How to be selected or Win Art Prizes.

Art Prizes and Awards are by nature a bit of an elaborate lottery, but you can greatly improve your chances of selection by some attention to detail and here are some tips you might like to employ.  Most important of all is to believe in yourself and never stop learning.

  1. Don’t just look at your own work, go to Galleries, troll the myriad of information available on Youtube or read Art Magazines. Doesn’t matter if it’s not your style or material.  You will notice and pick up on the quality of technique and execution other Artists use to make their work.  If something really appeals, then incorporate those techniques into your own work and find your own unique style.
  2. Where possible, attend workshops or tutorials to educate yourself and learn new skills. Good technique is evident in every great work.
  3. Always imbue your work with your own individuality and passion, irrespective of subject matter or genre.  Never stop learning and creating.  Make it yours.  Own it.
  4. Paint often, paint what you enjoy. If you’re working from a photograph, take the time to look at it and work out how you can add your own unique perspective through either colour palette or technique.
  5. If you paint abstract then take the viewers on a journey. There are an awful lot of abstracts around out there and the majority of them aren’t good and the understanding of Composition, Colour Theory, Texture, Tone and Mark making are at best amateur.  When judging an Art Prize I can pick the abstracts that have been done by a trained Artist as opposed to an enthusiastic amateur.  Educate yourself on these elements.
  6. Every Art Prize, judge or selection panel will have a different criteria, read that criteria well and understand the concept for the Art Prize and fully comprehend what that particular Gallery/Prize represents. Google the Art Prize’s previous selected Artists so you have an understanding of whether the works were contemporary or traditional work.  If you’re lucky enough to have a recently completed piece that suits the genre of work they’re chasing or you feel that work is a stand along show stopper then by all means enter it.
  7. Download the Art Prize Calendar which gives a comprehensive Month to Month list of what Art Prizes are on and plan a work in plenty of time to have it finished for entry into your favourite Prizes. I believe there may be a small fee involved, but this Prize Planner is an invaluable tool for any Artist with Professional Practice.   And remember the old addage “Failing to plan is Planning to fail”.