who's on canyon?

i'm not an expert by any means, i've only worked at a gallery for a year and a half, but i've seen my fair share of people. upon entering the gallery, and sometimes even before that, i can usually guess at the nature of the visit. canyon road walkers are usually one of four types of people: a buyer, a looky-loo, an artist, and on rare occassions, an art student.

the looky-loo is the most common. they are here because their kids are in college or maybe they're retired. this is their big vacation and they were told to look at art in Santa Fe because that's what it's known for. a big clue would be the massive camera around their necks. they fancy themselves arists and will probably never buy, because they can take pictures. the buyers are no nonsense. they came with a plan. they know where, what, how, and when. i like the buyers.

then there are the artists. they don't spend a lot of time looking at the art, they appear to be casing the joint the minute they walk in. with leather bound portfolio in hand, they always ask for the owner, who is rarely there in my case. some are polite but some are rather high and mighty. i'm a lowly sales associate, why would they want to talk to me?! (note to aspiring artists trying to get your work into a gallery, be nice to the person at the desk. they have the ability to drop that pretty portfolio in the trash the minute you walk out the door!) being an artist myself, i always feel bad saying thanks but no thanks, we're full.

finally, and this is very rare, we get art students or people really intersted in learning about the art and artists because it is their passion. these are the people that usually end up spending 30-40 minutes with me chatting about the nature of art, art theory, business, etc. they know art, but they want to know more. eventually they'll be the artists sizing me up from behind their portfolio, but at this point they are still wide-eyed and awe struck and very interesting to learn from.

~sara