Taking My Art to Aberdeen Art Fair
There is something very exciting about packing up your artwork and taking it on the road to an art fair. It is a chance to step away from the studio, meet other artists and, most importantly, see how people respond to your work in person.
My latest adventure took me north to the Aberdeen Art Fair, and this time I had quite a collection to transport!
Five Big Paintings
One of the biggest challenges was deciding which original paintings to take. I wanted to show a good representation of my landscape work, but I also wanted some real statement pieces.
That meant taking five large original paintings, each measuring 1 metre by 1.5 metres.
These included:
Constantine Bay – perhaps the most personal of the five. This is a painting that is particularly loved in our household and normally hangs in our living room. It was a little strange seeing it packed up and heading out on the road!
Kelvingrove Park – inspired by one of Glasgow's most recognisable and much-loved locations.
Cottage on the River, Ambleside – a Lake District-inspired landscape capturing the character and atmosphere of this beautiful part of England.
Finnieston Crane – one of Glasgow's iconic landmarks and a subject that has always fascinated me.
Eilean Donan Castle – one of Scotland's most recognisable castles and a fantastic subject for a large-scale painting.
These large works certainly made an impact, but they also presented their own logistical challenge. Moving five paintings of that size isn't exactly like putting a few canvases in the boot of the car!
Artwork That Wraps Around the Frame
I also took two paintings with a slightly different approach.
Rather than simply painting the front of the canvas, the artwork continues around the edges of the frame. It is a small detail, but it gives the paintings a more complete, almost three-dimensional feel.
I really enjoy experimenting with presentation because the frame and the edges of a painting can become part of the artwork rather than simply something that surrounds it.
Something for Everyone
Alongside the original paintings, I brought a huge selection of prints.
This is where the variety of my work really becomes apparent.
My print collection covers many different areas of my art, including:
🏞️ Landscape Art
📷 Photography
🦸 Marvel
🦇 DC Comics
👻 Horror
🎬 Film & Television
🎸 Rock Legends
✏️ Caricatures
🎨 Arttoons
I have always found it difficult to put myself into just one artistic category. My background in graphic design, illustration, cartoons, caricature and painting has meant that my work has developed in lots of different directions.
For me, that's part of the fun.
One minute I'm painting a Scottish landscape with a palette knife, the next I'm creating a caricature, working on a comic-inspired piece or heading out with my camera.
Arttoons and Afterthoughts
There was also room for my books, including Arttoons and Afterthoughts.
The book brings together another side of my creative journey — the cartoons, caricatures, ideas and observations that have developed throughout my career.
It was great to have the books alongside the paintings and prints because they help tell a bigger story about what I do as an artist.
Taking the Studio on the Road
Preparing for an art fair is almost a project in itself.
There is the artwork to select, prints to organise, books to pack and, of course, the all-important question:
How on earth am I going to fit it all in the car?
Once everything is packed, there is the journey, unloading, setting up and trying to create a stand that represents everything I do without making it look like an art shop exploded!
An art fair is very different from simply displaying work online. People can see the scale of the original paintings, look closely at the brushwork and textures, browse through the prints and, most importantly, talk to the artist.
That interaction is one of the things I enjoy most about attending events.
More Than Just Paintings
One of the things I wanted to demonstrate at Aberdeen was that Neil G Smith Art is about more than just one style of artwork.
There is the landscape painter, the photographer, the illustrator, the caricaturist and the cartoonist — all sitting alongside each other.
Some people may come looking for a landscape of Scotland. Someone else might be looking for a Marvel or DC print. Another visitor might recognise a musician from my Rock Legends collection, while someone else might want a caricature or one of my Arttoon books.
That variety is what makes my work interesting to me, and hopefully to the people who visit my stand too.
The Journey Continues
Taking my work to Aberdeen Art Fair was another fantastic opportunity to get my artwork in front of a new audience and to experience the excitement of exhibiting away from home.
From the huge 1m x 1.5m original paintings to the smallest prints, books and illustrations, it was a real snapshot of the many different things I create.
And, of course, there is always something special about seeing your artwork displayed together in a new environment.
If you'd like to see more of the artwork featured at Aberdeen, you can explore my Neil G Smith Art and Arttoon websites, where you'll find paintings, photography, prints, cartoons, caricatures, books and more.
The journey continues — and I suspect there will be plenty more artwork to pack into the car before the next one!
Big, Bold & Beautiful — that's Arttoon.
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