Behind the scenes — a sale

I’m always pleased to sell a piece of art, but this latest experience was one of the best.

Here are some of the elements that went into it (besides creating the artwork that is!)

I recreated my website. It was an intensive project last winter that I approached with dread. Once I got going, it was just repetitive work that finally came to an end.

Then on the very last day of taking down a major exhibition at a local gallery, I got the chance to give a personal tour to two friends of mine.  The woman said, “I’m looking for a piece of yours I saw last year. I know I should have bought it at the time (um, yes!), but I didn’t. I had yellow in it.”

Hm.

It wasn’t in the exhibition that I was taking down.

When I got home I began sending her possible images “with yellow.”

Nope.

She then went through my entire website until she found them.

She mailed me her choices. I held my breath as I checked to see if I had them here. I did! She replied that she wanted to purchase both. Yes! 

Or — almost yes.

As I got the work ready for her visit on Sunday, I realized that in fact I had picked one piece incorrectly.  Where was the right one? My records indicated that it was here in my studio storage, not sold or out in a gallery.

I looked.  And looked. I couldn’t find it.

I double checked with a couple of venues — maybe my records were wrong?? (not the first time). I checked sales slips (even though I would definitely remembered if I’d sold it.  It was an all time favorite of mine.)

Finally, with 15 minutes left until her arrival, I went through my main storage closet another time, feeling through my cloth protective bags (the piece was gallery wrapped, and felt different from the framed pieces).

There!  There it was, on the top shelf, in its cloth bag. YES!

I finished getting everything ready for her visit as though none of this had happened.

See how organized I am! 

.  .  . (or not)  .  .  . whew  .  .  .