Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize: deadline is TODAY 5PM!

For some reason, the Call for Entries for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize passed me by.

So this is a prompt for those who have entered previously and/or intend to enter again....

The DEADLINE IS TODAY - 5pm

You can enter via https://tbwdrawingprize.artopps.co.uk/

The benefits of the TBW Drawing Prize are:

•  Cash prizes totalling £27,000. These are:
• First Prize – £8,000
• Second Prize – £5,000
• Student Award – £2,000
• Working Drawing Prize – £2,000
• Evelyn Williams Drawing Award – £10,000 - selection by a separate set of Judges
  
• Your work may be selected for the annual exhibition of around 65 drawings (i.e. NOT just an online show!). The exhibition will launch in Trinity Buoy Wharf, in London, and show in galleries across the UK.
• Your work is seen by the panel of selectors.  
• artist Sheela Gowda, 
• Dr. Simon Groom of National Galleries of Scotland, and 
• Dr. Zoé Whitley of Chisenhale Gallery.

This is how the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2021 works

There is a two-stage selection process:

• Stage 1: Drawings are registered by 5pm on 17 June 2021. The Selection Panel will choose a longlist of drawings from the online entries. All works are viewed without reference to their maker. Entrants will be notified by 5pm on 25 June 2021 of the outcome.
• Stage 2: Longlisted drawings must be delivered to 
• one of the Collection Centres located across the UK 
• or directly to Trinity Buoy Wharf in London 
• during July 2021 for the final selection process.

• Selected Works: The final selection is announced in July 2021 - including all drawings shortlisted for the exhibition and awards 

Note the following

The biennial Evelyn Williams Drawing Award is supported by the Evelyn Williams Trust and is awarded to a selected artist with a significant track record to develop and realise a body of new drawings for a solo exhibition or to realise a new exhibition installation otherwise based on their drawing practice at Hastings Contemporary. Please note that students are not eligible for this award.

Are you Business Savvy about your art career?

Do you know what Business Savvy means?

Are you Business Savvy about your art career?

What's the difference between:

• A good artist who sells their work from time to time - but needs to have a 'proper job" too? and....
• Somebody who has a professional career as an artist and generates enough turnover/income/profit to pay their bills, and their tax bill and contribute to a pension fund?

What are the attributes of those artists who have coped best with all the change experienced in the last 12-15 months?

What changed in the art world in the last year - and is if ever going to be the same again?

These and more questions will be addressed in the Zoom Webinar I'm doing on 24th June (a week tomorrow) about How to be a Business Savvy Botanical Artist

It's targeted at botanical artists, but a lot of the messages are universal and apply to many artists.

This is the latest in the series of BOTANICAL ART TALKS which Julia Trickey has been organising this year. They've been attracting botanical artists from all continents!

• You can find a summary of what it's about on Julia's website - under Talks. 
• Date: the webinar is on Thursday 24th June 2021
• Time: 7pm BST, 2pm EDT and 11am PDT
• Fee: £12.
• Talks are recorded and made available to registrants 24 hours after the live session. They will then be available for 48 hours, making them accessible whatever your time zone!
• BOOK HERE
  

 

About Shirley Trevena RI

Shirley Trevena is extremely well known - internationally - as a watercolour painter. This is a video about Shirley talking about how she became a painter and her approach to making art in watercolour. 

Shirley is also: 

• a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. She was elected inn 1994 and served as a committee member for 8 years.
  
• an ex-local government officer who worked in Planning (I never knew that before!) 
• who used to be "just a holiday painter" - who started painting in watercolour while on holiday in Cornwall
  
• resigned her planning job nearly 30 years ago to become a professional full time artist
• Draws using the same pen as me (yay for the Pilot G-TEC-C4)
• credits the film "A Bigger Splash" - about David Hockney - as providing inspiration for her and proved that there were no rules
• started painting floral paintings - for which she is perhaps best known

Flowers by Shirley Trevena

• now she focuses more on still life - but also paints other subjects
• Comments in the video about
• how she uses her iPad to help her make decisions about the development of her painting 
• her approach to drawing and painting and
• how she breaks rules, alters perspective and features patterns.... 

She written three art instruction books about her approach to painting in watercolour

• Breaking the Rules of Watercolour (2012)
• Vibrant Watercolours (2006) 
• Taking Risks with Watercolour (2004)

She has also made several instructional DVDs. 

If you want to pep up your watercolours, I suggest you take a look!

A new book about Natural History Illustration in Pen & Ink

Natural History Illustration in Pen & Ink by Sarah Morrish is being published by Crowood Press (one of my favourite art instruction publishers) on 23rd August 2021.

