First the good news....

[Bartc]

We hung our plein air group's show today. A month showing and I have two good ones in this exhibit.
The not so good news is that, given the size of one of them, I re-used someone else's frame and glass, which was just regular glass, not non-glare. Fine in most lights, though I usually go for Museum glass, but at this large size it felt simply soooo expensive.
My bad! Because it had pride of place in the show, and on finishing hanging hours later we all noticed that the light was reflecting badly off it in that venue, obscuring it significantly.
Should have known. Pastels simply demand that expensive glazing. Part of the deal.
Ah well.....

 

[Donna T]

Your painting still looks good, Bart, and it's a good looking collection from your group! I only used to use museum glass for the smaller pieces for the same reason as you do. An informed buyer can always upgrade the glass if they really feel the need.

 

[Bartc]

Thanks, Donna. That's what I was figuring, but they have to be able to see it well enough to want to purchase it!
My second piece, smaller, is done up in museum glass and looks terrific, but it is less likely to appeal to a lot of buyers based on size (I know that's ridiculous, but after all a lot of folks are thinking of their decor, not our artistic legacy or vision. )
Using my own frame, that second one in 11x14" cost $100 to frame with that glass. Not cheap! This big one is about 24x30" and that would have required selling a car to pay for the glass....

 

[Artyczar]

The collection looks wonderful Bart. Congratulations!!!!

Museum glass is like $400 a sheet wholesale. It is not cheap. Donna is right in that the buyer can always upgrade, or you can price the work accordingly if they want to pay the high price of the frame jobs we have to pay for museum glass.

 

[Bartc]

Yeah, and I'm no good at cutting a sheet of glass! Haven't found a reasonable source of pre-cut MG in my sizes yet.
Ayin, I toyed with just eating the expense to start it out, but this whole thing is an experiment for me. As you have heard me say, I am not entirely sure I want to get into sales. I was testing the water in this show to see if there was a price point for the artwork that made enough sense for me to bother, as I'm fortunate in not having to sell my work to live.
So I decided that I'd already spent enough, but so much more wouldn't be immediately justifiable. Might have outsmarted myself there! But that's assuming anyone would want to buy it in the first place, which is yet to be proven.
The collection is actually 34 pieces from 24 artists on 4 walls, so you're only seeing a part of it. It's a good show and one I would try to "take on the road" next.
The process of hanging for us amateurs involved the Keystone Cops routine, until one of our group who actually has a small gallery of his own lent a hand. Thank God for that!

 

[Artyczar]

I would never cut any glass. I am secretly afraid of glass.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Congrats on the show. Looks great. I tried some museum acrylic on my last two pastels. Much lighter in weight but roughly the same price as glass. We’ll see how it holds up.