Weary but upbeat

Well it was hard work, but it was worth it. Worth spending  eight weeks working and planning for it, worth spending five hours setting it up, worth chasing up the need for lighting (that I had been promised in the first place!) worth standing on my feet for 10 hour days trying to sell, worth my knees, ankles and feet burning with aching, worth the mental and physical tiredness.

It was worth it for the reaction I got for my "Fantasy fannies" banner, and the fannies paintings themselves. And for the tarses paintings. It was worth it for the conversations I had. It was worth it for the commissions I will get from it. It was worth it for the connections I've made. It was worth it for the promotion I've had. For the radio interview I was asked to do. For the praise I got. For the work I'll get out of it. And the sales I made.

It was worth it for the friends I saw there, particularly the ones who had travelled to see me. I've not seen the Erotic writer Lucy Felthouse since the last Erotica and it was really good to catch up with her.

It was worth it to see the outfits of some of the visitors - women in sexy oufits and tight corsets, men with boobs, women with cocks, the human dalmation, the leather, rubber and fetish gear.

It was worth it for seeing old friends made last year, and new ones made this.

It was worth it to see the other artwork, and meet up with the other artists. To see my various friends from the Guild of Erotic Artists.

It was worth it for the conversation I had with the guy who was only there because it was too wet to play golf that afternoon, he had never been to Erotica before and would never go again, and wondered how a "nice girl like you" got into erotic art. So I explained, with a smile, that I'm quite happy to paint dog portraits, landscapes and houses if he wants to commission me. But I get far more feedback from doing erotic art!

And it was worth it for the convesation I had with an attractive couple of my acquaintance who had been invited to a dinner party and were taking a bag full of goodies they'd bought at Erotica, along with them. The bag, on closer inspection contained three pink vibrators and other smaller vibrating devices. It also came with an invite to join them which I had to decline with regret as I was too tired to be sparkling company. But I am intrigued as to how their interesting meal went, and how well the vibrators went down...............so to speak....................... :)

Its Erotica time......

I'm always hyped up before an art exhibition. The thrill of knowing that now is the time to show the art that I've been working on since the last one. To take the stuff that has meant me working late into the night, and missing weekend fun, to continue working on. The confidence in knowing that the art is the best I can take, that there is something for every price range, that there is a good diverse selection on offer. The joy of looking fowards to seeing my artist friends again. Knowing that I'm going to have some interesting chats with different people I've not met yet. Meeting new viewers. Some will look quietly at my work and walk quietly away. Some will look with lots more interest, poke around for ages in the browser and then will walk off (whilst I've been holding my breath thinking they are DEFINITELY going to buy SOMETHING!). Some will look with more interest, find something they like, and buy it. And some will RAVE over what I do, will tell me that its fabulous art, that I'm a clever girl, and will be REALLY excited about all of it and place large orders for commissions from me.

 But there will also be conversations that I am not expecting. There will be offers for things that I hadn't considered before. Some will take me my surprise. And you can never really be ready for those, because you never know what they're going to be....

Last year I was offered cheap advertising that turned out not to be what it first appeared, and caused me a lot of aggro having to sort it out afterwards. I was offered the chance to hang my fantasy fanny paintings in a selection of international night clubs, and that didn't take off either. I was told I would be painting a picture for a sheik, and that didn't happen either (well, not yet, anyway!). But also I had a long and most interesting conversation about erotic art with a lovely man in a dress. And the best bit was when I met the bloggers who had come along. The ones who had their "fantasy fanny" on the wall. The ones who quietly said "I'm -------" and looked with great interest at the bright and beautiful artwork that was their fanny. They knew. And I knew. That it was theirs. But no one else did. Whether there will be any others who come along this year, I don't know yet. But if you do..............come along and say hi..............

Almost ready and counting

I've spent the last six weeks working towards it. It's so close, I can almost smell it.

The aroma of................................... sex, money, and good fun! :)

Otherwise known as.......................... EROTICA !!! 

YAY!!!

So I'm just sorting out last minute jobs - printing out price lists, sorting out order forms, framing pictures, and the usual job of chasing up the printers. Do they all work to the "last minute" ? When I want to know well beforehand that I've got everything together, and am trying to be well organised. So when I rang them on Thursday to see how my print  printing was going, the guy on the other end of the phone asked me when I wanted it by? "Last Monday!" was my reply, which took him aback. He printed them off last night for me to collect today, only for me to find that some of the stuff hadn't been printed off at the size I'd specifically asked for - to fit into mounts that I've got, so the appature sets the size I need. fortunately, I checked them whilst I was there and the new sizes were done whilst I .........waited.....................

So, that just leaves the last thing. The new thing. The thing that I've not done before, but have wanted to do for many years.

The calendars.

They may only be small, they may only be my first ones, but they're all mine.

But, that leads me to wonder how many I need printing off. Am I going to sell all of them at Erotica? Should I leave some for afterwards? Will I sell them all in the first day and wish I'd ordered five times as many? Although they're NEXT years calendar I'll really need to get rid of them all by February because everyone has a calendar by then................ MMMmmm...................... How.............many?