PEBBLE BEACH and the Fall Car Shows
As I mentioned earlier, I was invited by the Automotive Fine Arts Society to exhibit my work with them as a guest artist at the Pebble Beach Concours this past August. After many months of planning, shipping, making travel arrangements, etc. etc. etc., we finally made it out there, and what a trip it was! We flew into San Francisco on Thursday and drove the rental car down to the Monterey area - mwt up with Bruce and Phyllis Wheeler and had a great dinner in Carmel to start our adventure. Friday was a "free" day, so we did a couple of the expected tourist things, scoped out some auction cars and so forth. But the best part of the day was spent sitting on a bench and watching the seals. We stayed there for hours.
Saturday 8:00 AM was set-up time. A little frenetic, as we hadn't done this before. Crates arriving on a truck, unpacking, hanging art, and then in a few hours, there was an amazing array of automotive art. We didn't have confidence that we could drive all the way back to our room in Salinas to change for the Saturday evening preview/reception, so we found a place in the Lodge to change. The reception was very nice, a good way to cap off the day.
Sunday, the BIG DAY - up VERY EARLY to beat traffic - got there in time to see and photograph some of the cars, then the show opens at 10. I didn't sell anything, which didn't help the bottom line. Of course, I knew that was a possibility going in. And of course people were met, contacts were made, so perhaps the proverbial phone will ring in the ensuing weeks/months. Everyone in the group was very helpful and friendly. Afterward, everyone met at a local restaurant for a group dinner.
On Monday morning, our final official business was to attend a breakfast and AFAS meeting at the Lodge. The good news is that the entire experience was wonderful. The bad news is that I did not get voted into the AFAS on this attempt. {sigh). I have been encouraged to apply again and I am doing just that there will be a better/different result if there is a next time. (What's that old thing about the definition of insanity?)
The rest of my Fall car show season was about average by today's standards. Sales were up/down as per usual. The Corvette show at Carlisle, PA started only a day after getting home from California, so of course I had the van all loaded and ready to hit the road upon getting back.
Following in quick succession were the Fall Auto Fair at Charlotte Motor Speedway (thanks to our speedway host Ed Fausel), and then Fall Carlisle and Hershey back to back. In between these two PA shows, instead of going home for just one day, I get to have my yearly visit in Virginia with old and dear friends Alan and Carol Long. Alan and I were up for a visit to one of my favorite junk yards, "Leon's", in Culpepper, VA. Upon arriving we were informed that all of the "old stuff" had been sent to the crusher - no more photo ops. This makes me want to find more yards to explore before they all meet that same fate! Hershey is always fun. Sales were not spectacular, but I got to visit with more old friends, and did my usual abbreviated photo tour of the show field as the sun was rising.
After returning home from Carlisle and Hershey, I did a new Concours at Charlotte (actually Mooresville, by Lake Norman). Nice show, and being the first time, I didn't expect much in the way of sales. Sold one print, and as usual made new contacts that may be useful in the future.
My last remaining event for this year will be Ray Evernham's Americarna Charity Auction and car show taking place in Davidson, NC the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. This will be my first time at this event, so I really don't know what to expect.
On the drawing board, works in progress - so many I can't list them all. But I am currently working on a very wet E Type Jaguar, a TR3, a Cadillac ElDorado Brougham, a couple of Ferraris, a '51 Plymouth interior (a junk yard piece peeking at the dash from behind a falling headliner), and many, many more. So many cars, so little time!