My debut at the Montauk Art Show was a success and, I hope, the first of many shows out in the Hamptons. Quite a bit of chatter among the attendees praised the “elevated” level of the artists and their works on display, and I was honored to be among the 75 artists chosen for this year’s show. As you’d expect in a vacation beach town, many artists featured works with ocean themes: waves, sand dunes, seashells, a lighthouse, boats, and sea life. I chose a number of pieces including landscapes and underwater shots. Of course I had to feature a few shark images and they proved popular with the ocean-loving crowd. I don’t have any portfolio-level images set in the Montauk area, so I deferred to other local artists to fill that niche — I’ll never put forward mediocre work just because it fits the theme.
It’s always interesting to see which images connect with different people. Arguably the most popular image of the weekend was this shot of a seaplane in Alaska.
Some people are eager to ask questions and chat while others want to be left to themselves to take in what they see. I never do the “hard sell” or pounce on potential clients — browsing a fine art show should be a luxurious experience and no one wants to feel like they are at a flea market.
Ironically the first image I sold was neither summery nor ocean-inspired: it was this winter cabin in the Sierras. Some people are clearly done with the summer heat and are ready to curl up by the fireplace with a Bailey’s latte. Speaking of coffee, I have to rave for a moment about Hampton Coffee Company and the best iced coffee I’ve ever had, three days in a row. Divine is the word that comes to mind — simply outstanding.
One woman recognized this location in Arizona because her parents live about twenty minutes away. She was pleasantly surprised to see this mountain so far from home, all the way at the tip of Long Island. Western landscapes are not common in these summer shows (I was the only artist who had a couple on display), but more than a few art buyers appreciated seeing something a little different from the standard beach scenes.
I reserved a side wall for ocean and underwater images, the largest of which was a metal print of a great white shark. The display was arranged so this image could be seen from a distance and it certainly delivered the intended effect. I loved seeing kids get excited as they spotted the giant shark and ran toward the display. Then they got closer and saw the others: a tiger, a hammerhead, and a whale shark, as well as a pod of dolphins. That would have been me as child, no doubt. People had many questions from the basic (“where was this?”), to the sophisticated (“how do sharks react to the electrical impulses of a camera?”), to the absurd (“why didn’t it eat you?”).
My favorite shipwreck image drew an older crowd including, notably, some veterans. Those who served in the armed forces instantly recognize a military ship and many are intrigued by its history — and this one doesn’t disappoint: it was the vessel that recovered the black box from the Challenger disaster.
Overall it was an excellent show and I met some terrific artists. If you are in the Hamptons in the summer make sure you don’t miss the next show!