Natural History Illustration in Pen and Ink
by Sarah Morrish

It's always a pleasure to introduce a new book by a friend. 

I've been watching content for this book being developed for some time - and it's great to know that we now have a known publication date and it can now be ordered.

Sarah Morrish is a botanical and natural history artist and illustrator who which combines science and art. She has exhibited extensively and also teaches workshops and online (See her website Illustrating Nature's Details). She also has a BSc Hons Ecology & Conservation Biology and a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

This is her first book. It won't be her last!

I know how Sarah teaches - she's very thorough and extremely well-organised and communicates extremely clearly - both in writing and online when she's delivering Zoom workshops / demonstrations to artists all over the world.

A new book about drawing nature in pen and ink

This is a unique book of instruction for those who enjoy - or aspire to - drawing nature and wildlife. So far as I am aware there's no other art instruction book which covers drawing a range of natural history subjects in pen and ink.

It provides:

• Practical advice on using a range of materials and equipment for illustrating in pen and ink, as well as the collection and preservation of subject matter and reference material.
• Detailed instruction in how to create essential mark-making techniques that will enhance your illustrations through accurate depiction of shape, form, texture and pattern, and in the principles and elements of design.
• Subject-themed chapters including botanical subjects, strandline and marine specimens, fossils, invertebrates, birds, feathers and nests, and mammals.
• Additional chapters on: 
•  the importance of sketchbooks and study pages, 
• protection and presentation of artwork, 
• combining pen and ink with other media and 
• composition.
• Step-by-step exercises suitable for all skill levels 
• Case studies describing working practice as a professional illustrator.

Additional examples of natural history illustration in pen and ink by other artists - including:

Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr resumes with Monet's Water Lilies

Series 2 of Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr - opens with Monet's Water Lilies

A year ago, back in the first lockdown in 2020, Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr on Channel 5 was a new programme which was a bright spark for all those bereft of visits to art galleries and museums. (see Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr 22 June 2020)

...and then it stopped after Episode 3!

So I did some digging about what had happened and was able to report back in Good news re Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr - in which 

• I reported that Channel 5 had told me that it would resume later in the year.
• reviewed the series to date and how it had been received
• commented on the need for museums to make more art available online
  

Presumably that statement from Channel 5 was made with the idea that nothing much would happen after the first lockdown. In other words, the events of the latter part of 2020 and first part of 2021 had clearly NOT been anticipated.

Which is why we are only now seeing (what I hope are) the next three episodes of this series.

Series 2

I'm absolutely certain one of the future programmes is going to be about Monet's Water Lilies at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris (because of the pics for the series). These paintings absolutely overwhelmed me and filled my eyes with tears the first time I saw them. I was incredibly lucky to see them for the very first time incredibly early one Saturday morning in the late 80s with nobody else in the room. I'd arrived in Paris on the Motorail from Provence (a service which is no longer available!). My visit to the water lilies was followed by a very nice lunch near the L'Orangerie and my driving out to Giverny to visit Monet's garden - and then to Calais for the ferry and back home to London.

A day I will never ever forget - I've got a very clear visual memory of it even now!

Series 2 comprises:

• Episode 1 - Water Lilies - by Claude Monet
  
• Episode 2 - The Hay Wain - by John Constable on Friday 18th June 2021
  
• Episode 3 - ??

I don't know if there are going to be more episodes after the Hay Wain as there's nothing on the website. As indicated in one of my earlier blog posts about this series, the introduction to the series suggests the following are in the pipeline

• Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (Le Galerie degli Uffizi, Florence)
• Rembrandt van Rijn's The Night Watch (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
• Diego Velázquez's The Toilet of Venus (The Rokeby Venus) (National Gallery)
• John Millais's Ophelia (Tate Britain)

READ MORE about Water Lilies by Monet on this blog!

• Gardens in Art: Monet's final Nympheas (30 September 2007) 
  
• Gardens in Art: Monet and the water garden at Giverny (29 September 2007) 
• Gardens in Art continues - with Monet (4 September 2007)

You can also take a virtual visit to Monet's Waterlilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris

Plus see my videos of them - as seen back in September 2009. The first is a proper video - of each room at the Musée de l'Orangerie devoted to "The Grand Decorations"

The next one is a slideshow

Series 1

This covered the following paintings and is available on demand on Channel 5. These were:

• EPISODE 1 - Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
• EPISODE 2 - Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
• EPISODE 3 - The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner

Note that on the Channel 5 Page for the episodes, they've got the wrong paintings with every Episode!  

 

Images for every episode are WRONG!

 

I love the fact Channel 5 is getting involved with Art on Television - and this is a good series - but a bit more attention to presentation online would not go amiss!
 

