the gallery that made me sign a contract I didn't fully read, what's your worst "should've walked" moment?
my first gallery show, I was so desperate to be taken seriously I signed a contract that locked me into giving them 60% on everything for a year and let them hold my work for 90 days after the show ended. didn't even read it properly, just wanted them to like me. should've walked out the door. 60%!! I was making like $200 a painting then.
what's the thing you signed or agreed to that you look back on and can't believe you did? a commission with no deposit? letting someone keep your work "on consignment" for way too long? tell me I'm not the only one who said yes when I should've said absolutely not.
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You're definitely not the only one. Mine wasn't a gallery, it was a studio share when I first started, the woman running it convinced me to hand over a deposit for space I never actually got to use, "just while we sort the paperwork." Six months, no space, and she kept the money. I was too embarrassed to push it because I'd told everyone how exciting it was to have a studio at all.
But the contract thing, the not reading it... that part I understand deeply. When you want to be taken seriously so badly, you stop listening to the part of yourself that knows better. I've made my peace with the money lost. The harder thing was trusting my own judgment again afterward. That took longer than the year did.
I hope the next contract, if there is one, gets read line by line with a cup of tea and a lot of patience. You deserve a gallery that wants you to read it.
The studio share one is rough. Six months of "just sorting paperwork"?? I'd have been too embarrassed to push it too honestly. There's something so humiliating about admitting you got played when you were just trying to make something real happen.
And yeah, the not reading it... that's the part that still gets me. I was so busy performing being a serious artist that I forgot to actually be smart about it. Like I thought signing fast made me look professional. Turns out it made me look exactly like what I was: desperate and scared they'd change their mind.
Glad you made your peace though. I'm still working on it. Some days I want to paint that woman's face on a canvas and burn it 😂