![]() You may recall previously I have written a post as to why I enter art shows. You can read about it here A few months ago I entered an art show which had a theme and some criteria. I had agonised over whether to enter the competition as it was out of my genre and not the usual type of show I would enter, I decided in the end to enter it as it would stretch me to think about the theme and my artwork. I never gave it much thought after I hit the send button, in fact if I be upfront, I had forgotten about the entry, that is until I opened an email from the organisers on the weekend. As I opened the email and scanned for the words "accepted" I quickly saw "unsuccessful". Normally I would think, well, that is the decision and at least I gave it a go. I continued to scroll down the page, and I came to a list of why my artwork wasn't accepted, to say the least it was brutal. I read, reread, and read it repeatedly letting the words sink in. For the entire weekend, the words continued to cross my mind as I digested what was said. After a while, all the self-doubt crept in and I started to question myself, am I a fraud, am I supposed to be an artist, what was I thinking, and imposter syndrome settled into a nice comfortable spot in the front of my mind. So often we let other people's opinions and points of view take away our joy and our confidence. Joy and confidence vampires lurk in unsuspecting areas of our lives. This was a valuable lesson for me to learn. My art doesn't hurt anyone, it brings me joy and obviously brings others joy as I sell my work. The lesson really came home to roost when I opened up a social media post and saw the finalists for the exhibition I had entered. My artwork was nothing at all like the finalists work, they weren't looking for my type of artwork, in fact more likely completely opposite. The list of brutal feedback in the email was based on what they were looking for, what they had in mind and was not about my artwork nor me. The moral of the story for me is continue to do what gives you joy and let others have their opinions, it's none of my business what they think. Go create in joy.
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![]() I remember when I entered my first art show and saw my work in a real gallery I was thrilled to bits. It was exciting and I made it happen. I bit the bullet and applied to have my artwork accepted. From that one piece being accepted I mustered up enough courage to approach a gallery to see if I could add some pieces on consignment. Yes, I was naive, but if you don't give it a go you will never know. In June 2023 I decided I wanted to exhibit some of my work, I had no idea how I would do this until the light bulb illuminated and I thought, why not have my own exhibition. I was totally unprepared for how much work this would take and what I needed to do to make it successful. In July, I ran my first open studio and art sale. It was harrowing to put myself "out there" even though I held it at home in our expansive patio now named "Art in the Garden Room". Would anyone turn up, what would they think of my artwork, will it be successful, what if it is too cold, too hot, too this, to that? Pushing through self-doubt with anything in your life is hard, I believe not trying is a harder pill to swallow. You can't sit around waiting for a knock on your door or the phone to ring. Instead, make your own luck, you never know what exciting things will happen. By the way, I have another open studio in November over a night and a day because, people turned up, it was a freezing cold wet day and they still came, I sold artwork and had an absolute ball. I learnt from it and hope the next one is bigger and better. Oh, is that a knock on the door? ![]() In July 2022 I entered my first art show. It was an amazing experience to go through the process of putting together the requirements for the online application. I was as nervous as a kitten. I didn't know what I was doing, what some of the questions meant or what I was supposed to write. Would my artwork stack up with other entries, was my work worthy of being accepted? Am I an imposter? All the questions came bounding up to me as I sat there with the computer screen in front of me and the online form bouncing from the screen and the questions swirling in my head. I took a deep breath and thought, what is the best thing that can happen? So, I entered my first art show, was accepted, and sold my painting. Not bad for a first time attempt. There are so many great reasons to enter art shows and art competitions. I find one of the most important processes to come out of entering is being able to explain your work. It gives you a chance to consider the piece you are entering, what is the emotion you are trying to evoke, what you were thinking, how does it relate to the show if it has a theme. I remember another show, the piece had to have D hooks. I had no idea what a D hook was or how I was going to fix it to my piece as I was entering artwork on a board which was only 3mm thick. After countless YouTube videos, practice on scrap boards I devised a solution. How do you pack a painting to go via post to an art show or exhibition? This was another hurdle I needed to overcome. I needed to protect my piece, the corners, the canvas, what is the best way of packaging? In the past I did not have to deal with postage as my art sales had been local and drop offs. All these little nuances prepare you for sales, speaking about your art and allow you an experieince to prepare you for future sales and exhibitions. Next time you see an art show advertised, give it a go and if you happen to be attending one, keep an eye out for me. |
AuthorLee Cummins is a mixed media artist, workshop and art class facilitator. Archives
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