VIDEO: Visit David Curtis in his studio.

Visit the renowned painter David Curtis in his studio / man cave / comfort zone!

Courtesy of a video of David Curtis  set-up and shot presumably by a relative - who chose to do it in portrait format - in his studio in the village of Misson in the north of Nottinghamshire and just east of Doncaster where he was born. This was done as an added extra to the annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 2020. 

His compact studio is not very big and is based in an old barn which dates back to 1660 and used to be the village slaughterhouse  - and then the coffin-maker's shop!!

David paints in both oil and watercolour and likes to work plein air as well as in his studio. He David highlights in the video how he likes to have:

• a specifc place in his studio for his watercolour painting where he still uses his 1960s drawing board
• his corner for oils - including his palette (He lists all the paints he uses)
  

David Curtis's oil palette in his studio

• the artwork around the studio
  
• his writing section; and 
• his computer section and bookcase
• AND what he gets out of working in his studio
  

He's not averse to showing you the view and the painting alongside it on his website, Facebook Page and Instagram account. You can see pics of him at work on his website 

Some of the pics on his website
- but the main pics are on the Gallery Pages

I've seen and admired his paintings hung in very many exhibitions over the years at the Mall Galleries - and I really appreciate this opportunity to see inside his studio. In effect, it's a story of his life as an artist.  Maybe somebody else needs to come and paint David in his studio - rather in the way a number have sketched and painted him at work when painting plein air?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Royal Society Marine Artists (@royalsocietymarine)

 

More about David Curtis

David Curtis VPROI, RSMA is a  

• Council member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and 
• Vice-President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists
• and has an outstanding list of achievements, exhibitions, collections etc on his website.
  

He has also written four highly regarded books about painting and been involved in a number of art instruction videos.  He's a very knowledgeable and thoughtful artist and instructor as well as an excellent artist whose paintings are much loved by very many people.

• website: https://www.djcurtis.co.uk/
• Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/davidcurtisartist 
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidcurtisartist/
  

7 reasons to find out what the Great British Photography Challenge can teach artists

I've been watching The Great British Photography Challenge since it started on BBC4 three weeks ago - and warmed to it straight away. In this post I'm going to set out what I think are the reasons why a lot of artists might get value from watching it too.

Good photographers take good pictures

Great photographers take great pictures again and again and again and again

Rankin

 

Programme website

Participants - three women and three men

 Reasons to watch the Great Photography Challenge 

I'm not interested in seding anyone home. We want to see what they can all bring in the coming weeks...
This process is also about how you take feedback and getting multiple viewpoints on your work. Rankin

1. There's a great professional practitioner in charge - Rankin has worked professionally for over 30 years and is uncompromising about his own standards. What that means is.....
2. This is NOT any sort of "knockout" talent show. It's a masterclass
• He makes a point at the beginning that he's NOT about sending anybody home or making it some sort of knockout competition. I get the sneaky feeling he made it a condition of doing the show. (Other professionals should do likewise!)
  
• He's very much about nurturing talent with constructive feedback and NOT about creating "a talent show".
• They really need to drop the "Challenge" bit of the title and insert "Masterclass" instead - for what will (hopefully) arrive as a repeat next year!
3. Rankin acts as a Mentor as well as a Judge - and when he makes judgements he does it a part of a team of experts
• The feedback is both positive and negative - and it's about what makes great images
• It's always about trying to make them better creatives, technicians and photographers.
• There's also much MORE constructive content given direct to the participants than there is in any other similar programme for artists
4. The series of four programmes pack in 12 assignments - 3 in each programme covering a wide range of subjects in the widely contrasting briefs - many of which are not unlike the subjects tackled by artists
5. The programmes bring in expert professional coaches for different topics and subjects -
• a huge variety of different people who each have something unique and different to say - and different approaches to their work
• His young creative team also provide extra lessons and tips and techniques and seem to me to be very competent at their jobs.
• I'm impressed with everyone he has used to date (and those who know my reviews in the past of other 'challenge' will know I'm NOT averse to saying when I find the hired help fall way short of what we should expect from a professional programme. There are people reading this who will know who I'm talking about!)
6. It involves six contestants of different ages, backgrounds and interest.  
• NONE of whom get knocked out 
• ALL of whom start out as competent photographers who have demonstrable ability to go further - which is a very refreshing change..... 
• ALL of whom grow and change with the process of tackling a wide variety of briefs.
  
• I get the feeling they took some care in the photographers they selected because there were only ever going to be six participants!
  
7. It treats them - and us - as adults! So much more impressive as an approach - to create an informative and entertaining programme which is also very educational.

