"If you're good at something, never do it for free." ---The Joker

just won $4000 scholarship in an art competition. not always pointless

I’m 48 years old, and I’m involved with the Art field since 35 years (I started my first professional private art lessons on age of 13, then graduated technical art school on age of 19, the finished university with specialty Art Pedagogy, and since then I teach Art). Art is all I know in this life. Both as a professional Art teacher (I have masters in Art Pedagogy) as an artist myself, I can tell you that any competition is a total waste of time and money, and the reason people enter competitions is because there aren’t standards about what is quality in Art anymore, and therefore everyone thinks it’s a matter of prestige to participate in an art competition. In fact, no famous (and good master in Art) has ever won a competition and that to set him / her on the path of a successful art career. That exists only in the imagination of hobbyist, who think that prestigious career starts through an art contests. Never happened, anywhere in this world. But British reality is unique in that matter. I was a jury for an art competition 14 years ago, international contest organised by the Red Cross. As a jury I received a guideline from the organisers what kind of work (-s) they are expecting to win, including which nationality must be the winner. You can imagine how I had to judge when I’m hinted (well... told) who has to win, right? Never again I accepted that “honour” to be the jury for an art competition. But I myself submitted an artwork of mine 6 years ago for the Derwent Art prize. That’s the only time in my life I submitted an artwork for a competition, just for the try, and for the experience. My work was selected for the final exhibition in the Mall Galleries London. There was a public vote, and I posted the link on my Facebook page, and as I’m a teacher, plenty of my students, friends and customers decided to share the link - I didn’t ask them to do so. Yet, 2 days before the vote was closed, my artwork was leading in the public vote with more than 40% to the second in the list. That apparently frustrated the organisers, as it’s unacceptable a foreigner to win an international art contest in the U.K., and that’s why they turned off the voting system and the day the results had to be announced, the system was already displaying a British artist as a winner. After which I decided I had enough of art competitions and never again submitted an artwork for whatever competition. It is a silly experience and I think the best way one to validate their skills is by attending good art lessons, with a professional teacher, so to learn the basics of the art language. Then, just keep on working, and the recognition will come soon or later. 😊

We enter art competitions hoping to be a winner, just to be told we are losers.

One important issue not mentioned is that a lot of organisations have terms and conditions in their competitions that ask you to sign your rights away. They say something like “entering this competition gives us the irrevocable right to use your images for XYZ....” and some even expect you to transfer copyright! Please read terms and conditions carefully for these events! Proceed with caution!

I've placed in a few international art competitions but it meant absolutely nothing for sales. People have always bought my art when they loved it. They couldn't have cared less about the awards they just really liked a particular work of mine and bought it. The art magazines sometimes have thousands of people entering and they only give out a couple hundred dollars in prizes and they get to keep the few hundred thousand dollars of the other entrants. Some just give you an article in their magazine which basically costs them nothing and the magazine is only read by other artists and not collectors. Your video is TRUTH.

If I have to pay to enter a competition I'd think it's a scam.

I entered a few Juried Art Shows none of my paintings made into any of the shows. When the show opened each time my wife and I would go and check them out. My wife always said your art is better than most of the paintings in this show. What I noticed is most of the same people got selected all the time, it was the same names over and over. So why allow other's to enter if you keep selecting the same artists? As you said they need money to keep operating. I don't do any juried shows any more. Learned the hard way lol But you can keep visiting the same art galleries and get to know the people. You never know they just might show your art in their gallery. I like visiting galleries just to see what's out there.

Enjoyed this....love your paintings and I’m 88 and never cared what other people think including my relatives....

Never pay for your own art 😸

I always have felt that art competitions are a kind of abuse, humiliation to the unique inner child artist!

I appreciate this 🙂 I entered a couple of online competitions as a teenager, just for practice and exposure: one of them told me that my art ‘was not up to the quality they were looking for,’ and the digital drawing platform I used was too simple for them- rude! The other one was won by the artist that organized the competition, so that seemed like it was rigged from the start 😕 I don’t draw to compete anymore, and am much happier for it!

same goes for music writing competitions....schemes to promote the friends of the organizers...

