Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013: Call For Entries

The Call for Entries for the 8th Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize has been published.

The Prize encourages the very best creative representational painting and promotes the skill of draughtsmanship. The Exhibition of works selected by the Panel of Judges will be held at the Mall Galleries in February 2013.

Cover of Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013 Call for Entries Leaflet

I have to say I do very much like the brand new website which the Prize has this year.

To download the Call for Entries leaflet, Entry Form and labels, please visit the Info for Artists page.

Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013

Prizes

The prizes total £25,000 in value - which means this ranks as one of the most prestigious art competitions in the UK.  This prize fund is allocated as follows:

• First Prize : £15,000 and a Gold Medal
• 5 Runner-Up Prizes each at: £1,500
• Young Artist Award: £2,500 (The Young Artist Award is for an artist who is 25 years of age or under on 11 January 2013)

Exhibition

The Judges will select approximately 100 works for the Annual Exhibition which will be held at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 from 18th February to 2nd March 2013. Admission is free.

The Exhibition will also be online.  Images of work selected for the 2012 Exhibition can be seen at  http://www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk/exhibition/

What's happened in the past?

You can see the artwork shortlisted for the Lynn Painter Stainers Prize on the website on the Past Winners page

Panel of Judges

The panel of judges for the 2013 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize comprises:

• Nina Murdoch - painter in egg tempera.  Nina has exhibited across the UK and won numerous awards including 1st Prize in the first Threadneedle Art Prize 2008.
• Antony Williams RP, PS, NEAC - painter in egg tempera.  Antony won 1st Prize 2012 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize with his painting Still life with electric fan. 
• Andrew Lambirth - writer.  He's a regular contributor to The Spectator and has written books and essays on numerous contemporary artists. 
• Ken Howard OBE, RA, PPNEAC, RWS ,  painter in oils and watercolour - Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers, Professor of Perspective at the RA Schools 2004-2012, Past President of NEAC and Judge in 2012
• Andrew Wilton, Visiting Research Fellow at Tate - Member of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and Judge in 2012

The judges will be looking at all the paintings submitted throughout the UK in mid January 2013. For further information about the judges Read More

What are the chances of success?

First things first - it helps to be realistic about the chances of success.

In 2012, 1,150 entries from all over the UK were submitted and 98 were selected and hung in the exhibition.  That equates to 8.5% chance of a work being selected - which as major competitions go in the UK is actually pretty good!

The other way of looking at this is that you have a 91.5% chance of spending money on framing, transporting and submitting your artwork for absolutely no return.  So if budgets are tight you need to make sure you are fully aware of what costs are involved and have confirmation in writing (see my Recommendation at the end re unselected and unsold works).

How to Enter

Parker Harris administrate the prize - see their LPS competition website not to be confused with THE competition website http://www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk/).

You need to:

• EITHER Download the Entry forms, further information and labels from the Info for Artists page on the Prize Website
• OR send a SAE to Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, PO Box 279, Esher, Surrey KT10 8YZ and you'll receive printed versions of the above via snail mail.  

Then you need to:

• READ the Call for Entries Leaflet - this provides guidance on the entry and details dates for regional collection of submissions
• COMPLETE all the sections of the Entry Form in BLOCK CAPITALS
• FILL IN the Labels

If you want to ask for the provisions of this call for entries to be waived or varied you need to apply to the Prize Organisers who have sole discretion.

WHO can enter

To enter you must be

• over 18 on 12 January 2013 and
• resident in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

WHAT you can enter

This is a competition which values draughtsmanship in representational artwork by UK artists who paint or draw.

• Works submitted must be available for exhibition until 31 March 2013 (although I think they have made a mistake with this date as the exhibition finishes on 2nd March!)
• You can submit up to four works. Eligible works must be:
• original
• two dimensional works in any painting or drawing media
• completed in the last three years
• never previously exhibited anywhere
• available for sale (except for commissioned portraits)

There are practical constraints on size and how works can be displayed. These are:

• works must not exceed 72 inches (183 cms) in their largest dimension including frame.
• Works on paper must be framed. No work in metal or plastic frames will be accepted for judging. Specific requirements regarding framing and/or cross-bearers for canvases. There must with no projections are the rear of the frame.

