Call for Entries: The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027

The Call for Entries for the 128th Exhibition by the Pastel Society in January 2027 has been published on the Mall Galleries website. 

Artists working in pastel and contemporary dry media are invited to submit their work for the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027

This post summarises what you need to know. 

• Submissions are ONLINE ONLY and 
• open from 17 August to 20 November 2026

Benefits of Exhibiting with The Pastel Society

This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be

• included in the catalogue
• seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a LOT of visitors
• viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
• eligible for a number of prizes & awards - and some have significant cash awards (see below)if you want to become a member, you first need to get exhibited via the open entry
• may well sell - but ONLY if you pay attention to what I have to tell you below about pricing and sales!!

Pastel Society | Annual Exhibition 2027 | Key Facts and Dates

What drew me to the Pastel Society was the thought of being surrounding by other people fascinated by dry media in particular
Curtis Holder

Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 27th January - Saturday 6th February 2027
Private View (invite only): Wednesday 27th January 2027 - 5pm to 8pm, official opening at 6:30pm

Submissions: ONLINE ONLY and open until 12 noon Friday 20 November 2026
Notification of selection: Friday 4th December 2026, 12 noon
Receiving Day (if selected): Saturday 16th January 2027 10am to 5pmCollection of unsold work: Thursday 11 February 2027 10am to 5pm
Awards and Prizes - see listing near the end of this post

One of the walls in the Pastel Society's Annual Exhibition in 2026

Call for Entries

What you read below is most - but not all - the terms and conditions of entry and information about what and artist must and must not do. 

It's down to you to read the Full Details, Entry Terms & Conditions

Find out more about how to enter:

Entries for PASTEL SOCIETY's 127th Annual Exhibition 2026 - closing soon

You have just under three weeks left to get a submission into the Annual Exhibition 2026 of The Pastel Society.

I've been trying to get round to this post for a while, which makes it much later than usual. However you still have time to start and finish a new work, or review what you did last year that you are proud of and submit that to the exhibition.

Benefits of Exhibiting with The Pastel Society

This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be

• included in the catalogue
• seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a lot of visitors
• viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
• eligible for a number of prizes & awards - and some have significant cash awards (see below)

Pastel Society | Annual Exhibition 2026 | Key Facts

What drew me to the Pastel Society was the thought of being surrounding by other people fascinated by dry media in particular
Curtis Holder

Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, LondonDates:
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 21st January - Saturday 7th February 2026
Private View (invite only): Tuesday 20th January 2026 - 5pm to 8pm, official opening at 6:30pm

Submissions: ONLINE ONLY and open until 12 noon Friday 14 November 2025

Notification of selection: Friday 28th November 2025, 12 noon
Receiving Day (if selected): Saturday 10th January 2026, 10am to 5pm

Collection of unsold work: Thursday 12 February 202610am to 5pm

Awards and Prizes - see listing near the end of this post

Call for Entries

Find out more about how to enter:

• Open Calls - Pastel Society on the Mall Galleries website
• and BELOW.....

Who is eligible to enter?

• This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members.
• There is also no restriction of where you live. It's open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU
• Any artist over 18 may submit.

What media is acceptable for entries?

• All types of pastel including: soft pastel, hard pastel, oil pastel, ink pastel, water-based pastel, conté crayons or sticks, sanguine, and other dry mediums that are similar in their application including charcoal, chalk, and pencil.
• Mixed media and three-dimensional works are welcome where pastel or another dry media is the primary medium.
• HOWEVER.....

ALL work that is submitted must have a full description of the media used and any process which has been employed in the finished work beyond drawing and painting, e.g. printing, photography. 

Please note that failure to do this may result in unnecessary rejection on the grounds that work deserves to be judged on a like for like basis and because any buyer should be made aware of what they are buying.

Bottom line - no sleight of hand! This exhibition emphasises the use of dry media and the expertise of the artist in using it.

 

What can you enter?

Plantae 2025 - 40th Anniversary Exhibition by the Society of Botanical Artists

For all those interested in botanical art, I've been immersed in Plantae 2025 for the last couple of weeks. This was the 40th Anniversary Exhibition at the Mall Galleries by the Society of Botanical Artists.

Some of the hardworking and amazing team of SBA members who made it all happen

Botanical art largely disappeared off this blog 10 years ago after I developed my Botanical Art and Artists website - which is now #1 in the world for botanical art (coming up to 4 million visits). However I remind people reading this blog about it from time to time! Not least because of the very skilled paintings and drawings produced by very many botanical artists

Plantae 2025 - the Society of Botanical Artists' 40th Anniversary Exhibition

I've compiled various photo albums on Facebook and written three blog posts about it.

These are the blog posts 

Pretty much the same thing as I do for other societies exhibiting at the Mall - with a bit more detail.

• A look back at Plantae 2025 - a 40th anniversary exhibition to remember! (5th June 2025)
• SBA Plantae 2025: Awards and Certificates + Photos (6th June 2025) - so many prizes and awards! Including my own Making A Mark Award.
• SBA Plantae 2025: pricing for botanical artists (11th June 2025) - which looks at their exhibition metrics - and how to improve them.

You can find the albums of photos on my Botanical Art and Artists Facebook Page

• SBA Plantae 2025 - West Gallery (53 items)
• SBA Plantae 2025 - North Gallery (54 items)
• SBA Plantae 2025 - East Gallery (DLDC / CPGFS / Munstead Wood etc.) (18 items)
• SBA Plantae 2025 - Awards and people with artwork (47 items)

Which have had the most amazing reception internationally.....

RBA Annual Exhibition 2025 METRICS: Analysis of art sales & Recommendations about pricing

This is an analysis of the art sales at the recent Annual Exhibition 2025 of the Royal Society of British Artists. 

