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A new string of exhibition entry deadlines are quickly advancing toward me on the calendar. I missed one last week— couldn’t be helped. But next week is another and the week after a third one. A good bio will show  participation in juried exhibitions each year. It shows you are an active and serious artist.

There is a size restriction  to 30” wide max next week.  Unusual. The Headwaters Juried Art Show is a main fundraiser for the artist run gallery. I rather think that because so many of the works last year were very large and consequently expensive that not many sold and not much fundraising resulted. I usually paint in larger (but not huge) formats. 30 inch wide is near the starting width for the larger pieces. Everything else is a lot smaller. I find it as much work to do a small piece as to do a large piece. Consequently,  I would rather go bigger. My contenders for this exhibition suddenly became fewer.

There are non-refundable entry fees to each show that the artists must pay. A slight discount is available to members of the exhibition gallery. These fees pay for the gallery rental, repainting/repairing holes, reception costs, rack cards, advertising, jurors fees etc. If your work is not accepted, you can think of the fee as a  donation, helping the local arts.

Most exhibitions are now entered digitally. This saves the artist shlepping the work to the venue and right back home if it is not selected for the show. This also allows artists at a further distance to enter the show as they (or their work) don’t have to travel unless their work does get selected. 

I always find it hard to choose which painting(s) I will enter into a given show. A large painting presumably must warrant a large amount of wall space in the jurors judgment. But a larger painting implies the artist is serious as well. Jurors differ widely in what is selected. Usually there are 2 or 3 jurors per exhibition. One juror may love a piece and another juror for the same show not so much. So the jurors make deals with each. “if you want that one in then I want this one in.” A particular painting may be unselected for a particular exhibition and in another it wins a prize. Go figure! There is no definitive accounting for the decisions. Some jurors are very experienced, or it maybe their first time in the position. Some jurors can’t help curating a show when they are meant to be selecting the best work regardless of how it all hangs together. 

So for the Headwaters exhibition, I think I will enter Cardinal Under Cover, Tethered, and In The Hills. One, two , three or none may get into the show. So today, I’ll be photographing, resizing photos, checking labelling, touching up. There’s a lot of admin work involved in being a practicing professional artist. Phew!

Tethered 20x20

Cardinal Under Cover 24x30

In the Hills   18x48