This year to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West a group of 14 artists got together and held an exhibition to add to the attraction of an open garden and a chance to peek into a grand Victorian house. My paperback had just come out the week before, so I was able to sell some signed copies, making a donation for every copy sold.
Hospice supporters came to make refreshments and collect the entrance money, and run a raffle. In spite of clashing with jubilee events and poor weather, 11 paintings were sold, and numerous plates of tea and cake were consumed, prizes won, and a healthy sum of £780 was collected for the Hospice.
Now it is all over we can only wonder why some artists had more appeal than others. Did finances, or colour co-ordination and home décor play a part in influencing their choices? Did style or the frame make the difference between selling and not selling?
Who knows? But the group are likely to continue to paint in the hope that one day the right buyers will present themselves.
The dilemmas faced by artists are not dissimilar to those writers face. Will our choice of genre increase or decrease the potential number of readers for our books? How many writers will allow that to influence what genre they chose?
Surely it does. I see so many people now flooding the YA market because of the success of Twilight. I don’t wanna be just another author who jumps on the bandwagon of what’s popular. I certainly sit in a niche genre but, so what? I had a story to tell and I did it. I wish more people would do the same. Oversaturate a market and you’re less likely to get noticed in the fray. WRITE ON!