I'm part of a local arts group that organizes a juried show. We engage an outside judge, don't stack entries, and desperately hope to break even. Our last show had 100+ entries accepted out of 130 submissions, limited more by gallery space than by anything else. Four works sold during a month long exhibit. Our concern has always been that the aesthetic of a single curator can have too much influence on selection, so we've always made an effort to find someone who has demonstrated an openness to many media and many forms. Next year we're hoping to engage three judges to ensure that we have more balance, if we can afford it (we offer our judges a stipend of a few hundred dollars Canadian plus transport to the opening). While we surely disappoint those who don't get into the show, we do have a number of early stage artists with little confidence in their work. If they get selected, and many do, this does give them some validation and encouragement to continue and work harder. Many have far more talent than they give themselves credit for, and it is great to see the look of shock on their faces when they're awarded best in category, honourable mention or even best in show. No one will rise to instant fame as a result of our shows, but I truly believe that we make a positive contribution with our event. Meanwhile, I have seen all of the negative things you mention. My advice is to choose your shows wisely and find the ones that are doing it for the love of great art, not for money. Images from our latest show: facebook.com/pg/SpiritOfTheHillsArts/photos/?tab=album&album_id=803435220088690

OMGOSH!!! I could kiss you!!! 😘🤭Thank you for dispelling these myths. I kinda got the feeling things were as you said here. -Lots of jumping through hoops, for other people to make money off our work. Thanks again for the great advice.👍

Hi Ed, thanks for this video. Love your perspective and honesty. I just wanted to share something I learned earlier in life. I noticed that in just about every facet of life, there was this striving to "be the best". It seemed to be a standard for how to live. If you're not "the best", then you're just average. But it dawned on me one day, why? Why is being the best a definition of our lives? Someone, somewhere, will always be better so what's the point. I decided to change my motto to this: Never strive to be the best, BUT ALWAYS strive to do your best. I live by this every day, and have tried to teach it to my kids. Do what you love, and love what you do. This motto will always show through in every thing you do in life. In my case it's painting. I may never be the best artist out there, but I will always love to paint. Anyways, cheers to you friend!

I wish I had seen this advice before I had entered five pieces into a print show (one got accepted) and then when I went to drop off my artwork for the show, it appeared that everyone who submitted their artwork in California had been. Luckily submissions were only $10 per. But still, after I sold a few prints in the bargain bins, I still lost money after buying the frame and hanging materials, etc. What’s really terrible are these “online art competitions.” Have you heard of those? Such a scam. There are so many scammers trying to take advantage of desperate artists, it’s sad. Thank you for this channel!

I love the tour of your space as well as the perspective. Your art style is quite amazing and exciting! Great advice: “Manage your expectations.”

I joined a rather prestigious local Art Association which was two hundred US dollars to join. I entered a few of their juried competitions - never had them accepted - and had to take my paintings in person to the association building. It was an eye-opener. The 'newbies/nobodies like me, while we were filling out submission forms and being directed to various tables were quite obviously ignored, but as the "real artists/regulars came in the door they were greeted effusively, one rudely stepped ahead of me on a line to chit-chat with her volunteer/artist friends manning a table. There were two groups - the 'in' group who knew each other, regularly had their art on display and were probably friends with the board members - then there were people like me, clueless, maybe working class like me and not pretentiously bourgeoise, didn't 'dress the part', weren't part of their social circle, social class - but were tolerated to increase membership and keep the money coming in. At every juried show I noticed, there were established artists manning the table where one put their name on the back of their painting and, processed forms. I noticed a pattern of how some of them would go out of their way to "chat you up" as you gave them your name and put it on the back of your artwork. Some tended to ask pointed questions and be not confrontational.... but showing more interest than was usual,. One got very annoyed at me because I said something like "No, I think it (some line on a form) means next Thursday - it was some polite disagreement about a date. This woman literally got up from her folding chair and walked away from the table! I always had the sneaking suspicion that these 'established artists' who always seemed to be sitting at the table where names were placed on the art WERE part of the jury system, and if they liked you after the very brief interaction, that was a mark in your favor - but if they didn't like you, or maybe you didn't fit the image of what they considered an artist should look/be like, that was a strike against you. This organization had plenty of volunteers, people like me who wanted to just be around the art scene and maybe meet some other artists. In fact I filled out a volunteer form - but they never contacted me to volunteer for anything. One woman in this 'in group' was so rude, she even deliberately planted herself in a chair over by the refreshment table laden with cake, cookies, cheese, crackers, etc. and watched that I didn't gobble them all up! Maybe she was afraid I might stuff them in my pocket. They were such effete snobs, I knew I would never be accepted in their closed little world. I did sell a painting in their holiday art show (non-juried) for one hundred dollars, but the membership cost 200 dollars. This well-known Art Association (Woodstock New York) reminded me of some tourist towns I've been in where every summer the tourists are tolerated because the town depends on the revenue from them to meet their budget, but they are largely resented, even despised. I;ve been to some of these places that have a tourist-based economy and some locals have even given friends and I wrong directions to their main attractions just for the fun of it I guess.

