Quality Over Quantity Is Usually Best Even Regarding the Audience!

Artist, Princess Simpson Rashid standing next to her
painting, "The Eye of Jupiter" at the LEMA.
Photo Credit:  John C. Sumner

My solo show, "Passion, Perception & Symbolism" closes at the Lake Eustis Museum of Art (LEMA) this weekend. Currently there are 30 works on display. The sizes range from 6 x 6" to 36 x 60".


Opening night was crazy! There was a severe storm raging and I didn't think anyone would show up. The weather was really horrible for the first hour of the reception.  It seemed like tornado weather. But people did come out. Not in the numbers I had hoped for but I got a real sense of quality over quantity in regards to the audience.


Sometimes when there's an art show, people just come for the free food and wine. Or they are friends or other artists just coming to check out what's going on. Rarely, have I found many coming out to learn more about the artist, meet them and interact with them. For me, it seems that the weather kept most of the "wine and cheese" people away this opening night. Only the true blue showed up. It was actually pretty cool!


Just about everyone who came really engaged with me. It was great! People were genuinely interested in my motivation for using shapes as symbols, my use of bold color and the way my paintings relate to science and math. By the time I gave my talk, there was  a nice little audience gathered. I couldn't have been more pleased. I appreciate each and every person that stopped by to share my vision.