The DEADLINE for entry

• The FINAL deadline for submissions to the Federation of British Artists (at the rear of The Mall Galleries) 17 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5BD is 11th and 12th January 2013 between 10am and 5pm
• Earlier deadlines apply to the regional collection points which have been arranged throughout the UK.
• For further information about delivery in London and regional collection details download the Call for Entries Leaflet. 
• The Collecting van is marked Lynn Painter Stainer Prize at each collecting point.
• The guidance provides details of receiving dates for 14 towns and cities (and motorway service stations) throughout the UK besides London. The earliest receiving date (in Birmingham) is 4th January 2013.

Evening sun: Old Harry by Deborah Walker RI

HOW to submit an entry

Unlike other major art competitions, this competition has NOT converted to digital entry and online payment.  Hence all works must find their way to the Federation of British Artists in Carlton House Terrace in London.  Also fees can not be paid online and you need to write a cheque for all fees payable.

• All work needs to be fully labelled (artist’s name, address, title of work, price)
• All work must be submitted unpacked (ie no support for unpacking/packing) to a collection point with a fully completed Entry Form and an entry fee which is payable at the time of handing in 
• Cheques for entry fees should be made payable to the LPS Prize. The entry fees are:
• Standard entry fee is £15 per work 
• Student entry fee is £5 per work - the reduced submission cost is due to the support of competition sponsors Minerva Magazine and Linklaters
• Prices for paintings sold during or as a result of the exhibition, or by means of the LPS Prize website, need to be inclusive of Commission of 40% and any VAT payable by the artist.  Only commissioned portraits are allowed to be 'not for sale'.

WARNING! Notification and collection of works

Arrangements for work not selected may be a considerable disincentive to those from the regions who are thinking of submitting work.  In essence the collection scheme does not appear to work in reverse. It may be that there has been a problem with artists failing to arrange to pay for their artwork to be collected and/or turning up to collect their artwork from regional collection points.  Obviously paying for artwork to be submitted AND collected up front (rather than waiting to see if it was selected or sold) avoids some of the potential for this type of problem. Hence arrangements with courier firms need to be EXPLICIT and in writing.

See my Recommendation below of what artists should do to avoid nasty surprises

• All artists will be notified of whether they have been selected or not by 17th January 2013
• In order to avoid any further costs, all unselected works must then be collected from the Federation of British Artists (rear of Mall Galleries in London) IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS on 18/19 January 2013 irrespective of where they were handed in. (I think this is a major change this year and I suggest all those using the regional collection points need to get a formal written estimate of the costs for BOTH submitting AND retrieving their work. )
• All works not collected on these dates will be removed to storage by Art Moves of Chelsea, who will levy a charge of £24.00 (inc. VAT) per work for this removal and storage. Works removed in this way will be available for collection on Wednesday 23 January, 2013, 11am - 4pm and Saturday 26 January 2013, 12pm - 3.30pm from Nationwide Self Storage, Blantyre Street, Chelsea, SW10 0EQ.  (Which basically indicates to me that the collection scheme does NOT work in reverse)
• All artists with unsold works will be contacted by Parker Harris by 1 March 2013 with details of arrangements for collection.  I'd expect that these will be very similar to those for unselected work 

RECOMMENDATION: You are recommended to identify the FULL COSTS of submitting and collecting an artwork which has not been selected or not been sold BEFORE you submit work in order to avoid any nasty surprises!  See Review of Specialist Art Couriers in the UK for alternative options.

The provisions of the call for entries may be waived or varied by the Prize organisers at their discretion. (If you've got a problem it never does any harm to ask!) The judges’ decision will be final and binding.
In addition, the artist bears the cost of the risk of damage or loss, however caused, and hence all artists are advised to arrange adequate insurance cover. (see Insurance for Art and Artists)

NOTES:

1. This post has been added to my Blog Page about Major UK Art Competitions 2012 & 2013
2. You can find posts about this competition in previous years at Lynn Painter Stainers Prize in the Archie Section on my website Art Competitions in the UK - Resources for Artists