I really love the sincere and honest advice that you are giving out for free! This is sound advice. I don't want to step on toes, but i think this quick story backs up your sentiment here. I have a dark secret. You will think less of me. I used to own art galleries. ( There, I said it, I'm not proud.) When "the season" had died down, I would host an art competition. I charged for each entry. I'm not all bad, If you wanted to enter several works, I'd give a discount. I would usually give the winner a small show in season, but ultimately, It was another way for the gallery to make money. The average artist would spend fifty dollars to enter their work, hundreds of artists would enter. Do the math. This was a way for the gallery to pay the rent during the slow months. I learned it from other gallery owners who would do the same thing. Now, I just paint! I don't show in galleries. i suspect for a lot of the same reasons as you. Keep up the great work!

I've entered a few in the past and found them great for my confidence. I've never entered them expecting to win (& never have) but did so as more of a challenge to myself, to take me out of my comfort zone - as I tend to be a bit solitary in my art practice which was starting to get me into a bit of a rut. I probably won't bother entering any more in the future as they are a bit of a rort but I'm glad I did.

I look at art competitions as a poker game. I decide how much I want to bet and how many hands I want to play (which contests to enter and how many per year) based on their potential cost vs. value and how decent the odds are of a payoff. And just like a poker game, I walk away from losing hands without looking back. Even great hands don't always hit. Using good judgement is part of the game. Also, I find having a contest deadline to aim for helps me stay motivated and on track. I've even used the deadline to get work done, but then decided not to enter at the last minute. So I think they can be useful. Not all contests are alike either. I tend to go for contests put on by art supply companies because they are free and you can win supplies! I won $500 this year from Prismacolor with minimal stress. Ironically, it often feels like artists are the bottom rung of the art world, with lots of people working you for your money, time and creativity. I can definitely see that with competitions, as you're saying. But if you go in with your eyes open, I think there can be benefits to competitions too.

waiting for a respond weather I lose or win, IS THE MOST ANNOYING THING I've experience when entering art competitions, specifically waiting after a WHOLE MONTH or a week or two, and you have a point, NO ONE has the RIGHT to tell us artists that OUR WORK is RUBBISH or just straight up trash.

I agree. At the end of the day, it's the collector who matters. If THEY like it enough to purchase and own it, THAT's what matters. Fans of my art are the people I most appreciate. I will not pay money to be told that I'm not good enough or that the panel of three judges doesn't like my submissions - have a nice day. That's just nuts! The entry fee is better spent on art supplies. Art isn't a competition. The viewer either likes it or they don't. And there are billions of potential viewers.

Also, you should do a post on the topic...Why you should never "rent" the wall space of any gallery!

Depends, can’t just doubt someone. You can always enter small art competitions, ur most likely going to win when u have a small amount of people.

You raise a reason why I am against the awards for books too. A while back I was asked to do a book review of a book that had received two awards. My problem is that the book was so full of grammatical errors, typos, spelling errors that it was not ready to be published.

