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My last blog post discussed the benefits and drawbacks of entering juried shows.  Now I would like to give you some tips on entering shows: selecting work to submit, how to choose which shows to enter, and a few tips for increasing your success when entering.   I wish I could say that I could guarantee you acceptance and an award but, as I stated in the last blog, the only thing you can expect when you enter a show is that you never know what will happen.

What to Consider When Entering Shows

Paint for Yourself. My number one tip for choosing which painting to enter is to paint for you, not for the show.   I have had the most success when I have created paintings to try out a new concept or approach without any expectation of success.   Artists are visual storytellers and this sense of play adds honesty to the narrative.  “Blue”, which has done very well in shows, was created to test out the limited palette of my Terry Ludwig Portrait Set.  I wanted to paint different models in different light sources using only those 30 pastels.   “Pause”, my most recent painting, was created as preparation for my last figurative workshop in Italy.  Michelangelo’s David inspired me to focus the workshop lessons on gesture and the “about to” moment.  I wanted a do a painting that encompassed the lessons and help solidify the concept before I left to teach.  If you paint for yourself the inspiration and sincerity will shine through.   If you create a work with anticipation that it will get into a show then you burden your creative drive with expectations that are out of your control.  

"Blue"  11x14 pastel

Use Facebook or social media to test your image.  If I have a painting that I am thinking of entering in shows I will post it on Facebook or in my newsletter.  If the painting gets a good response and lots of shares, then I know I have a strong image.  If the painting gets a lukewarm response then I will reconsider entering it in a major show.

Make sure your work fits the show. Look at past shows online or in catalogs to see what they are like and if you want to enter them.  Make sure your subject matter and medium fits in.   If it is an abstract show and you paint realistic then you do not need to enter.  If there is any doubt about your medium or subject matter fitting the show criteria then save your jury fee and enter a show where you are certain your work fits in. 

Weigh if the rewards are worth the risk. I compare the cost of the entry fee to the prestige of the show and possible awards and sales.  Some local shows are just as expensive to enter as national shows and the award money is much smaller. 

Look at the judges’ work and shows they have juried. This is not a guarantee but you can notice trends in what jurors choose.  Portrait is my happy place and I tend to do better with jurors that are portrait artists.  If the juror is conceptual I will not enter.  Some jurors will like your work and some will not.  I will enter shows with jurors who I have had prior successful entries.  However, just because you win a prize with a certain judge is no guarantee that you will get into the next show they jury.

Know who you will be competing against. Some shows have very high submission numbers and very successful artists enter them.  Your odds of getting in go down with the number of artists that enter.  However if you do get into these more selective shows the publicity is worth the risk. 

Read the prospectus and do exactly as it says.  Some shows receive huge numbers of entries and the people who are sorting them are usually volunteers.  They cannot make exceptions, and if you do not follow the rules your entry will be rejected and they do not need to notify you as to why.  Make sure your work fits within the size limit and the time frame.  Do not enter any work that was painted during a workshop, even if the instructor did not touch it.  Keep good records of what paintings you have entered in shows so you do not accidently send in a prior entry.  The only thing worse than being rejected is having a piece rejected after it is in the show.

Send in only your best photographs.  In the online competitions you have seconds to make that first impact on the juror.  A photograph is never as good as the original and all jurors understand that.  Learn to use editing programs to correct the image without changing it from the original.   A blurry photograph can hurt a wonderful painting.  As a juror I have seen blurry photos of what looked like very good paintings and it hurt the score I gave to the work.

Use the best framing you can afford.  When work is juried in person framing becomes very important.  The final awards are the most difficult choices for a juror to make.  Often the top works are apples and oranges in comparison and a good frame can be the difference between the top prize and second place.  A bad frame can distract from the work and end your chances of winning any award.

Do not take it personally either way. Years ago I was entering local shows and received many rejections.  A friend suggested I enter the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition and the same painting that had been rejected locally was accepted into this highly competitive show!  I had been questioning the quality of my work and if I was meant to be an artist but once I started winning awards in the national shows with the same paintings that had been rejected I came to the conclusion that my work is neither terrible or great and that I am painting for the journey.   If I have a painting that is rejected a couple of times I will set it aside and look at it months later.  Often the fresh look will point out obvious flaws that I did not see before.  In that way I use rejection to make my work stronger.  Review the shows at the end of the year.  What was successful and what was not?  Use that information to make decisions for your next shows.

In the ten years of entering shows I have learned a few lessons about what to do and what not to do.  I hope this post helps you to paint for yourself and gain confidence to enter shows.  In my next post I will talk about what is it like to be a juror and my approach and process when I jury a show.

"Pause" 20x16 pastel