The art sale begins

Yesterday was the first day of the art sale, and I was there all afternoon helping. For some reason I was assigned the task of calling in credit cards for approval, which wasn't too bad. I didn't have to deal directly with the public, and I had considerable time to cruise around and look at other people's work. It was great to see all the various styles and techniques, and it did give me inspiration.
The prints that seemed to sell the best had a local flavor - local subjects like plants and flowers, people or places. Also, a lot of color...I guess we in Hawai'i are used to seeing color everywhere, so we want it in our art. As much as I love black and white, especially black ink, I also love to work in color. In other cities I lived, serious printmakers tended to work only in black and white, but now I think my color sense can take off!
Interesting side note: Neil Abercrombie, Hawai'i Representative to the U.S. Senate (elected governor of Hawa'i in 2010), showed up near closing time and pored over the art very carefully. We stayed open a little longer to let him see everything. I knew him back in the hippie days, so I went to talk to him, and he said he remembered me (he may have just been being diplomatic). I remembered him living in a house with no front door, just a curtain. He said, "those were innocent times..." He always was a really sweet guy, and politics has not made him hard. He bought 6 or 7 pieces (some rather expensive - alas, none of mine) and he wrote a little note on his business card for each of the artists. That would be a nice thing to have in your portfolio!