I did very well with competitions. When I started as an artist my first and second painting where both excepted into high profile London shows and both won prizes. I received thousands of pounds and one of the paintings was in the national newspapers. Being accepted can be good for your career, but a one off acceptance will probably not change your life. I was lucky. People were impressed as they were my first paintings and I was immediately able to sell subsequent paintings for thousands of pounds. However I had an illness and this illness got worse so I could not exploit the initial push I was given at the beginning of my career. Eventually I became so ill I had to quit altogether. My advice would be a little different to Ed's. I have known other artists do well by entering competitions around the world. Buyers are impressed if you have a nice fat CV with work exhibited in prestigious shows around the world. This does happen for some artists. I agree with Ed that many competitions are weighted against you. Some styles of work will be more likely to get in so it's good to see what has been exhibited in the past. In some cases you may be able to see if your work fits. Ed says nobody has the right to judge you. I am fine with being judged. Feedback is vital however not getting in doesn't mean that your work is shit. This should be a comfort to you. It was more common that you would have to physically take paintings to a place a few years back. I would meet people who were devastated and angry that they had not been accepted. If you get stressed about that sort of thing, competitions will drive you crazy. A famous art critic was not impressed by my painting and wrote that it was 'a shabby little thing', so even if you do get in you may have to deal with negative comments. Ed is right. You will see terrible paintings that have been selected. The RA summer exhibition is a good example of a mix of amazing work and 'what the hell?'. If you don't expect too much they can be enjoyable. If I became well again I would enter them as I think they are fun. If you have spare cash and thick skin. Give it ago. Ed's advice is good, but you have to find your own way. Competitions can be the backbone of a career or a waste of time.

As a struggling young artist, I have to say, the money I got from winning an art competition has helped me quite a lot (it was only about 3000 € tho). I understand your points and I personally only been involved in one competition, but if you're lucky (or, unfortunately, if someone's got your back from the beggining and you know you're gonna win anyway) art competitions can be very helpful if you need a lot of money in a relatively short period of time.

Actually I think learning to accept rejection is a very good experience for an artist. Also maybe there is such a thing as good and bad art and if you only ever think you are your own judge then your missing out on expanding your own understanding of your work. Just pick your competition to suit your particular art and then see how you stand against your peers.

"Manage your own expectations" Is one of many ways choose to live life. I've never bought into media hype or social pressure but I have hyped myself for things before and it's a good feeling knowing the hype is genuine. Went on a bit of a tangent there but I agree competitions that are as abstract as art is kind of suspect. Personally I think I'll be going the simple challenges route at some point down the road. I noticed about 6 different art works that I thought would be nice on my wall but there were others that just made me confused or had a duh moment in my brain. PS: You have a great speaking voice and the camera person did a good job following you around while staying at a height I'm comfortable with.

There is a parallel in photography competitions. Lots of competitions, crap value prizes, sold to photographers as helping to develop "profile" even if they don't actually win. Almost never leads to sales. I have had people in the past say to me they want me to do photographs but not pay for them as they would provide "exposure" and prestige, improve my "profile" but no actual cash. I even did it a couple of times many years ago. No detectable benefit at all. The sensible answer to that is two words of which the second is "off". This is effectively de-monetising and devaluing artistic endeavour. There are literally thousands of these photographic competitions all over the world which are with very few exceptions utterly valueless. If you look at the maths of the costs of entry, the number of entrants and the value of prizes the organisers are the only ones benefitting.

Finally someone is articulating what I have always believed to be so obviously true, thank you. Based on my experience of having been a freelance artist and illustrator since 1986, the few art society open exhibitions, (so called), and competitions I have entered in my younger days all lead to financial loss, even when my work had been exhibited. Asking for a fee to submit work for scrutiny is rather like asking an actor to pay for an audition, or an applicant for a job pay for an interview.

I have always thought that! It's great to hear you put it so well. Also, thanks for sharing your very interesting paintings.

please do a ted talk!! you are very inspiring!!!

Thank you for giving the real deal! I did my own thing in my house and invited other artist friends! We were lucky and had a decent turn out and sold a few pieces! It’s not easy! I rather spend that money on good art supplies and work on my craft! When you waste your money and dreams on that other stuff, your art suffers!

Great video, thank you. I find that art is too hard for anyone to judge a 'winner'. There is no measurement criteria. What are they judging? Painting skills? Composition? Realism? Lack of realism? Childish naivety? They don't know. It's often just a gut reaction: extremely subjective, and therefore not fair.

Their are Artists and Artistes. It's artistes whom care only for their name to be heard but its an artist whose name is heard to care. Their is a massive difference. Ive met both and artistes are ruthless compared to the generosity ive felt from genuine artists. They are easy to spot, you can't hide in the artworld. I'm alone on my own journey, painting to stay alive, doing it the hardway. Thankfully, through the power of social media, I soon picked up sponsorship for being the real deal, im not rich in fact im very poor, but im happy. Be true to yourself and the rest will take care of itself.

