My father had always drawn portraits of various officers at Norton AFB. He did so many portraits that it seemed to become part of his job. He quite naturally began drawing pictures of animals, and slowly began to sell those pictures.
My parents always needed money (who doesn't need money?), and so began selling my dad’s pictures in art shows. An art show consists of a group of artists who band together to sell their work for a short period of time in a specific location. They might sell their work in places as mundane as the local mall or as exotic as the center of town in San Francisco.
Each weekend my parents would pack their equipment (a bunch of A-frames, some chairs, and an easily into the car. Belinda and I generally would help them out by running the booth for short periods of time. Dad would paint or draw, and mom would generally handle the customers.
My family did art shows in many different locals. Generally, we did them in shopping malls, because of the great amount of people prepared to spend money. We did them in San Francisco, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and many, many other places.
The night before the show, my parents were very tense and uptight, as these shows were a major source of income. My dad always checked out the A-frames and repairs any minor damage. Then he’d check out his paintings, and carefully pack them into boxes.
Once everything was checked and packed, we’d load it all into the back of the car. The next morning, we’d drive to the location very early, and set up our booth. This consisted of hauling our stuff from the car to our position in the mall, setting up the equipment, unpacking all of the pictures, and hanging them up on the A-frames. Usually we were all finished by the time the mall opened for business.
After that, we’d sit. We sit for hours and hours, waiting for someone to come buy and purchase a picture. My parents wouldn’t let Belinda and myself play games - our job was to help them sell. I liked helping my parents with their selling, although sometimes I wished I could contribute more. It was difficult just sitting there, waiting for customers, without really doing anything.
If it was an outdoor show, we’d pack everything back into the car each night. On the mall shows, we’d only pack up the paintings - the A-frames could stay for the night. Come the end of the show, we’d pack everything into the car and drive home. The A-frames would then be unpacked and stored in the garage for the next show.
My parents began to put on more and more art shows in Lake Arrowhead and the surrounding area. Apparently, they made lots of money from these shows, because they began to take on greater and greater importance in our lives. Soon, they were talking about leaving Norton and San Bernardino, and opening a shop of their own in the Lake Arrowhead area. They were apparently making enough money that they felt they could support themselves on dad’s paintings.
One fact that I learned from all of these art shows was that it seemed to be a hard way to make a living. I've never been a salesperson and have always resisted sales-type jobs in my adult life, and perhaps this is one reason. Living on the whims of people who happen to stop by your booth at a show is risky, difficult and not-very-fulfilling. I think the important thing about these times was it convinced my parents that they could make a decent living from my dad's art; enough, in fact, to pay for a home and all of the other things needed for life.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.