About 10 days ago I received an email from an art gallery in New York inviting me to submit work to them for concideration for representation. 

Of course the thought of being represented in New York is somewhat thrilling , so I filled in the relevant forms and clicked the submit button , expecting to either wait weeks for a reply or never hear from them again !

Lo and behold , I received an email this morning , much to my delight , telling me that my work qualifies for their representation !

Of course having ones art represented by a large international gallery sound immensely romantic , and to an extent , I suppose for many artists , it is .

However , on initially submitting my documentation , I did not stop to consider the logistics of export and import , duties and taxes - and this , dear friend , takes any romance that may have been associated with the whole thing , right out of the picture !

S A R S ! Always has an intimidating ring to it but I was very pleasantly surprised by the extremely efficient and friendly service I met with once I had built up enough courage to dial the help line !

Pleasant and helpful aside , it does not detract from the extensive paperwork involved in applying for export and import ( yes, import too , because if paintings do not sell , they need to be returned !)

A tremendous amount of admin for an arty type !

I clearly now see , why so many artists , producing outstanding quality work of international quality , keep it local . 

My adventurous spirit however , prevails .......