Genuine question because I keep going back and forth on this.

My first (and so far only) gallery thing happened because I was sitting outside sketching a house on Lavelle Road, and the gallery owner two doors down came out with his coffee and asked what I was doing. Two months later my work was on his wall for a group show. So I never actually had to approach anyone, and now I have no idea how to do it properly.

Which means I've been circling three other galleries for a year now, politely, from a distance, like a coward.

So, what worked for you? Did you send the email with the PDF and the polite paragraph, or did you just walk in with a folder under your arm and ask? And if you walked in, what did you say? I keep imagining myself standing there saying something deeply stupid.

Tell me your actual first move, even if it was messy.