July 2012

Art in Passing #7 Whitefish, Montana 2012

In general I really like dogs, but at art shows not so much. After enough dogs run through a booth leaving their scent, the males tend to turn into the harshest of all art critics. In fairness to them, they are outside and how are they supposed to know the difference between a fireplug or a tree and my browse bins or display panels.]]>

Art in Passing #6 Whitefish, Montana 2012

Again, I sure hope the grimace to smile ratio in these shots doesn’t really reflect the general assessment of my work.

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Art in Passing #5 Whitefish, Montana 2012

I haven’t done a real scientific study of it, but I believe you can guess the probability of someone actually buying something after going through the browse bins by how they stand when they’re looking at the photos. If they stand sideways to the bin and flip through the prints with one hand, they’re usually just killing time. If they face the bins and use two hands (or one hand and their stomach counts too I think), then their more interested. But the ones who start pulling prints out of the bins to get a better look are the best prospect. At some point in the process I’ll engage them in conversation, which often has the wrong effect (i.e., they leave the booth). I’m not one of those born salesmen, my work really has to sell itself. Maybe I need a better intro line than “You wouldn’t want to buy one of my photos would you?”]]>

Art in Passing #4 Whitefish, Montana 2012

Another contribution to my Patriot’s Dream collection in the fourth image of this sequence. The art on this guy’s t-shirt makes bass fishing look like a truly heroic act.]]>

Art in Passing #3 Whitefish, Montana 2012

Women, it seems on casual observation, spend more time browsing the booths than men do.]]>

Art in Passing #2 Whitefish, Montana 2012

Such scowls and bored looks; at least one person seemed to take a positive interest in something in my booth.]]>

Art in Passing #1 Whitefish, Montana 2012

Three weekends ago I participated in the art fair in Whitefish, Montana. While there were a lot of people wandering about, hardly any artist I talked to did particularly well. When sales at a show go so slowly, I spend a lot of time trying to figure out something to entertain myself besides eating (which I did way too much of because I was right next to the food court). In this case, I just started taking random candid photos of people walking into or by my booth. I found the various facial expressions interesting at times so will post some. (I hope all the scowls I recorded are due to people squinting in the bright sun rather than an expression of their judgement of my photography!) The photos look better in groups, and I have quite a few, so I’ll post several each day.]]>

Bison Range The National Bison Range, Montana 2012

All work and no play makes Zippy a dull boy, so on the way back from the art show in Kalispell this last weekend we drove through the National Bison Range and took the time to walk to the high point there. We saw only a handful of the several hundred bison they have, but the views were terrific.]]>

If You Can’t Stand the Heat #2 Bozeman, Montana 2012

Speaking of heat, here is another shot from our fire department burn trailer training session earlier this year.

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Home Fires #2 Budapest, Hungary 2012

Some of the other home fires in the apartment building we were staying in during our Budapest visit last fall.]]>