So my first real gig was at a festival with another painter. It's a farmers market. It is quite possibly the best training ground for a new painter like me. Lines never got more than 4 waiting. I have to say that when I look up and see people waiting I nearly have a heart attack and have to go to my happy place to keep from rushing through an awful painting.

I can't stress enough how important a decent sign is and here's my story to prove it. Last week we didn't have a good sign except this tiny thing that said face painting. I got one with a huge "face painting" at the top and a 3 column example of pricing ($1-3 Simple, $5-7 Moderate, $10 and up Intricate/Full face"). Last week there was little tipping and a LOT of haggling over the price. This week nobody tried to haggle. I think last week our booth was "some hippies trying to get pot money" and this week it was "look - a REAL artist is going to give me something special and it's worth it".

So this weekend - a gig for the local firemen. They are paying me $100 - $200 for 4 hours. It's "free" to the public which terrifies me. How in the world do you prevent everyone from asking for the most intricate designs and making the line wrap around the lot???? Do you just give them some simple things to choose from or what? THANKS!!!!