Thanks for expressing so eloquently the troof ! Let's hope the message gets through to the kids (and is heard by those who need to hear it!). I used to enter them and it was a bit hit and miss - some years I'd get in, some years I didn't - but I can honestly relate to your sentiments here. There didn't seem to be any correlation between my own estimation of the work I'd submitted and it's likelihood of acceptance. Some of the work was awful and got it, some of it I'd surprised myself with and it was a thumbs down. It did nothing to improve my workflow and yes the judges choices often seemed arbitrary. I don't think the judges themselves really know what they're looking for - there was a famous case up in Stoke where a member of the public submitted a blank canvas as a joke, calling it ''the Mind of a Politician'' and won first prize ! I think there may be value in terms of setting yourself something to aim for if you need that but that's about it. There is on a fundamental level something abhorrent about reducing artistic expression to a talent contest

Thanks for the honest and great advice. Stunning art by the way!! WOW!!! :-)

I've been watching your videos lately and honestly, I can't focus on what you're saying because your artworks in the background are all amazing that I have to pause the video everytime a new artwork is on the frame.

Excellent video, and thanks for sharing your gallery with us. You do beautiful work and are above the “competition”.

So true!! I have entered one international Art competition and I received within a day a message that my art was not good enough. Your reason nr.1 was perhaps a possible reason of rejection. Thank you for this advice.

except that when your school makes you make a poster for Lion’s Club and you have to do because it’s a grade.

The only art I’ve ever entered was for a school magazine and not enough people enter so everyone’s art gets in

When I was a senior in high school here in the D.C. area, my teacher entered my ink and pen drawing in the Scholastic art competition. I won the golden key reward...and I didn't even know she had entered me.

Solid points, but my main problem with juried art competitions is that, in my experience, there seems to be a high degree of bias in them. The one I was in, the juror was a painter, and she only chose paintings/painters as the "winners", despite there being many other mediums in the show. Plus she offered to give feedback to any artist interested, and her feedback felt really thrown together, off the cuff, not at all thought out or helpful. It was a severely disappointing experience.

I disagree with several points being made here and it borders on dangerous advice. 1. If you win some competitions, it can raise the perceived value of that work, which means a higher selling price, as well as add to your resume and increase your odds of getting gallery representation. Many of them do actually care about these things and like to see that you have been showing somewhere. 2. If you get into a good competition that a substantial amount of people care about, with a high caliber of work, not every person will get a gallery’s attention directly from the show but it absolutely can happen. Sometimes one of the jurors may even be a private art dealer or gallerist, take an interest in an artist and contact them after the show. 3. Some competitions have very high cash prizes, including some that include actually buying your work. 4. Every person has the right to tell you that your work is bad if you are essentially asking them. That’s part of the experience of viewing art. It doesn’t mean you have to believe them. And if you don’t get accepted, it doesn’t even mean that they are telling you that. You know that there are a limited amount of spaces to be accepted going into it. Some competitions are not worth bothering with. But instead of saying don’t enter any art competitions, a much better strategy is to only enter reputable high caliber competitions that provide a lot of potential benefit, and target the competitions that focus on the specific type of work that you make as opposed to just any subject, style or medium.

I won a juried art show -'best in show '. What happened - nothing( other than selling the piece itself). AND the entire art community slagged me and my work for several years after. I was rejected when I attempted to enter my local artist tour and suffered many other ruthless attempts to discredit me. I learned a valuable lesson about the art world. I agree wholeheartedly no one should tell you if your good enough.

Thank you for doing this video. I believe you've hit the nail on the head. I had my doubts & noticed many aspects of what (to me, at least) smelled of a 'scam'. Once, the winner of a major competition I'd entered (with a prize of $100,000) had not adhered to any of the guidelines & yet her painting was the winning entry!!! Mine returned with a hole in the middle of the painting (which was the only one covered with bubble wrap at the pick-up place. I presume they thought the damage would go unnoticed by me). I had to threaten to sue for them to finally give in & have the painting repaired (if they could offer a $100,000 prize, I was sure that they could pay the restorer a few hundred dollars to fix it). I've also noticed that when a known painter enters a competition, they will get the top prize.

Been wondering when somebody was gonna step up to the plate and shed some light on this issue. Thanks a million for your post

I myself have entered lot of art contests in the past. When i won they gave me nothing. They promised when the winners won, they will give a full body art/huge shoutout and more. When i realized that it is stupid to enter art contests, i stopped entering them. And again, getting prizes is a 3/50 chance. I was wasting time for nothing. But ty for making this video to warn ppl ☺

Your artwork is really mesmerizing. Amazing job!

