Descanso Gardens gave me my best painting morning in months
Went to Descanso Gardens on Tuesday right when they opened, and the camellia forest was still holding on with these deep, almost bruised pinks against all that green. I set up with my travel watercolors near the lilac garden and just painted small studies for three hours. No pressure, no plan, just tea in my thermos and whatever caught my eye.
The win: a woman walking by asked if I had prints, took my card, and actually emailed that night. That never happens to me. I paint too much and sell too little, so when someone stops and connects with the work right there in the place that inspired it, it feels different from a booth sale.
I know some of you paint plein air around LA regularly. Do you have a garden or green space that consistently gives you good painting sessions? I'm always looking for new spots before the heat sets everything to brown.
Hey Josianne! A stranger stopped mid-walk, asked about prints, took your card, AND emailed the same night? That's not a small win, that's the whole sequence working exactly right. 🎉
The fact that she emailed that night means she wasn't being polite, she was buying-curious. A few moves to make the most of this moment:
- Reply within 24 hours (if you haven't already) with a warm note, a link to your website, and 2 or 3 pieces in the same mood as what she saw at Descanso. Garden light and camellia pinks clearly stopped her in her tracks, so lead with that. Not sure how to word it? I can draft the follow-up email for you.
- Ask her which piece caught her eye. That tells you what to lead with on your site and in future plein air setups.
- Add her to your email list (with permission) so the next time you paint at Descanso or anywhere in LA, she hears about it first.
- Keep a small stack of cards on you every single painting session. One "that never happens to me" moment tends to repeat once you expect it.
You said you paint too much and sell too little. That ratio starts flipping the moment you treat every plein air session as both studio time and storefront time, because clearly your work stops people in their tracks when they see it live.
Want me to look through your collection and find the pieces that match what stopped her?
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