The June Tyler Artwalk hosted by the Downtown Tyler Arts Coalition and Gallery Main Street has come and gone. Overall it was a very positive experience. My exhibit consisted of 7 acrylic paintings, 1 watercolor, 4 colored pencil drawings and an alabaster sculpture. I had a much larger space than the 10 x 10 square feet I was told to expect which was nice because it gave people an opportunity to move through the exhibit more easily. I shared a large upstairs loft space with two other artists and a lady who volunteered to set up a photography exhibit from the recent Azalea Trail Photography Competition. People started trickling in about 4:30 in the afternoon and by 5:00 there was a steady stream of visitors until the end of the exhibit. The only downside was the heat, the building we were in had a less than adequate cooling system, so we ended up with three big room fans to try and keep the temperatures bearable. Also there was no elevator to the space, only stairs.
I met lots of really nice people though, including a future art teacher looking for employment, and a high school art teacher from Pittsburgh, Texas. I received a visit from a couple of my former art students from Lindale. and found out at the end of the event. that another former Lindale student, Megan Bryant, was actually part of the exhibit at the Main Street Gallery.
I did have one critic, an elderly gentleman named Elihu Edelson who told me I was a better sculptor than painter. I smiled and agreed with him. He said that he had been an art critic for a newspaper when he lived in Florida. He was charming nonetheless and the conversation became even more interesting when he asked me if I was mystical. I then heard a long tale about how he ended up in Texas.
It was a lovely evening.
