This past March I did my first art show. It was at the artexpo in NYC. Which is more of a trade show for artist than a gallery exhibit. The experience was amazing. I sold 21 paintings and made numerous contacts with buyers and galleries interested in exhibiting my work. After I plopped down my no refundable payment for a booth I was slightly mortified I was doing this. That somehow it perverted my artwork but the reality is I love to paint and the paintings were piling up and at some point I needed to either find a storage space or sell them. This seemed like a great opportunity if not to sell to learn about the art of marketing and selling art.

It was a crash course and I learned an incredible amount including how to stretch my comfort zone. It all paid off in the end. I will continue to perform, speak, and write and now I can add painting to my income flow.

My joy in life comes from learning how to do the things I absolutely love and be able to pay the bills at the same time but not let one influence the other.

Artexpo did a profile about me you can read more at

http://artexponewyork.com/2010/04/solo-success-story-river-huston/ 

It has been a long time coming but I finally have a professional website! I have been designing my own forever and they turned out more like large art projects that often looked cool but were hard to use. The people who designed the site, Backbone Media, were absolutely the best! Especially Miss Emily Saylor. If you ever need web work done, check them out!

So much great stuff is going on! I am jumping into the 21^st century with both feet. Adding media to my lectures such as twitter, streaming video and texting so no matter where you are, you can join in. Stay tuned for upcoming lectures where you can watch from home or wherever you are.

I have also rediscovered my passion for painting and have entered work into several shows. I will keep you updated on whether the world is ready for my abstract paintings. I was inspired by Bob Burridge in a workshop I took at the Mendocino Arts Center in California this summer. It is an amazing place and they offer just about everything if you thinking about an art vacation!

Links:

www.backbonemedia.com

http://www.robertburridge.com/

http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/  

That’s all for today but I will be back tomorrow, so stay tuned!