My first (shared) exhibition last week with Tanya Wintringham, ace photographer. A popup which we organised in a week and ran for 5 days in a downtown shop surrounded by Government office buildings.
We got an opening crowd of 60-70 or so and then a steady stream of visitors, lunchtimes particularly. Exhibited 25 paintings, 22 for sale. Sold 15 on opening night, 2 during the following 4 days. Tanya also sold 15 or so photos. The space and lighting and our curation worked really well. Much more successful than we’d hoped for. 24/7 for 2 weeks.
Massive learning curve which I’ve yet to digest – thoughts follow these pix.
After-thoughts –
Who knows what will push anyone’s buttons – 2 buyers mentioned what their mother liked, what their father did for a job (drove a tractor into the lake I painted). Some people don’t care about paintings, some don’t care about photography, they gravitate to that side of the room. Some walk in and straight out, some stay on and chat. It’s all good.
I don’t need to become famous
I should tell more stories – more history/allegories in my work from here.
If you drink enough red wine, you fall over (..I knew that, so I didn’t).
My take on NZ landscape is fresh for many, the red roads and panorama scenes in particular. My Japanese works are fresh and unique, not everyone gets them but enough do.
My carvings are fun but ultimately decoration – good for $500max for many hours work, which is fine given I need to carve now and then regardless. My cartoon/funny stuff hits home to some, again I will do them more for my own fun.
Most of all, I’ve shifted from hobbyist to artist, at last perhaps.
Alistair McDonald's Art 
