Art awards… to enter or not to enter?

A few weeks ago, someone asked me what I thought about art awards, and it really got me thinking. It’s not something I tend to do a lot (awards, not thinking!).

I do understand the attraction, entering awards can be great for your confidence (when you do well), it can be a good motivator to update your portfolio and it can create a bigger audience for your work.

However, art awards can have their drawbacks. Personally, my first big barrier is time, I’m rather time poor. Painting for an award takes time and it often means starting an entirely new work (not to mention dealing with the logistics of freight eek). I also feel people can do themselves an injustice by hanging too much of their confidence based on the success of the prize.

In some ways, I feel awards of skill are more appropriate for things like sport. After-all, art is very subjective and although we can often tell a beautifully crafted artwork from a developing one, it is still very open to interpretation when there are so many styles on offer in the art domain.

So, what does this mean for me?
It means that lately I’m prioritsing painting for galleries and my lovely supportive clients. The joy I get from a client telling me how much they love their painting is the prize, and to create something for someone that will bring happiness into their home and hearts just can’t be beaten.

Some recent kind words from a client:
”The finished piece is absolutely beautiful. It captures a landscape which is very special to us and to my family and it has completely transformed our living room. We feel so grateful to have met Bec and we are very proud to have one of her beautiful pieces in our home
Alice and Fraser, Sydney

Alice’s commission, Merriwa 2022. Stages of work with finished piece.

Of course there will always be an exception to the rule, and the Muswellbrook Art Prize is currently one of them for me. Muswellbrook Regaional Arts Centre holds a special place in my heart. But for other awards, they are, at least for the time being, on hiatus. Mum duties, gallery commitments and the farm take up a lot of my time, which I of course love.

Maybe one day when my time is leisurely and I find myself wafting around the studio in a kaftan, drinking tea and reciting Baudelaire I might enter more awards, but for the time being its nose to the easel and paint for people!

On my studio wall there is currently a quote from Brene Brown, writer and psychologist, it states
“Stay in your own lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy”.

Indeed, it does.

Yours in art,
Bec xoxo