The search is on for an exciting new name in British photography. Six talented photographers from across the UK embark on the photographic masterclass of a lifetime with Rankin.
BBC website

 I do hope we see the programme repeated with more series.

Reasons for artists to take photography seriously

I've often noticed that the composition, design, colour variation and patterns and tonal variations of good photos often seem (to me) to be a lot better than the artwork produced by people of similar levels of ability and standing.

Good photographers think about impact and how to create an image which captures the eye.

It's a bit the same as noticing the attributes of great illustrators who do pretty much the same thing.

They all work hard at the structure and picture quality of the image they want to create. How it tells the story and how it works with "what works" and their own values and qualities that they hold dear.

In addition, photographers often routinely work in series. Even if they are jobbing on commissions, there's very often a series of their own work going on in the background.

 

Could it be that photographers, designers and illustrators work much harder on what makes a great image - rather than about how to prefect their equivalent of how to lay down paint?

 

I know that in my own world of self-imposed art education, I regard instruction by those who know about photography and design at least as important as looking back at the lessons we can all take from art history - or tuition from contemporary artists.

 

It's emphatically not about taking better photographs to work from!

It's much more about learning how to see great images - and understanding why they work - and creating a perspective all your own.

I RECOMMEND THE PROGRAMME. I think it's got a lot of useful lessons for artists as well as aspiring photographers.

There's on episode left - broadcast next Monday on BBC at 9pm. Or you watch the entire series via BBC iPlayer

Episodes to date

 

VIDEO: Melissa Scott-Miller painting backs of houses, back gardens and urban landscapes in London

 

This is a wonderful video of Melissa Scott-Miller painting her wonderful detailed urban London landscapes in lush oil paint.

"I like to feel I'm portraying the essence of an area"

LEARN:

• what the inside of an artist's home really looks like (oil paintings occupy every wall while they dry and wait for exhibitions, canvases for painting stack against walls)
• how to paint with an easel on the stairs
• why shopping trollies are a wonderful way to transport kit for plein air painting
• how to respond to really irritating people who want to talk about your painting while you're working (keep responses brief and don't encourage more questions and be nice to those who nice to you)
  
• how to respond to "how much" questions
• how painting plein air facilitates marketing - so don't forget to take your business card!

"If I really had my own way, I'd just be painting backs of houses

The video was created for the recent Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2021

We follow Melissa Scott-Miller RP NEAC RBA as she paints in her studio, on the stairs, and out in the streets of London.

Growing up among the tall red-brick mansion blocks of Kensington, Melissa Scott-Miller was an enthusiast for London's streetscapes from an early age. She has made the urban landscape her specialty, choosing metre-square canvases to record the rich detail of the city.

The video was made by Jack Elliott Hobbs, digital content creator and documentary filmmaker.

Peter Wegner wins $100,000 Archibald Prize 2021

In its 100th year, Peter Wegner has won the $100,000 Archibald Prize 2021 - for his portrait of fellow painter Guy Warren, who turned 100 in April.

That's a lot of 100s. I guess if people had thought about this in advance, the answer to who would win this prestigious Australian portrait prize was pretty obvious! I'm inclined to pat Peter Wegner on the back for maybe thinking that painting a 100 year old artist who has previously won the Archibald Prize himself (in 1985 with Flugelman with Wingman) would do him no harm in the selection stakes.

Guy Warren with Peter Wegner's award-winning portrait of Guy Warren!

'Peter Wegner’s tender portrait of Guy Warren provides a moving insight into the artist’s state of mind as he navigates his 101st year with characteristic grace and good humour. The fact that Warren was himself an Archibald Prize winner in 1985 adds a wonderful layer of history to the poignancy of the portrait. Who wouldn’t want to look this content at the age of 100?’ Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand

I feel really sorry for Peter Wegner - who was stuck in Melbourne due to a recent lockdown there. So his participation was by video link only.... 

[Note His surname is spelt everywhere but in the subtitles as Wegner!]

This is a video about the announcement of who won and includes commentary from both Peter Wegner and Guy Warren.

  

About Peter Wegner

About the artist - Peter Wegner

The artist must have resident in Australia or New Zealand for the whole of the previous year.

• Age: b.1953 in New Zealand; his career has spanned 40+ years
  
• Nationality: Australian
• Occupation: Artist
• Current home: Melbourne
• Art education:no art training initially. two-year AME Bale residential painting scholarship under Sir William Dargie followed by graduated in fine arts from the Phillip Institute of Technology, from which he later also gained a postgraduate diploma
• Previous appearances in this award: an Archibald Prize finalist in 2020, 2016, 2011, 2004 and 2000 and was also a finalist in the Archibald's ‘Sporting Portrait Prize’ in 2000.
• Website:https://www.peterwegner.com.au/
• Facebook: n/a
• Previous Awards: 
• a four-time finalist in the Dobell Prize for Drawing 
• 2006: awarded the Doug Moran Prize in 2006
• 2012: exhibited in BP Portrait inLondon & Edinburgh
  
• 2013: awarded the $20,000 Gallipoli Art Prize

• Artwork in Collections: His works are held in the collections of

• the Art Gallery of NSW, 
• National Library of Australia, 
• National Portrait Gallery, 
• State Library of Victoria, 
• Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. 
• and several regional galleries. 

