Friday, December 09, 2011

Nominate the Best Art (Still Life) on a blog in 2011

You are invited to NOMINATE an artwork on an art blog for 
The Making a Mark Prize for Best Portrayal of a Still Life in 2011
This prize highlights and celebrates excellence in creating pictures
which help us to reflect on how the small and inanimate can be beautiful 

Making A Mark Awards 2010
The MAM Award for Best Picture of the Year (Still Life) on an Art Blog

Black Grapes #3 by James Neil Hollingsworth

Today the nominations open for the Making A Mark awards - starting with a call for entries for The Making a Mark Prize for Best Picture - Still Life 2011.

This post covers:

  • eligibility of the artist 
  • eligibility of the artwork
  • who can nominate
  • how to nominate
Previous winners of this award (created in 2009) - who are ineligible for this year's award - are:
PLEASE SHARE A LINK TO THIS POST WITH OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED

Eligibility

Leave a comment below and tell us all whose still life painting / drawing / printing you appreciated in 2011.


Eligible artwork (drawings / paintings / prints):
  • Images should be about still life - The image should focus on aspects of our lives which are smaller than people or places. The Still Life can be a conventional still life - set inside or out. It includes artwork including flowers which is not botanical art (the latter should be nominated in the Nature category)
  • 2D artwork is eligible - artwork can be a painting (in any media) or a drawing (in any media) or a fine art print (using any method)
  • Work is NOT eligible if it appears to be be one or more of the following:
    • was not completed in 2011
    • has not appeared on an art or illustrated blog in 2011 and prior to 5th December 2011
    • over-reliant on a photograph not taken by the artist
    • subjected to lots of digital manipulation/tweaks (over and above that needed to make it read 'true' on screen)
    • a photograph
  • For the artwork to be shortlisted, the nominated artist must agree in writing to their work being displayed on this blog as part of the shortlist (you can seek their agreement after the nomination)
Please be careful to check the date of the artwork and when it was posted to ensure eligibility.

Eligible artists
  • In 2011, any artist creating images of still life and posting their work to their personal art or illustrated blog can be nominated.
  • An artist who has NOT won this prize in the last three years - as listed at the top of this post
  • Only artists with independent art blogs operating in 2011 are eligible. (The awards exclude all corporate blogs and/or paid blogging.)
  • An artist can be nominated more than once - by different people - for different works
  • An artist can be nominated more than once - by different people - for the same work
  • No canvassing is allowed 
    • Artists can announce the awards on their blog and/or the fact they have been nominated 
    • Artists can reference on their art blog only
      • the fact they have been shortlisted and 
      • the post on this blog where the vote is taking place .
    • Neither the artist nor the person nominating can canvas for votes - canvassing will result in disqualification.  (Canvassing = repeated mentions and/or touting for votes on other sites)
Making A Mark Awards 2009
Best Picture of the Year 2009 (Still Life)

Sometimes I feel you look right through me by Sally Tharp (Sally is painting today....

Who can nominate
  • Nominations are only accepted from people with an art blog
  • An artist can nominate their own work - so long as they have an active art blog!
  • Anonymous nominations are not permitted. In order to nominate you must have an art or illustrated blog and be capable of being identified by me. (This is purely to stop spammers as I link to the blogs of all those who have nominated in a later post summarising the nominations!)
  • All nominations must be in English
How to Nominate

To nominate - just COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST providing all the necessary details (see below) BEFORE 24th December 2011.  Nominations received will be posted on 24th December.

Your nominations MUST identify:
  • the title of the piece
  • the name of the artist,
  • the size and medium (if possible)
  • the name and URL of the blog (eg The Art Blog - http://artblog.blogspot.com)
  • the date, title and URL of the blog post in which the artwork appears (please provide a link)
  • SAY WHY YOU LIKE THE WORK - this bit is really important so please do the best you can. Remember that nominations are open and transparent and that it's good to share a genuine tribute to a piece of work you like
  • You need to ask the artist if their work can be posted on my blog - and let me know what the answer is.  This can happen after the nomination and BEFORE 24th December.
  • An artist can nominate their own work.
What happens next
  • Nominations close just after midnight on 23rd December 2011
  • On 24th December, a list of all nominations is posted - including a link to the person who nominated 
  • I will then select a shortlist of three works from the nominations 
  • The shortlist and the invite to vote for your favourite artwork for The Making a Mark Prize for Best Artwork - Landscape / Place 2011 will be posted on 26th December 2011
  • This winner of the category prize is also eligible for the overall Making A Mark Prize for The Best Picture on an Art Blog in 2011.
  • The winners will be announced on this blog on 30th December 2011
  • Read Making A Mark: End of Year Review 2011 and consult the links below (to be posted) to find out more about the other Making A Mark Awards.


