What My First Art Exhibition Taught Me (Honest Experience)

My first group exhibition came and went… and I didn’t sell any of my paintings.
You might think this would feel disappointing — especially considering the time, effort, and even the custom frames I built for each piece. And yes, part of me expected to feel that way. But surprisingly, I don’t. It took me a little while to understand why.

Expectations vs reality

This was my first exhibition, and I went into it with fairly open expectations. Of course, I hoped I might sell at least one piece — perhaps enough to cover the exhibition fees — but I wasn’t holding my breath. I’m not yet a known local artist, and this was very much a first step into showing my work publicly.
The exhibition took place at Denbies Wine Estate — a beautiful vineyard with a hotel, restaurant, and wine shop, alongside a mezzanine-style gallery space where our local art group was exhibiting.

And this is where I had my first realisation. People don’t visit a vineyard primarily to buy art. They come for wine tastings, meals, and time spent in lovely surroundings. The gallery becomes an optional space — somewhere to browse if time allows, rather than a destination in itself.

What people were drawn to

And then there was a more personal realisation — one I didn’t expect at all.
I’m actually glad my paintings didn’t sell.
Each piece represents a moment I experienced — often beginning with a walk, a photograph, and a quiet connection with a place in nature. Translating those moments into paintings and then framing them by hand made them feel even more meaningful. If you’re curious how the frames came together, I filmed the whole process here:

Seeing them together at the exhibition helped me appreciate them in a new way.
So for now, I’ve decided to keep them.
They’re now hanging in the dining area of my home — a small collection of memories I get to live with every day.

What I’ve learned

This experience gave me two important insights.

Firstly, curating work for a specific audience and setting is essential. Larger, more “finished” pieces may belong in gallery environments where visitors come with the intention of buying art.

Secondly, there is real value in creating more accessible workpieces that people can easily bring into their homes without a major decision or investment.

What’s next

With that in mind, I’ve started working on a small collection of mini oil paintings on cradled panels. These don’t require frames and can be displayed on a shelf, a mantelpiece, or a wall. They feel like a natural next step: small, tactile pieces that still carry that same connection to nature.

We’ll be exhibiting at Denbies again in July, a wonderful opportunity to test this new approach. And in the meantime, I’m continuing to paint — inspired, as always, by the changing seasons.

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