At the Green Bean

(Cloud Wanderer 20"x24" $90)

So last Monday Kell, my friend Megan and I went and had a coffee at the Have Ya Bean cafe in Upwey after dropping our boys off for their first kinder session for the year. Terry, who owns Have Ya Bean with his wife Liz, asked me if I could put some art up at the Green Bean Cafe in Belgrave (which they also owned until now), as my work has been popular while up at the Have Ya Bean. It seems that they had another artist put up a range of pieces recently but the customers were finding them a bit too intense and uncomfortable in theme and size, and the new owner asked if they could be changed. Anyhow, I said yes. Of course. So far 13 pieces have sold at the Have Ya Bean (yay!) and I was keen to continue the trend.

(Walk in the Rain 20"x20" $130)

(Copenhagen Wanderer 18"x18" $80)

So during the week I had some new pictures printed, and spent a couple of days collaging etc to produce a new selection of everyday art. It was a bit of a deadline, but I didn't want to put up anything I had around the house as those pieces had been exhibited over a year ago at the Have Ya Bean. On Friday afternoon, I left Cedar and Ash with Kell (and Hayley, who was still here) and took Sienna to hang the paintings after picking her up from school. I had a coffee, she had a baby cino and a biscuit. We ran into her art teacher from school from last year, who had left during the year.

(Make Believe Pear 12"x12" $40)

 

 (Snow love 20"x36" $110)
I always feel a bit self-conscious putting them up, but there weren't too many people in the cafe so it wasn't too bad. I just try and be as quick as possible while doing the actual hanging part! So we were out of there by 4:30pm. The cafe shuts at 5:30. I dropped Sienna back at Kell's and went to get Ben from work (at Scoresby). On the way back we stopped at home, ordered pizza and got a change of clothes and bottle ready for Cedar. We then dropped the change and bottle off (thanks Hayley for taking care of him!) and went to Belgrave to pick up the pizza and a bottle of wine. Mmmm. A cleanskin Cabernet Sauvignon from the Margaret River region, WA. It was nice :)

(Vermilion Adventure 24"x20" $90)

ANYHOW, we drove back along the main street of Belgrave on the way back to Kell's and I did a double-take as we drove past the Green Bean. Where were my paintings gone? There was a big gap on the wall! These two pieces...

 ...were gone! Liz called me yesterday and confirmed that, yes, in the hour between my hanging them and the cafe shutting on Friday afternoon, they had sold. Wow. I was pretty amazed. Actually at first I was a bit annoyed. What is the point of hanging an exhibition if it is in pieces even before the Saturday breakfast crowd get to see it? But then, of course, the point is to sell my work. So no complaints. Honestly. It is actually quite surreal that less than 48 hours after they were finished, they were in the hands of someone else. Who had paid for them. I mean, they are pretty cheap. For art. But personally I don't drop $160 on a whim, so it is still pretty amazing to me. And now I can buy a new printer :) Yay!