Please also NOMINATE for other MAKING A MARK AWARDS 
calls for entry will be posted this week and next

Invites to nominate for the different categories associated with the Best Picture Award are now being posted. The order of call for entries for the remaining nominations is as follows:
  • 10th December - Best Nature (botanical, natural history or wildlife) 
  • Nominations for the other awards will follow in the week commencing 12th December 
    • Making A Mark Nominations: Generating Art - 12th December
      • The Painting a Day Stickability Shield 
      • The Best Art Blog Project Virtual Challenge Cup
      • NEW IN 2011 - The Best Art Society Blog
    • Making A Mark Nominations: Getting Out of the Studio - 13th December
      • The Painting Plein Air Plus Prize 
      • The Travels with a Sketchbook Trophy 
      • The Going Greener Gong
    • Making A Mark Nominations: Learning about Art & the Art Business - 14th December 
      • The FAQs and Answers Really Useful Medal 
      • The Make Me Think Gong 
      • The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon
    • Making A Mark Nominations: The Home Front - 15th December 
      • “The Moose” - the award for the best animal in an illustrated blog
      • The “Tales from the Frontline” Amusing Musings Trophy
      • The Most Gorgeous Mouthwatering (MGM) Studio of the Year
Links - Making A Mark Awards 2011
_________________________________________

Click the link to NOMINATE Art Blogs for The 2011 Making A Mark Awards

5 comments:

  1. I nominate my own still life to be considered for the award.

    NAME OF PAINTING:"Barrels,Baskets, Bottles"

    NAME OF ARTIST: Marie Theron

    SIZE:18X14"

    MEDIUM: Oil on W&N Canvas Board

    BLOG http://artistmarietheron.blogspot.com

    DATE November 2011

    URL http://artistmarietheron.blogspot.com/2011/11/nuweland-barrelsbaskets-and-bottles.html

    I like the various textures of wood, basketry, straw and glass painted here. I like the forms that dissolve in the darkness at the bottom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Title-''The simplicity of white''
    Artist- Maria Villioti
    size-28cmx36cm
    medium-colored pencils on claybord
    blog-''Art breaths''(pnoes texnis''
    http://pnoestexnis.blogspot.com/
    post-''In white ...''October 25,2011
    http://pnoestexnis.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-post_25.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well... darn... this is really impossible since there are ,of course, soooo many. I finally stopped looking through my links and bookmarks. That only made it harder to choose.
    Deciding the best way was to sit and think about it... the ones I could picture from memory... this meant they resonated with me more than others. Even then there were too many.
    I pulled my top ten and reluctantly eliminated them one by one until I had two.
    Incidentally some were on websites not blogs so I took them out since your awards say "Best ... on an art blog"


    Anyway, my final choice was tough but of the two this one had had that little extra something to it, more than just a still life. Unfortunately I could only choose one out of the set of three even though each is stunning.

    "Glass and Floral II" oil on canvas, 12x12

    by Jelaine Faunce

    http://jelainefaunce.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-paintings-new-gallery.html

    Very electric against the black background... like lightening on a dark night. Spare (De Stijl?) in color.
    The one I choose for it's perfect rim lighting, the grayed out green tones of the floral down inside the pitcher (very observant of her) and the elegance of her design.

    I don't usually go for florals, so choosing it really says something.

    Katherine, maybe next year you could modify your awards, at least in the Best Picture categories, to make them the Top Ten instead of the Top One?

    Whadda think? A lot easier on us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's an interesting thought David. You can nominate more than one painting but the suggestion is that this should be by different artists

    The only people I'm being rigorous with about no more than one nomination is where artists are self-nominating.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would like to submit my own painting "BFFs".

    Title: BFFs
    Artist: Alex Zonis
    Size and medium: 8"x8" (20x20cm), oil on gessobord
    Blog: http://pencilscribbles.wordpress.com/
    Post: Dec. 4, 2011 - BFFs - http://pencilscribbles.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/bffs/

    This is not a photo. This is a painting executed in photorealistic style. I like what I was able to achieve technically: the tiny flowers on Katya’s dress, the texture of the braided hair, the reflection in the button eyes, and the quality of the fur on the T. Bear. But more importantly this painting is also an example of poetic realism in depicting of emotions recollected in tranquility. A nostalgic recollection of the innocence of childhood where a Raggedy Ann type doll and a Teddy Bear could compensate for the hurt endured while seeing a doctor creates a visual impact. The back story is a hopeful look into the future where Katya and Colin the Bear, along with the young adults who once owned them, have gone west. They are now perhaps studying at Stanford or working as technology entrepreneurs at an Internet startup hoping to be the next Google or Facebook.


    Of course it is OK to post this painting on MAM.

    Thank you.
    Alex

    ReplyDelete

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