax Art Fair venue, London

Despite having to have one's work evaluated, an art fair is more about selling that a gallery or exhibition. One pays to take a space which one is then told how to fill. Sometimes the requirements are precise; all works will be fixed with mirror plates, or be no less than 10cms apart, for example. This keeps the overall appearance consistent, as in a gallery. And it pays to obey the rules since pictures look so much better when displayed well.

This time I'm taking Max along with his trusty drill & spirit level! As befits a one-time photographer, Max is great at detail. With Max in charge of hanging, pictures are positioned EXACTLY as planned! And credit where it's due, while I'm busy getting anxious, Max always makes a great job of the business end of exhibitions.

Inside Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London

For Parallax I've bought a couple of little display units for the postcards commissioned by Visit Leicester, which I still feel are among my best work. Those too can now be displayed to best advantage. And at the suggestion of a friend among my bits and pieces I'm taking Tippex to cover mirror plate screw heads. Plus ready-mounted replacement pictures so that sales don't result in unemployed exhibition space. My attitude really has changed!

However, once the exhibition closes I shall still enjoy the nightlife London has to offer. I'm sure there will be photos of the weekend to share with you in due course..!

I do hope I'll see many of my readers at Chelsea Town Hall on 26 & 27 July - it's going to be an excellent event and I'm already excited! There will be LOTS to see and while I hope you make the most of the quality art & craft works on offer, please don't be a stranger; make yourself known and come have a chat. I'm looking forward to meeting you at Parallax next weekend!

Last of the new white hot motors

A great fit for A Right Royal Street Party inside the 'last of the new white hot motors'!

Having NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the fact that my paintings of increasing size no longer fit inside our old car, Max put his foot down with a firm hand and insisted we buy a new one!
I was worried we might end up with a van but Max knows a thing or two and our wonderful new car is white and shiny and has lots of interior space, as you can see, even if I do feel a little guilty about it. 

Max: There's even room for dismantled piano accordions in the back!

Next week I may be permitted to drive the new car when we take A Right Royal Street Party to try out for another major art exhibition. Hoping this one will be a better match to my painting style.  
More soon :)