Just a piece of information for you,
You cant just go along and hang your paintings on St Stephens green railings,There is a two year waiting list..but you probably knew that.
I do a lot of art myself, and if you go into Francis street in Dublin,(not sure where you are from) you will see many galleries, maybe try them.
There is no way a retailer would pay upfront..you are lucky that they are even considering giving you some space.
I don't mean to dishearten you,but again if you go to the gallery's and Stephens green and stand around for an hour or two ,you will see that very very few are actually sold these days.
I know some amazing artists and they have done,oil on canvas of say the local pub and then approached the pub about purchasing it,even at that its a difficult sell.
This is no reflection on the art,but a sign of the times.
Brendan and yourself should look at a website called
www.wetcanvas.com its really good,with great advice about selling ,pricing placing etc..
They will even critique your art.Well other artists on the site will.
I must say I thought I was ok until I say some of the amazing art on this site,but then again,I often have my spirits uplifted when I see a lot of bad art.So its good for us to see how others do things..I just love it..
Best of luck