Walked into a gallery cold or emailed first?
I landed my second gallery by just walking in with a small painting under my arm. The owner was standing at the counter, we talked for twenty minutes about a Durer print she had framed on the wall, and she asked to see the canvas before I even offered. I think door-to-door still works, at least here.
But I've also had a gallery that would never have taken a meeting by email. Two of them. So I'm curious, when you approach a new gallery, do you knock or do you write? And has the method ever surprised you, worked when you thought it wouldn't?
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Myself, I have done it both ways, but the walking in has always been my natural way. Our painting tradition is not something you can show properly in a photograph or a letter. The handwork, the fine lines, the natural colours from turmeric and indigo and lamp black, they need to be seen in person to be believed. When I carry a piece to a gallery and just place it down, the person can hold it, feel the handmade paper, see how the pigment sits. That has value.
But I think your method depends very much on what you are offering. A small contemporary canvas under the arm, yes, it works. For my larger pieces, the ones with the full shalmi tree and every bird, I have to write first because I cannot carry them on the bus. So email has its place for me also, though I never feel as confident with the writing. In person I can see their face and know if they are truly interested. A letter can be set aside and forgotten.
I am happy your cold walk worked for you. It takes courage to do that, especially for a second time. The twenty minutes with the Durer print, that is how these things should happen I think. One artist recognising another.
That's a good point about the material. Turmeric and indigo and lamp black, you can't get that across in a jpeg. Even a good photograph flattens pigment into something digital, and pigment is half the story. I bet people who see your work in person remember the physical thing, not just the image.
You said "for my lar...", the large pieces, I'm guessing you're not carrying those in under your arm either. So what do you do with the big ones? Send photographs first and hope the small work already opened the door? Or do galleries come to you after they've seen one thing in person?