I 100% agree with you. I tried a few earlier this year for the first time thinking it would be a good idea to get exposure. I wish I'd asked your advice first. After being rejected from them all I thought to myself what's a waste of money and time. I then came to the conclusions that you've mentioned in this video. Sometimes as artist we get caught up and jump on the bandwagon of what 'should' be done to be successful, but I think a lot of the old ways are outdated. I'm working on getting my own studio gallery. So glad you're making KZfaq vids as well. Thank you.

I only enter local county and state fair art competitions. The entrance fees are super low so I’m not worried it I don’t win (the prizes aren’ big either). It’s more of a way for me to get involved with the local art community. I enjoy getting a chance to talk to other artists and talking to members of my local community about art. Living rurally and doing all my art business online means that I crave opportunities to talk to people about art face to face. 😂 I’ve been encouraged to enter big shows like the ones your talking about but I don’t feel like they are worth my time or money for the exact reasons you said. Thanks for the video!

I very much enjoy your videos. I live in California and enter several regional and national shows every year. I enter these shows with my eyes open knowing that it’s a way for an organization to make money. With that said, I enjoy having my work seen and appreciated in a nice space, I have met many people that have become good friends. I have sold several pieces fro these shows. I have been inspired by the work of others, and I have been invited to be in a local gallery.

Nothing like receiving good advice and seeing some great artwork at the same time. Your color combinations are beautiful.

Thanks. I don't need anyone to judge I am good. If my work is acceptable by Judges, then I am not an Artist. A real Artist work is good enough to stand alone.

Your paintings are so beautiful!

Pretty much made those "mistakes" on my own. Now I just pass on everything with pre-paid money. I would even prefer a gallery who took 30-40% (what is huge aswell, but a least they try to sell my art to make money). Thank to your videos and the mistakes I made, I pretty much started to do stuff 100% on my own. And I sold some artworks and also got a commission already, everything in the middle of the pandemic. It is by far not much money, I only paint for like 2 years now, but there is still some money comin in.

Ed, this was a video with great advice. Thank you, it's good for us artists that are trying to get our work recognised on a bigger scale, to not only recognise the positive opportunities but also the negative ones. I had the latter happen to me this year. I donated some artwork and my time to sell some pieces (supposably an opportunity to market myself and make some sales) for a local fundraiser. It wasn't what I was lead to believe the night would be and I felt taken advantage of and mislead. The experience left a sour taste in my mouth.

Well presented thoughts. I've come to the same conclusion myself and I would include paying to be in galleries in the same category. The main person to be impressing with your art is yourself. If you don't believe in it who else will? That's what I've found people buy into.

Oh god- I feel scared to even enter my school art competition now- It’s gonna be anonymous, but I thought since I have only painted as a hobby for now and kept them to myself and just showed them to friends and family. Maybeee I could be a little more recognized since then when I start and end art school, I could sell my paintings, start a gallery, and all that stuff.

Great video, vary valid points. With the tech today and a small budget you can do quite a bit in regards to exposure of you art to the masses.

Confirmed my own thoughts and feelings. Just another set of what I call 'leeches'. Thanks for sharing.

I agree it is a way for these galleries to make money from artists. And if you do get in you have to pay shipping both ways and nothing sells. I stopped entering years a ago. I have had paintings destroyed when shipped back so I lost all of the money and the art as well. Thanks!

Art competitions in Australia are big money making businesses. The NSW Art Gallery holds the Archibald ,Wynne & Sulman Art Prizes every year. They attract approximately 3,000 entries at a cost to each artist of $50 = $150,000 . They chose 90 finalists which are exhibited for three months. The cost to audience to view this exhibition is $25 per adult & attract about 50,000 visitors . The Moran portraiture prize charges $100 per entry and attract about 1,000 artists = $100,000 etc etc . A few fortunate artists win the cash prizes .

6:42 - One of my fave paintings of yours Swarez. I like the minimalism and restraint of using too many colours.

I totally agree. While it's nice to win, for most it's a waste of time and money. And a bruising you can do without. Competitions are like any arena for your work. If about 5 % of any viewers love it then your judges are more likely to come from the 95% of the population who don't. Plus limited space, too many entries will inhibit your chances of even being chosen. Then there's couriers and damage when they want the painting present for judging. Not to mention all the fiddly paperwork.

