Affordable Art Fair

The Affordable Art Fair is over again for another year and in spite of the uncertain economic climate, we all at Half Moon Studio sold well.
To be honest though, one of the the nicest things about doing the fairs is the contrast – after the comparative isolation of the studio, it makes a change to get out and meet so many of our customers, some of whom come year after year to see us (you know who you are and thank you !).
As usual, though, things went a little awry.
The stand had the store cupboard put in the wrong place and we had to wait around for a precious hour or two until it could be re-built.
I forgot to take any photos – not a single one – which is a bit of a pain. Hopefully someone else will have some I can use.
There were a few (okay, a lot) of unscheduled trips back to the studio to pick up things accidently left behind and things we didn’t know we’d need.
And I had the very special treat of some last-minute re-framing. I don’t know what I was thinking but I’d written the title down on one batch of prints as Winter Equinox instead of Winter Solstice. As it was a brand new linocut, I was really tempted to just leave it as Winter Equinox – it seemed easier than having to open up three frames to change the name. That was, until it was pointed out that you only get the equinox over the Equator, and never over London Bridge Station….

Still, you have to look on the bright side – nothing will ever be as bad as the year we went to the Buy Art fair in Manchester, and managed to leave half the work behind
It was only when the van got to Manchester and the work was unloaded that you could see that something didn’t look right.
But before it could be figured out what that was, the mobile rang. A kindly member of Artichoke, the studio upstairs, was ringing to find out why so much of Half Moon’s work had been going up and down in the lift all day….

Affordable Art Fair

Another year comes and goes and here we are again – the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park is looming.
Oh yes, it’s mayhem in the studio as we all try to get our last minute editioning done, work out a hanging plan and rush out to the framers with last minute orders….
Anyway, as usual, I have a few free tickets for either the Charity PV evening (Wednesday 20th October) or the Gala PV evening (Thursday 21st October). The tickets will also get you in for free at any other time if you can’t make it that night.
Email me if you’d like one – first come, first served, of course….

Glasgow Art Fair

Glasgow Art Fair is upon us and the studio is mostly a hive of activity – we can hardly move for bubble wrap, frames and piles of prints everywhere.
Speaking personally, I like to leave everything to the last minute and will most probably give myself a nervous breakdown instead….
Anyway, I have a limited number of tickets for the Private View on Wednesday 24th March 6.30-9.00 or the Corporate View on Thursday 25th March 7.00-9.00 if anyone would like one ( the tickets admit two). Just email me with your details if you’re interested….

The Fine Art of Art Fairs

An art fair is a peculiar place to spend a week, especially when you’re only used to working in a cold, uninviting studio for months on end. The inhabitants of Half Moon Studio tend to emerge slowly into the bright lights and bustle of art fairs, with their unsettling mixture of nail-biting tension and ennui.

On the one hand, there’s nothing like the buzz you get from completing a sale (especially when it’s your work) but on the other hand, there are long stretches, especially during the week days, when nothing much happens.

I find it hard to keep looking alert and interested for hours at a time but then again I don’t want to look too desperate. In my experience, visitors really don’t want to feel that they have to buy something before they can get out alive/leave the stand.

Also, forget trying to second-guess who is a serious buyer and who is ‘just looking’. You can spend what seems like hours with someone who looks ready to whip out their wallet at any moment, only to have them utter the dread words “I do a bit of painting myself, actually…” Meanwhile someone else has quietly come up behind you, with an armful of prints ready to buy.

Oh yes, it’s that time of year again – preparing for next months Glasgow Art Fair…..

Jags Art Fair


Three of us at Half Moon Studio- Susie Perring, Karen Keogh and myself- will be showing at the Jags Art Fair.
It’s open on Saturday 21st November 11-5 and Sunday 22nd November 11-4. Admission is £5 but will be offset against any purchases.
The address is James Allen Girls School, East Dulwich Grove, London SE22.
Image shown is Platform Two Westbound, Oil on Linen, £595

Paintings at Art Fairs


And here is my own work on display at the Affordable Art Fair. I sold three of the four little paintings shown on the right, which was very nice….
I only sell my paintings at our studio stands at the art fairs, as I’ve found it doesn’t make financial sense to sell them through the galleries. Unfortunately I would need to double the prices, to take into account the commission that galleries need to charge, or accept only half what I can get for them myself.
Luckily I paint so slowly that there are never any left over after the art fairs anyway…

New print – City of Gold

I showed a picture of a block I was working on back on August 24th – well, here is the finished print at last.
It is another view of London Bridge station and was a bit of a labour of love as it’s the biggest print I can produce on my press, coming in at 70cms x 40cms.
It will also be on show at the Affordable Art Fair priced at £250 unframed and £340 framed.
It’s called City of Gold, the idea being that London’s streets are paved with gold and as the print has lots of golden yellow in it, well….
I know, I surprise myself sometimes too.