11/8/10 Entering Competitions

Marie  The first assignment we gave ourselves is to enter an art competition.  The Artistsnetwork.com recently sent an announcement for FineArtWorld.com’s juried art show for a wide variety of mediums with a December 15, 2010 deadline.  The timing is right and there’s no entry fee so why not?  Now, what to enter?  The smartest thing to do seemed to me to find out who the juror is and see what kind of work he or she does:  not only in which medium, but also what the work looks like, such as abstract vs. realistic, high value contrast vs. subtle value contrast, bright color vs. subdued color, etc.  Two problems:  I can’t seem to find out who the juror is and I only paint watercolor portraits and figures, anyway, and I don’t have a variety of styles.  It’s a better question for Julie, who does different mediums and whose work is more varied.  I read through the submission form and learned that I’d have to accept their membership agreement, which includes pages and pages of fine print.  It turns out that FineArtWorld.com is essentially an online gallery that artists can join (for a fee) and show their art.  The prize for winning the competition is free membership for a limited amount of time.   I couldn’t find anything objectionable in the fine print, and I thought the work shown was of pretty good quality.  In fact, the artists’ bios I read include lists and lists of awards. I wonder if any of them are selling their work through FineArtWorld.com?

Back to the question of what to enter.   I looked through my paintings and selected ones that I like the most and that I have already spent copiously amounts of time manipulating on my computer to get a good high-resolution likeness of the originals.  That, done, on to the next assignment.

Bruce 18 x 23" Transparent Watercolor

Barista 12.5 x 20.75" Transparent Watercolor

Julie I agree with Marie. A great competition for us to start our blog with little financial risk and just a little paperwork to complete online. There is an opportunity to submit two pieces of artwork. Since I am happier with my pastels and palette knife oil paintings lately, I will try one of each.  I have been able to achieve a better sense of light and dark contrasts and able to keep the colors fresh in these two mediums. The oil painting is a fall scene from a trip to Bloomington, IN. We took a few back roads and ended up at Monroe State Park. Beautiful fall trees, bright light and a windy path created a beautiful composition. The pastel I’ve chosen is an old ceramic crock filled with eggplants. Another fun fall scene with an unusual color choice for me.

We'd love to hear about your experiences with entering a competition. We'll keep you posted!

Next assignment- Back to Basics with Value...

Fall Around the Bend 12x16" oil painting

Eggplant Extra 15x11" soft pastels