Wouldn't it be wonderful if more art societies took the trouble to do this!
The archived exhibitions provide a really great resource for those learning about the art of coloured pencil and what it is possible to achieve when using this particular art medium.
They also provide clear messages about:
- the level of technical excellence required to enter an exhibition
- the level of originality displayed
- trends in subject matter and style
- where the art sits within the context of the contemporary art market (when compared, for example, with the work on display at other art societies and art fairs)
As part of my personal "mission" to raise awareness of the potential of artists' coloured pencils I've developed a website - Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists - as a resource for all those who want to learn more about coloured pencils and associated artwork
On Sunday I did some website housekeeping and reorganised the content relating to the coloured pencil art societies and art exhibitions. In particular the content relating to CPSA and UKCPS. This now highlights, much more clearly than before, the links to all the various exhibitions which are online in terms of the:
- CPSA's (1) Annual International Exhibition and (2) Explore This! and
- UKCPS's (1) Annual International Exhibition and (2) World of Coloured Pencil Exhibition
It also includes a section devoted to the question of original art and copyright questions relating to the use of reference photos which has been a topic of frequent discussion in recent years on both sides of the Atlantic.
COLOURED PENCIL ART SOCIETIES & EXHIBITIONS
- Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA)
- CPSA International Exhibitions
- POLL - The People's Vote: Which is the Best International Exhibition?
- How did you choose the best exhibition? What criteria did you use?
- CPSA Explore This! - the Online Exhibition
- CPSA District Chapters - websites and blogs
- United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society
- UKCPS Annual International Exhibitions
- UKCPS World of Coloured Pencils Exhibitions
- Other Coloured Pencil Societies (Australia and Japan)
- Coloured Pencil Exhibitions and Copyright
It's usually the case that every time we see the display of images for one of the exhibitions we wonder:
- why the work we like best didn't get a better prize. (Answer - because judges are individuals and we all bring our own personal likes and dislikes to the judging experience)
- why certain work got a prize (Answer - Ditto - plus go and see it in exhibition)
- and, of course, the inevitable "If that got in why didn't mine get in!?" (to which there are a myriad of responses although a few may never be said out loud!)
Seeing work hung in an exhibition is also a very good way of understanding which are the strong and striking works. I personally found the CPSA slideshow of all submitted work to be a very educational experience - particularly in relation to how much the quality of the image submitted can influence decisions.
However, until called upon to judge artwork, it's not easy to understand the different criteria which are used to judge art.
To this end, you might might like to test your own judgement and take part in the challenge presented by a new poll on my website
POLL - The People's Vote: Which is the Best International Exhibition?
The site provides access (just below the poll) to links to the archived pages of the CPSA exhibitions and the Poll asks you to determine which of the exhibitions between 2000 and 2010 is the best. That way we're not being unfair to individual artists as you're being asked to judge the exhibition as a whole.
You're also invited to offer your comments on what criteria you used to make your choice.
I think it could be an interesting learning experience........let me know what you think.
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