Sold!

Holy cow — I sold my first piece of watercolor art to a stranger this week. Woo-hoo! Of course I’m pleased, but also somewhat surprised and also somewhat bummed.

My friend Karen Stillwagon is an amazing artist; she has a degree in art and has done fantastic drawings and paintings for years. By comparison, I’ve only been doing watercolors for a little more than a year. The prices on her works are higher — she has the experience and techniques down to back up her prices and make the investment in her art a true investment. I expect her pieces to be in fine galleries across the country in the years to come.

On the other hand… my art is new, young. I don’t have the education or experience and although I hope my art becomes worth something in the long run, it’s hard to say whether that will happen. I have a lot of learning to do and I’m not getting any younger.

We had the opportunity to hang our works at Evergreen Court in North Bend, an independent retirement facility. I hung most of my stuff on one wall, Karen on the opposite wall. She also had several bigger works she hung in other parts of the common area as well.

My pieces are all relatively small – 14 x 16 is the largest. Most are 8 x 10s or 9 x 12s, with a couple 5 x 7s thrown in. I priced mine fairly low, given my background, the size of the art and knowing the economy here on the southern Oregon coast.

It was the 5×7 of jellyfish, painted on Aquabord, that sold. I had a price of $40 on it, so I didn’t make a lot, but it was a piece that took me less than an hour to do.

So while I’m happy one of mine sold, I’m bummed Karen didn’t sell any — yet. Our exhibit will be up until the end of August, so there is a lot more time. I’m confident someone will recognize her talent and want to have her art hanging front and center in their living room.