I entirely agree. I got suckered into a small local art competition in Brea, California, 3 years in a row before I wised up and stopped. They accepted my drawing the first year for hanging but the winner was some girl who had an installation of big wads of copper wire hanging from the ceiling. You'd think that would have been enough to teach me a lesson but no, it took the next 2 years for me to work out that they'd used the old "first one's free, kids" bait and switch maneuver to get me coming back. I've entered a couple of free competitions but never really got anywhere. I think I've got it out of my system now. The stress isn't worth it and the results nonexistent. And it's so ridiculous! That first competition with the freaking copper wire... how did they judge it? It was all sorts of media... no particular area competing like best pen and ink or best painting. No, it was everything from paintings to video, relief to sculpture. So I assume the copper wire girl was related to someone connected with the judges, unless those judges were genuinely so moved by the bundles of wire that they just had to give her the prize. No, it was the same pretentious silliness you see everywhere. So no more. Let them pat each other on the back and take some other sucker's money.

I couldn't agree more. The whole system is a crapshoot from the artist's perspective. I'm always astounded by the first prize winners! And disappointed that so much good work gets no notice. I have been painting for 50 years and it is always the same. Artists paint for yourselves. You don't need validation from people whose values you don't respect.

Thanks for this video! I have entered about 3 art residency entries, did not win them and it felt absolutely off - waiting - guessing - trying to fit in through the thin passage of their requirements...and then receiving the e-mail that my project did not fit in with their values how they see it whatever. So from now on I make my own projects, period.

I'm actually not a painter, I'm a fine art photographer. I enter competitions from time to time. Although I am incredibly selective in which ones I decide are worth the while. Like how much exposure will it lead to, will their be a critique or portfolio review from people in the art business I respect, how much does it cost to enter, how big is the competition, and the people who organized the competition, are they reputable? All those play in. I think there are opportunities within competitions for artists looking to gain some exposure. I especially find those that have critiques/portfolio reviews incredibly useful. That insight (although sometimes heartbreaking) can be invaluable... but finding good competitions, ones from reputable sources that aren't charging a lot to enter are few and far between. But I do find those rare few helpful.

Thank you I am just now noticing this art battle it is really blowing my freaking mind like serious like when did art start being a competition Bob Ross would never do something like this most art people was raised to enjoy painting enjoy what you're making you smile love color but never in a billion years being a battle with with you crazy I'm just saying thank you for speaking up for this thank you

The competition that I joined did not inform me whether I won or not. I learned it through social media. I also find it unfair that the judges are not varied, even in gender, so they seem to have the same perspective on looking at art. It's discouraging...

Really enjoying the vids, I'm just coming back to creating work myself after spending time helping to raise my daughter and the world of art has changed a lot in the past 13/14 years, thanks for making sense of it and helping to build more confidence. Also, just found out your studio is only around the corner from me in Gloucester helps me relate to your knowledge even more :)

These vids are a very clever way of getting your work out there! Some fantastic work and some wise words though.

I absolutely agree with you and it is refreshing to hear someone else publicly saying what I have always suspected!

I apply to competitions, but selectively. I get into about 50%. I've won awards and some were also cash awards. I think for most people, this video is correct, up to a point. All art careers have up front cost and one should always try to contain them. For artists seeking a gallery/fine art career, such shows should be considered an up front cost for pursuing this career. But one needs to be disciplined about it. I would also say that after a time of being successful with getting into shows, but then having nothing to show for it (awards, prize money or representation) one should then rethink their objectives. Attend these shows and you'll find plenty of mediocre art that's there to fill wall spaces or appeal to a specific audience. It brings bodies in, but doesn't necessarily lead to sales. These are the questions I ask when examining shows to enter: Does the gallery in question exhibit my type of art genre? Does my work fall into the artistic taste/style of the jurist? What is the level of talent normally found in the gallery or art institution sponsoring the show? Does the community in which the show is taking place, have a history of supporting the arts, a body of collectors or one off high disposable income patrons? Then there's always the "personal politics" (not ideological, but personal interaction) of the organization sponsoring the show, are you part of that cultural network? I probably enter a half dozen shows a year, I will usually make it into three or four. Gallery/Fine art isn't the only art market I participate in, one needs a multi-pronged approach, IMO. HTH

I totally agree. Its purely for qudos and something for a CV . If you are rolling in the money its the icing on the cake to say you are an award winning artist but to say you are simply an ward winning artisit does not bring in the money . I stopped enterting competitions when the last one which shall remain nameless wanted £1000 to rent a booth with spot lights and their was no choice and no refund . Thats when I had a lightbulb moment .