His portrait is part of his Centerarian Project

The Centenarian Project started in 2013 with the first drawing of my Aunty Rita who reached the age of 104. It occurred to me while drawing Rita that there must be other Centenarians who were still living lives with mobility, curiosity and purpose. The nucleus of this series began to form.

Over the last 8 years l have drawn 100 Centenarians within Victoria and New South Wales, about half of whom are living in their own homes with outside support, the other half live in low-care residential accommodation. Each drawing was completed from life in an afternoon or morning with little alteration to that first impression, they are moments captured within a time allowed.

The exploration of ageing and how well we age is central to this project. Maintaining human dignity and independent living are important issues as we age, alongside the question of what it means to have a productive and meaningful life.

references:

• Peter Wegner | Wikipedia - includes images of his work and extensive references to works, awards and collections
• Peter Wegner | National Portrait Gallery
  

About the sitter - Guy Warren

Guy Warren won the 1985 Archibald Prize with a portrait of artist Bert Flugelman, which is included in the Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery. 

 

This is the seventh time he has been an Archibald subject, including a self-portrait in 1996. 

 

Warren started his working life at The Bulletin magazine, which was founded by JF Archibald, whose bequest established the Archibald Prize in 1921. 

The Archibald Prize

The Archibald Prize is awarded to the best portrait of a person ‘distinguished in art, letters, science or politics’ painted by an Australian resident. 

 The Archibald Prize winner is decided by the Art Gallery’s Board of Trustees.  

The Packing Room Prize ($3,000)

For the 30th annual Archibald Packing Room Prize the Prize goes to Kathrin Longhurst for her portrait of the celebrated Australian singer and songwriter Kate Ceberano. 

Packing Room Prize 2021 winner Kathrin Longhurst Kate © the artist

The Packing Room Prize is a cash prize awarded to the best entry as selected by the staff of the Art Gallery of New South Wales who have to handle, receive, unpack and hang the Archibald Prize entries. This year, the prize money has doubled, increasing from $1,500 to $3,000 for the winning artist. 

Their Head 'Packer', Brett Cuthbertson, gets 52% of the vote i.e. he gets to choose the winner whatever!

‘Kathrin’s work fits my criteria. It’s a portrait of a well-known celebrity and it looks like her! I met Kate Ceberano many years ago and Kathrin has really captured her likeness. As soon as I saw the work, I thought “that’s it”. This is also the first time in my tenure as head packer that I have awarded the Packing Room Prize to both a female artist and female sitter. I have been on the lookout, but this is the first time it stood out to me as a clear winner.’ Brett Cuthbertson

The German-born, Sydney-based artist is mostly self-taught and was previously a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2018 and Sulman Prize 2012.  

The ANZ People’s Choice Award ($3,500)

This is voted for by those visiting the exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. The winner will be announced on Later in the summer.

The 100th Archibald Prize Exhibition 2021

For the first time the Archibald Prize Exhibition - at the  Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia - features more women artists than men.  

• For the first time, there is gender parity for artists selected as Archibald finalists: 26 women and 26 men. 
• Female sitters outnumber the men (although that is not a first).
  

(Note to self - maybe start counting the ratio of male to female artists in future exhibitions?)

They had the second highest number of entries. 938 paintings were entered and 52 were elected.

Part of the exhibition

 

Selected artists

[will be added in tomorrow)

You can see all the paintings on this page - click the painting and it takes you to a page about the artist and the sitter.

What you don't get a sense of is their relative size.

Articles about the Archibald Prize 2021

• Archibald prize 2021: Peter Wegner wins $100,000 prize for ‘brilliant’ portrait of Guy Warren at 100 | The Guardian
  

More about past posts about The Archibald Prize

 

• Tony Costa wins $100,000 Archibald Prize 2019
• The Archibald Prize 2017 - Selected Artists and the winner
• "Australian Artist Guy Maestri has won the prestigious $50,000 Archibald Prize with his large portrait of blind Aboriginal singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunipingu" in 15th March 2009 - Who's made a mark this week?
• Second Archibald Prize for Del Kathryn Barton
• Finalists for The Archibald Prize 2013 + The Packing Room Prize
• Tim Storrier wins the $75,000 Archibald Prize 2012
• Finalists for The Archibald Prize 2012 + The Packing Room Prize
• Ben Quilty's portrait of Margaret Olley wins 2011 Archibald Prize

Pricing a marine artwork & RSMA Annual Exhibition Metrics

This is about the sales of artwork - by members and non-members - and the average prices achieved in each price band at the Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2020. Plus what can be deduced from these numbers when pricing an entry in 2021.

