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LIEntering the Mall Gallery competitions is a complicated affair! This is why I am so thrilled to be shortlisted and will languish in that joy even if all this effort ends here.
Apparently 3% of the work entered is finally hung. So, (as at the RI this year) if 465 works are hung, that would mean there are possibly 15,000 entries. We should never feel rejected if work isn’t selected. Selection is done quickly by good jurors (different from year to year) but there IS a degree of subjectivity. There are some stunning artists who ALWAYS get in, the rest of us may or may not.
It is a costly affair too and you have to factor in the entry fee (the cheap part) and three trips to London. A trip to deliver the work, one to collect it (whether rejected or hung and unsold) and a trip for the preview.
Last year when my work was at the RI - Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, 18% of works were sold. Never feel rejected if work isn’t sold! In a stressed economy, the art market always suffers.
This makes me wonder why I enter at all. Well, it’s a challenge and on the off-chance, it’s a thrill to be accepted. It’s an adventure taking part in exhibitions and great on the CV. Also you feel that somewhere, somehow you might just be making painterly marks that resonate and are on the ‘right track’ and that is very encouraging.
#mallgalleries #RI #NEAC #exhibitioncompetition #oilpainting #stilllifepainting
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