Good to hear a logical perspective of art competitions.

I think it depends on how you really view it. You sign up for an art contest in hoping to learn from other people’s entries. What did they do? How did the color their art? And etc. if you have this mentality just to win no matter what you are going to end up being very disappointed. It about the process and not always the result. I find joy in a challenge and see how far I can go.

Good video. I like how passionate you get about certain topics. I feel the same way, also about design competitions.

5:35 the yellow piece behind you, 'Hogarth's line of Beauty' . Nice piece. Also spotted Pollock's 'Blue Poles' in your gallery, also nice.

Thank you for this video. Really enjoying your content, so very helpful and practical. I quit my job back in July to work on freelance illustration but also producing abstract painting with the goal of setting up my own shows some day to sell my work. So your videos have been really good to keep me on track. Anyways, I 100% agree with you in this video. I have entered a couple competitions when I was really young and never won anything from them. To this day, I have NEVER been to or seen a competition in which I agreed with their top picks. I always see this amazing art that gets passed over for some of the most mind boggling winning choices. I don't get it. But like you said, at the end of the day, what was the point anyways? Blessings

Thank you for saying this. I was on a site recently and someone on there offered to "critique" other artists work. I got flack when I said that no one has the right to judge someone else's work since they do not know the artist's state of mind, their skill or talent level. Not to mention sometimes a black spat on white is art to one and a stain to another... Plus art is sometimes bought simply because it matches the sofa. Again thank you for offering that solid advice. I am a follower and love your videos.

I just lost an art completion and I needed this Edit: it was a school completion, but still I felt pretty disappointed because I was proud of the piece

Hello from Australia Everything you say is very interesting and thank you for making the video U have a lot of good points and keep up the good work I'm just starting out to paint it's good to have all this information

Thank you! i dont feel so alone in my thinking now! its always felt like i was'nt part of the 'club'. but honestly, that club isn't that great anyway. At the end of the day i am satisfied looking at my work and no amount of back slapping changes anything for me especially fake ones. love your take, it's an honest an frank view that i share with you, and others may have a different take, good on them. Its just not my experience.

Thank you so much for that very good description of the art contest world. I'm very interested in knowing how you personally would go into making money in the Art world of painting if you don't mind.

Great advice, thank u so much....the paintings on your walls are amazing, r they all your work...

Lately in Australia they're choosing indigenous artists in every competition.

I got an email today about competitions and I thought I'd be better off making a competition myself. Then watched this and it took all my thoughts and confirmed them! Love the open honesty 👍✨🎨

It's definitely a massive scam. Thanks for saying what needs to be said.

Glad for the candid talk. However, I'd never say never. A way to learn how art sells, is to throw yourself in the deep end. But set a limit. Spend only what you're prepared to walk away from, with just the experience to learn from.

Good man. Well done for spreading the word:)

Thank you for the video. I will keep note of this. In Japan, juried art shows (I participated) didn't have long waiting time to know if painting has been accepted. I won some awards as well, but trying to find a way to sell my paintings. One of the problem that I noted was, juries love big paintings, size matters. However, don't think anyone be interested in huge painting in their compact home.

Sometimes the prize money from acquisitive art competitions is much lower than the value of the work. Hence some artists may enter but hope not to win!

Thanks, what I've thought for a long time.

I've entered a few, been accepted into a few of those, and won one. The key is setting your expectations - the best thing you said in the video. I don't think not entering is the only answer, however. You definitely need to not take it personally if you don't get accepted. That same piece that got rejected from competition A might win competition B. I always do a little research before I enter any competition. Look at the art that has been accepted previous years and if the juror is different every year go look at the juror's CV and their art. Get an idea of their aesthetic. Try to suss out your chances before you commit to entering. As for being pointless, I've made some pretty nice contacts from the shows I've been in and also met some real asshats that I marked off my list of people I'll interact with. Set you expectations