It follows on from

• yesterday's blog post about Call for Entries: Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2021 
• my post last year - Review: Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2020

I've written extensively on the topic of pricing How to price your art (on this blog and Art Business Info for Artists) and I'm writing this post about pricing because:

• it's unusual for artists to review and analyse how much art sold for (as opposed to what prices were asked)
• to provide a more practical context for how they should set their own prices
  

This post considers three aspects

• the number of artworks sold in each price range - analysed between member and non-member artworks
• pricing lessons for artists selected via the open entry
• observations on sales - in different price bands - for both members and non-members.

Why artists need better advice and guidance about pricing

I've thought for some time that there ought to be clearer guidelines on pricing given to artists entering open exhibitions and art competitions.

I'd really fed up of seeing silly prices - and good artwork hanging on a wall unsold. 

To my mind this is:

• Either a failure of marketing (i.e. the right people are not attending the exhibition)
• Or pricing by member artists - despite past trends on sales and prices in annual exhibitions (assuming they get such data) i.e. are they not told or do they ignore the data?
  
• Or failure to provide good guidance to artists submitting to an open exhibition / art competition via the open entry. Many artists need useful guidelines for pricing their artwork

 

Why I write about pricing and have written this post

One way or another, obvious failures for artists to price effectively needs to be addressed - and this post is by way of me "doing my bit".  

One of the reasons why I'm going to write about pricing is I like to see artists do well - and sell their art.  You also need to bear in mind that I'm an ex-Finance Director and analyst who likes crunching numbers!

I'm also probably the ONLY independent person in the UK who 

• regularly monitors prices and sales of art
  
• across both national art societies and major art competitions 
• provides feedback on such pricing to artists aspiring to develop a professional career.
  

You can read more about pricing art on

• my Art Business Info website - see How to Price Your Art 
• my blog posts about pricing for open exhibitions (at the end of this post)
  
• and why I'm qualified to comment on pricing.  

 

One reason artwork does not sell is price

I often see excellent artworks in exhibitions at the Mall Galleries (both art competitions and art societies) - entered by those who were selected from the Open Entry - which do not sell.

I also see paintings by members which are 'adorning the wall' but not selling because they are overpriced for the venue and the audience. Presumably with a view to marketing commissions - but if they're not doing that either, then it's an expensive use of space.

The reason good to great artworks do not sell, in my view, is primarily often down to how they've been priced - and whether pricing decisions were well-informed.

One of the factors critical to sales is the marketplace the exhibition is taking place in. A marketplace can be defined by the characteristics it exhibits as to ceiling prices and what sort of work sells.  

 

RSMA Annual Exhibition Metrics 2020 - Sales and Pricing

This is a partial view only of the metrics for sales at the RSMA Annual Exhibition in 2020. The numbers available can be sliced and diced in various ways.

The Chart and Table BELOW show the number of artworks sold in different price bands.

The numbers are derived from the online exhibition and the sales recorded on the Exhibition Page on the Mall Galleries website. 

• Given there was no catalogue last year, this is the only visible record of artwork in the exhibition. 
• You can still see the 2020 artworks - with details of medium, size and prices - on the Mall Galleries website - and which ones sold!
  

RSMA 2020: Chart of member (dark blue) and nonmember (pale blue)
sales of artworks across different price bands

• Average prices for each price band are show in the table below - along with the figures for number of sales for members and non-members. 
• The percentage column indicates how the NUMBER sales within price bands contributed to total sales - in a cumulative basis. 
• The latter is NOT the same as how sales within each band contributed to the total value of sales made.

RSMA 2020: Number of sales and average price across different price bands
Plus how each price band cumulatively contributed to total sales (Numbers only)

 

The Table ABOVE indicates

Call for Entries: Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2021

You have six weeks left to submit artwork for the Annual Exhibition in 2021 of the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA. The deadline for entries is 9th July 2021.

The RSMA wants to see submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment for its annual exhibition which opens on 30 September 2021 at the Mall Galleries in London.

The RSMA seeks submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment, including harbours and shorelines, traditional craft and contemporary shipping, creeks, beaches, wildlife - in short anything that involves tidal water.

