June 23, 2025 - My Bad!
I have done it again - waited far too long to update my blog posts. Apparently, I didn’t update at all in 2024. For 2024, I did my usual assortment of car shows and Concours. Early in the year, (March) we started off with the Amelia Island Concours. They have shortened the name to just “The Amelia”. .We were in our usual location on the show field. This is a pretty expensive event to do, so I always sweat bullets until we have made some sales. This time, it worked out very well, as we sold 8 (Yes, EIGHT!) original water colors, plus a pretty good handful of prints. If we did that every time we go out, I would be worrying a lot less.
The rest of the year, we did the Auto Fair at Charlotte, the Keeneland Concours in Lexington, KY, the Eastern Fall Meet at Hershey PA, of course, and Ray Evernham’s annual Americarna Auction and Car Show on Thanksgiving weekend. The event is built around raising funds for Autism issues. For quite a few years now, I have been donating my services to do a commissioned painting of the winning bidder’s special car. Since I am never in a position to write large checks, this enables me to help them raise $$$ in a unique way. These pieces have brought some impressive prices over the years!
I have also been entering some art exhibitions and competitions that are not automotive specific. I had a piece in the American Artists Professional League Exhibit in NYC, at the Salmagundi Club, which actually resulted in a sale. Also I had a piece juried (accepted) into the American Water Color Society’s annual Exhibit, also held at that same Salmagundi Club in NYC. This has been a bucket list event for me, as it is one of the most prestigious in the world, and is really tough to get into. If I have another piece accepted later this year, I may be qualified for signature status in that group! Also in 2024, I again had a couple of my pieces in another outstanding event, the International Watercolour Masters, held in England. As some of the automotive centered events have been suffering various problems, some of them disappearing altogether, I have been looking into more of these exhibits, gaining a bit more recognition in the broader Fine Art world.
This year, we did The Amelia again, and while sales weren’t as spectacular as ‘24, we did sell a couple of originals and a few prints - enough to keep the wolves away from the door.
I was supposed to do the Spring Auto Fair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, but a day before I was supposed to set up for the show, I tested positive for Covid, and had no choice but to cancel. First Auto Fair I have missed in over 40 years!
Elsewhere on the site, I have updated the event schedule as well. I really should try to do better with these updates!
