Show sucked. Now I have only killed in Santa Barbara for two years so you could say I was due for an asskicking. And I shore got it. Of course I was not alone in my pain. None of the painting dealers sold diddley except for Lance who managed to bag a live one at the end. Pretty miserable affair. Food sucked too. Had a guy tell me that I had only been there three years and he would only buy from dealers who had been there four...
The really top notch dealers will never admit to having a bad show. If they don't outright lie to you, you will hear about their outstanding prospects. Their really good clients lead impenetrable lives and we the professional dealers are supposed to be pretty ironclad as well. But it is rare to find a dealer who won't be seduced by some great new inventory so most of us stay broke most of the time. Truth be told we love the great stuff more than anybody! I tend to stay mostly quiet about the victories and whine doubly loud about the occasional defeat.
You can never sit tight on old merch in this biz, inventory is a giant ball, things fall off, things fall on and you can take a final inventory when you are dead and gone. Having said all that I did make a connection that might prove very beneficial, both for me and my prospective new clients, perhaps a lifeline. Can't talk, don't want to hex anything.
Of course, I have to stick in boilerplate caveat #17 right about this time, for a guy who has been blessed and taken care of by the creator of your choice (if not the random fluctuations of the cosmos) as much as I have, I need to stfu. Still, long term sustainability is an open question in the present economy. So if you see me on the corner, make sure to buy one of the nice #2 pencils. They come pre sharpened.
Lost about a thousand on this one, maybe two. Next time I go decorative. Of course, had lots of interest in maybe the finest selection of paintings I have ever exhibited and perhaps there will be some follow up...