RSMA Annual Exhibition 2020 - East Gallery

Three good reasons to enter

The Annual Exhibition by the Royal Society of Marine Artists

1. ALWAYS attracts a lot of people interested in buying marine artwork - and people who like boats a lot often have funds to spare to buy artwork! This exhibition has typically had good sales in the past.
   
2. ALWAYS has a LOT of decent prizes
3. Prizes awarded in the past have been dominated by strong work by non-members - which is always good to see for those who submit work via the open entry. 

However, You need to have and demonstrate a genuine interest in marine art to do well. Expert and enthusiastic customers also mean those who can spot errors in artwork painted by those new to the subject. I well remember being taken round the exhibition once by somebody who pointed out all the "made-up" paintings.

This was my Review: Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2020 - which also shows you the range, type and quality of artwork on display.

Call for Entries

This is an OPEN EXHIBITION which tends to display paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints.

Below you can find

• a summary of how to enter the next annual exhibition.
• a list of prizes
• an archive of posts about past exhibitions - which contain a lot of images of the type of artwork that gets selected for exhibition.

What sort of artwork can you submit?

SUBJECT: The RSMA seeks submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment. 

 

It makes two statements about the scope

Figurative Art Now: how fair are the T&C to artists?

Some of you may have wondered why I have not promoted the Figurative Art Now Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. I have my reasons for not highlighting this art competition - and these are listed below.

I like art competitions to be fair for everybody concerned. I've recently found myself staring at a very difficult situation - which has given rise to a number of concerns about implications for artists. I have raised these (offline) but I'm still not happy that the issues this competition raises for artists are well understood by all those who need to understand. 

I've left it until now so that those who want to enter can. As all my regular readers will know  my art competition mantra is ALWAYS read carefully all the terms and conditions....

I really didn't want to write what I'm about to say - but, on balance, I think it presents an important learning opportunity for all concerned. 

So I'm writing in that context - and with the hope that some of this can be resolved before the exhibition goes online....

After which I may well do a checklist about government law and regulations relating to  ecommerce and trading standards for ONLINE art competitions / open exhibitions for both organisers and artists!!

Bottom line - online exhibitions can be way more complex than exhibitions in a gallery!

Non-involvement of the FBA Societies

Ostensibly this online art competition 'Figurative Art Now' is about the 60th year of the Federation of British Artists BUT having queried this competition, I found that....

• The exhibition was simply announced 
• It was NOT discussed in advance with the Presidents of the Art Societies which make up the Federation of British Artists.
• Which I just find really, really odd. The Societies are the FBA!! 
• How can they not be involved if it supposedly relates to the 60th anniversary?  
• Why aren't the Presidents involved with selection of artwork for the exhibition? 

Obviously life has been very difficult recently with all the disruption caused by the Pandemic - but even so, this just seems very odd to me.

 

Prizes for artwork which selectors have never seen?

Two of the prizes are very odd (a £5,000 prize and a week-long exhibition in one of the galleries) given that the artwork entered will NEVER EVER be seen in person by any of the Selection Panel.

I'm just gobsmacked about this! Seriously? How does that work?

I've been looking at online images of artwork and actual artwork in open exhibitions and art competitions for very many years and I'm certainly very familiar with the fact that 

• There can be digital enhancement of artwork by artists for competitions! It's far from unusual.
  
• Which is WHY all art competitions routinely have the proviso to eliminate any artwork which does not measure up (literally) to the digital image once received - even if it has been pre-selected.
  

 

ONLINE ONLY Exhibition + MAJOR changes in who does what

THIS IS AN ONLINE EXHIBITION ONLY i.e. no artwork will be hung at the Mall Galleries.   

Nevertheless

• Non-refundable submission fees are the same as the submission fees for the open exhibitions - once you discount the fact that the latter also provide for free entry to the REAL exhibition in the Galleries!
• Commission is 35% plus VAT - slightly less for an organisation which is doing an awful  LOT LESS than it normally does for a hung exhibition i.e. 
• No involvement of the Presidents / FBA Societies in the presentation / marketing of the exhibition or artwork 
• no use of the gallery space at all 
• no receipt / handling of artwork to be hung 
• no storage of artwork
  
• no hanging of artwork 
• no manning of a live "on the wall" exhibition 
• no return of artwork unsold 
• no communication with buyers re collection / shipping
• no financial transactions re shipping 
• no arrangements for delivering art (including Customs documentation as appropriate)
• (i.e. putting artwork online is now a routine and expected part of EVERY exhbition held by the FBA at the Mall galleries - NOT an added extra)
  

Artists are next expected to do MUCH MORE than they usually do - BUT this difference from the normal open exhibitions of the FBA Societies is NOT highlighted in the summary on the competition page.

