Competitions – are they worth it?
Mike Barr considers the pros and cons of entering open art competitions
Mike Barr considers the pros and cons of entering open art competitions
There are many artists who will never enter an art competition and there are others who have based their success on them. Importantly, most competitions are exhibitions, too, and for this reason alone are worth considering, particularly if you are just starting off. The chance to exhibit your work is certainly worth the effort if the entry costs aren’t too high and these are some of the reasons why:
• You will see your work in a new and important light – family and friends may have kindly told us that our work is incredible, and while we may be happy living in this bubble of family praise, we may never truly know about our work until we see it alongside other artists’ efforts.
• Showing with other artists can come as a shock, but it’s a good shock. If we are honest with ourselves, we will probably see painting skills that will have us in awe. In this admission we have learned the essential lesson that our own paintings are not the centre of the universe, but better still we can improve our own art skills.
• If we believe all that our family and friends tell us about our paintings, there is little room for improvement because when we believe our own work is truly incredible there is nowhere else to go – we can’t improve.
• Improvement is not the aim of everyone that holds a brush, we just love painting, right? But who wouldn’t want to know that their paintings have improved from the stuff we did last year? There is real satisfaction in that.
Education
Being part of a mixed art show is an education – there is always something to learn from the works and techniques of others. There will be paintings that will take your breath away and the way to learn is to ask why you think it is so good. Searching for the answers and finding them are giant steps along the way.
Sales and awards
I can say without fear that the two biggest influences that propelled my art life were my first sale (for $30 on eBay) and my first award (a Merit Award at a rotary show). There is great reward knowing that strangers who are unknown to you, love your work enough to pay money for it and that you have been recognised by an award, no matter how small.
Sales and awards can happen at art shows/ competitions, but that’s not all. It is normal when attending these shows that you will bump into other artists in different stages of their development. You realise that you are part of something bigger than that little art space at home and valuable friendships can be forged for life.
I encourage any artist to enter these shows but beware of online competitions. Some are good, but others are hefty moneymaking ventures that will invite you to enter unlimited pieces – at a price!
Happy exhibiting.