We recently connected with J.P. Boudreau and have shared our conversation below.

J.P., looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

We opened our gallery a few months before the Pandemic hit, and were almost immediately shut down. As a new business, it was time to sink or swim. The issues we faced also provided opportunity, and the building next store to our first tiny location, became available. We rented the space while retaining our original space next door. Since then we have let go of the original two locations, and have consolidated into a larger space in one of the best locations in town.

J.P., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have worn many hats, from managing hotels to sailing as crew aboard ships, but my passion for art, as a collector not an artist, has been life long. My business partner Jill Guthrie, and I have built a solid gallery, representing some of the best living and past masters. We have works available by everyone from Edward Hopper to Joe Mcgurl, Sergio Roffo, Bill Davis and C.W. Mundy. Buying art can be intimidating for new collectors and for seasoned ones. Our approach is to make sure that the art is the best fit for our market, and by the best artists in the country and the world. At this stage the art sells itself, and we are there to tell a story about the subject and the artist, but we certainly are not of the hard sell school. We will advise our collectors, though are careful not to push them. We are certainly the most proud of our survival, which has given us the opportunity to thrive and to become a force to be reckoned with in New England, and beyond.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the first artists I sought to be in the gallery, was Joseph Mcgurl. Joe has been designated a living master, and it was a long shot, which took several tries before he agreed to join our fledgling gallery. He sent us up to Somes Sound in Maine, to pick up several large paintings, all of which we subsequently sold. Since that time we have become one of the leading galleries in the country, in sales of his work. The key though, is that if he hadn’t taken a chance on us, others would not have been so quick to. If you tell artists that you have Joe Mcgurl in your stable, they pay a lot closer attention.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

My business partner, Jill, has a corporate background, and one of her good friends privately bankrolled our business, with a low interest rate, and took his time on calling in the debt. We have done this on a shoestring, so as to keep any and all debt low. He grilled me some, in the beginning, and asked me how we planned to make this business a success, and I told him what my thoughts were, and have done what I said and more.

Contact Info:

• Website: follycovefineart.com
• Facebook: Folly Cove Fine Art