No mention in the summary of the additional costs for artists
(re finance / time / effort of packing and shipping art - potentially anywhere in the world!)

What this means, for starters, is....

Artists have to ORGANISE AND PAY FOR ALL PACKING AND POSTAGE TO BUYERS as stated in the Terms and Conditions TO ANY DESTINATION within 14 days of the sale being confirmed.

4. PRESENTATION 

4.1 All Works must be exhibition-ready as if they were to be exhibited and ready for sale. All work needs to be delivered or shipped to the buyer as advertised. 

5. SHIPPING OF WORKS 

5.1 Artists will be responsible for the delivery of work to the buyer, including the cost of shipping.  All work should be labelled and attached to the works. 

5.2. Work should be despatched within 14 days of confirmation of the sale 

Thus, the artist is liable for the cost of sending the artwork anywhere in the world - in whichever country the buyer lives in - no matter what the cost!  

The buyer does NOT have to pay. No matter what the size or weight of the artwork!!! 

The Wynne Prize 2021 - Selected artists

The Wynne Prize is an annual award ($50,000) for Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture which dates back to 1898.

The prize will be awarded, in the terms of the bequest of the late Richard Wynne of Mount Wilson, to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or to the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists completed during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in entries.

This year there are far more Aboriginal artists selected for this exhibition - which mean far more examples of the Aboriginal approach to recording the landscape and the stories associated with their homeland. I really enjoy the art so I'm really pleased to see this.

Some of the images of art included in the Wynne Exhibition

I'm also wondering if this is in any way connected with the fact that the Art Gallery of New South Wales website now opens to this statement.....

The Wynne Prize 2021

The Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales invited artists to submit works in competition for the Wynne Prize 2021. In summary, to enter:

• the artwork must have been completed between 30 April 2020 and 30 April 2021
• the artist must be resident in Australia in the year of eligible work.

Eligible artwork

• the artwork must be either
• landscape painting in oils
• landscape painting in watercolour
• a figure sculpture 
• the actual artworks must NOT exceed the size limit of 90,000 square cm (eg 3 × 3 m, 1.5 × 6 m). 
• Sculptures must NOT exceed 3 m in height, 2 square m in area or 1000kg in weight. 
• It can be
• a multi-panel work - as long as the overall dimensions do not exceed the size limit above and/or
  
• a landscape painting in oil, watercolour, acrylic or mixed media. Seascapes and cityscapes are acceptable and/or
  
• a figure sculpture in stone, metal, wood or mixed media. The work may be abstracted, but at the same time clearly derived from a figurative source, human or animal.
• As always it MUST be the artist's original work and must NOT infringe the copyright, moral rights or other rights of any third party.

Plus various MUST dos and don'ts related to delivery, display and hanging.

Prizes

Besides the main prize - Entries in the Wynne Prize competition are also eligible to be considered for:

• The Roberts Family Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prize – value $10,000 - Also known as the Roberts Family Prize), which may be awarded to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artist and was first was first awarded in 2018.
• The Trustees’ Watercolour Prize – value $5000
• John & Elizabeth Newnham Pring Memorial Prize – value $1000  - Commonly known as the Pring Prize, which may be awarded to the best watercolour by a woman artist and was established following a bequest by Bessie Pring – herself a watercolourist, who died in 1965 – in honour of her parents. It was first awarded in 1966. 

Every time I wrote about The Wynne Prize, I end up pondering on why there's nothing similar in the UK. 

• Does it just need a Sponsor and a Gallery willing to hold and exhibition and organise the entry? 
• Or is what's missing someone who has the gumption to make it happen - in a way which is beneficial to both the country and landscape artists?

You can also see past winners of the Wynne Prize all the way back to 1898 on the website.

It's an interesting way of tracking styles and fashions in Australian landscape art.

Recent past winners of the Wynne Prize

 

Selected Artists

The website displays their selected artwork and lists the selected artists - with a page for each artwork.

This year there were

• 660 entries
• 39 artworks were selected (i.e. 6%)
  

Among the 39 finalists, there are 20 works by Aboriginal artists – the most on record – and, for the first time, there are more works by women than men. Interestingly Aboriginal artists appear are more likely to get selected in multiple years and a number have won in previous years (see below). I find fascinating that 

• the oldest art also sometimes looks like the most contemporary....
• women aboriginal artists are particularly strong in art competitions
  

You can see the artwork of the 39 finalists on this page and read about who they are below

I started to look through the entries - and a number reminded me of all the climate challenges and natural disasters within the landscape that Australia has been suffering in recent times. It's certainly a theme which came through strongly in a number of artworks.

 The selected artists are: