Artist and Illustrator - Artist of the Year 2011

Artists and Illustrators - is one of the UK's most popular art magazines.  It currently has a competition to identify the Artist of the Year 2011 - and you can see all the contenders online.

This is the fourth year of this competition which is sponsored by Cowling and Wilcox who have art supplies shops in Soho, Shoreditch and Camberwell.

The competition apparently had thousands of entries - and I have to say some of the shortlisted artists have produced some very good work.  I liked the landscape section the best, thought there was some strong work in the portrait section - but found the still life section less impressive than the other two.

See the shortlist - and vote!

These are the pages where you can review the entries and then vote.  So far as I am aware there are no geographical constraints on who can vote.

• Portrait
• Landscape - see if you can spot a name you may know from this blog!
• Still Life

The winners will be announced in the January issue of Artists & Illustrators which is published on 9 December 2011.

Questions for you!

• Did you enter?  
• What do you think of the shortlisted candidates?
• Tell me who you voted for!

2012 Artist of the Year

Should you think you might enter for this competition next year - can I suggest that you make sure you enter an image in a portrait format.  Images with a portrait format are being presented much larger than those in landscape format. I'm not surprised there are no panoramas in the entries!

Can I suggest to the people who run the website for Artists and Illustrators that next year they provide a square cell to display the work so that all work has the chance of being seen in the same space which does not favour portrait over landscape format.

Assuming the competition is run again next year, it's worth noting that in 2011:

• the competition was free to enter
• an artist could submit multiple entries - but each one needed a form
• the prizes are impressive for a magazine art competition
• Exhibition at a major public art gallery -  The shortlisted artworks will be exhibited at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, England’s first public art gallery. A display of the work will be organised in the Linbury Room and publicised during the gallery’s bicentenary year.www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
• Professional framing - To prepare for the Dulwich exhibition, all of the shortlisted artworks will be framed professionally by FA Pollak, London’s leading bespoke picture framers and restorers. For more information on the services they offer, call (020) 7837 6161 or visit www.fapollak.com
• Gallery representation The judging panel will select two artists from the shortlist who will be taken on and represented by two leading West London galleries. Quantum Contemporary Art and the Osborne Studio Gallery have both kindly agreed to exhibit one lucky entrant each in a group exhibition alongside established professionals, giving you the chance to sell your work to collectors worldwide and establish yourself as working artist.
• £500 of art materials One lucky artist will receive our readers' prize - £500 worth of products from Winsor & Newton, the world’s finest art materials manufacturers.www.winsornewton.com