It contains a number of charts and tables which attempt to explain what can be learned by both members and open artists about sales compared to artwork hung.

The charts and tables include

• CHART 1: an analysis and comparison of the number of artworks sold by type of artist and price range
• CHART 2: a comparison of the number and percentage of artworks sold with the total hung hung - according to the Mall Galleries Price Ranges
• TABLE 1: an analysis of the distribution of artwork by media (numbers hung and sold) - and then ranked according to the percentage of sales for different media
• TABLE 2: An analysis is subject matter by media used

Looking at numbers in isolation does not however tell the whole story. It's only when we look at comparative data in previous years that the very obvious and very significant finding stands out.

This was a much bigger exhibition with much fewer sales when compared to previous years.  There were 554 artworks hung in the show split between:

• 275 artworks by members
• 279 artworks by open entry artists

This was my review of the exhibition - Review: Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2025 in which I commented

The artwork selected comes from 3,843 submitted images. To give you a sense of what that represents it's bigger than the entry for some major art competitions.

Mostly it was good work, although it certainly included artwork I personally would have edited out at the selection stage.

You can see a much bigger version of the chart below on this post on my Facebook Page . Just click it to see the big version

Or get a magnifying glass out!

CHART 1: An analysis of the number of artworks sold
at RBA Annual Exhibition 2025
by type of artist (member or open) and the price range

The main findings of this chart are as follows

• A total of 63 artworks sold (just 11% of the artwork hung) which is VERY LOW 
• SEE SOLD ARTWORK HERE
• Previous sales figures for this exhibition 
• 2023:  97 sold (20% of the exhibition) - overall volume of sales was excellent
• 2024: however this year's exhibition is marginally better than the 52 sold from 491 hung (10%) last year - but only just (11%!!)
• in general the trend is the MORE artwork exhibited, the FEWER sales are achieved

Analysis of Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

After the annual exhibition of the The Pastel Society (PS) and my review of the exhibition comes my metrics post!

• Which price ranges achieved the best sales? 
• Is this the same for members and those selected from the Open Entry - or does it vary?

This is another of my regular posts reviewing sales and prices after the annual exhibition. It covers:

• General commentary on 
• sales of artwork and how and when art is sold
• Buyers at the Mall Galleries - where the PS hold their annual exhibition
• Sales at the 2025 Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society focusing on:
• the number of sales and 
• the prices that pastel artwork sold for 

The reason I'm writing this post is because I'd like to see:

• more artists do better
• more artists make sales
• more artists improve their annual income from their artwork
• THROUGH more intelligent pricing of their artwork

Bottom line, the most realistic price for your artwork is the price which enables a sale. Otherwise, why bother pricing at all?

General Commentary on Sales of Artwork

How and when art is sold

These days art sales are typically generated in one of three ways

• the associated online website for the artwork - and the fact this goes online before the exhibition in the gallery opens
• sales at the Private View - where it's a common expectation that a goodly proportion of artwork will be sold given this is an opportunity for artists to be nice to collectors!
• sales while the exhibition is open to the public.

In the past, art societies used to have Buyers' Views for people:

• who were known collectors and/or
• had previously bought at the exhibition.

Art Societies don't seem to be doing these as much these days. Maybe because of the online exhibition - which is published well in advance of the exhibition opening and the fact people are more used to online sales. It's certainly the case that artwork regularly sells before an exhibition opens

Nevertheless, I still think there's a case to be made for the "pampering time" for previous art buyers/collectors when they don't have to fight for space with the legions of "friends of the artist" and can actually see the work properly.

I don't go to as many private views as I used to, mainly because to my mind they should be artists and buyers and "influencers" in the absence of a private view. 

I left this one early because of the crush - see Review: The Pastel Society 126th Annual Exhibition (2025) 

It's nice to have an event for friends of the artist BUT if it creates such a crush that it causes people to leave and/or deters sales, then that is a problem. 

My solution would be to introduce a constraint for all members and those selected via the open entry of strictly one friend only at the PV.

After all, friends can come any time, but artists typically only come once and it's on PV day! Plus buyers and collectors do like to meet the artist - and I see precious little effort by art societies generally to making sure that can happen. 

On the day of the PV, it's perfectly possible to stage manage a different focus at different times eg buyers at lunchtime; members getting together in the afternoon and friends allowed in the evening. That way we might actually get to see some art. I find I always have to go back if I go to the PV - just to be able to look at the art properly.

Sales have also been less than usual due to the constraints on people's budgets in the last couple of years. It seems to be easing slightly - but sales are still not yet back to where they used to be - and it's worth thinking about how to help them along....

Who are the buyers at the Mall Galleries?

Essentially annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries are about AFFORDABLE ART for most of those who visit, view and buy art.

This is about my well known mantra characterising buyers at the Mall Galleries. 

Typically they are essentially "middle class, middle aged and middle income"

They typically like buying artwork priced at less than £1,500 - and they like it even more if it is priced at less than a £1,000.

You should bear this in mind as you review the charts and commentary below and as you check the profiles of the price ranges of artwork sold in the charts below

Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

This is a chart of the sales at the recent Open Exhibition 2025 of the Pastel Society.

I got my numbers by going through the data on sales available from the online exhibition.

Analysis of the number of artworks sold by price range
in The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

The Pastel Society exhibited 382 artworks and sold 84 paintings (22% of the hung artwork). 

This is a marked improvement on the 2024 performance (see below).

Entries for Pastel Society's 126th Annual Exhibition 2025 - closing soon.

Somehow or other I neglected to do my normal Call for Entries for the Annual Exhibition of The Pastel Society. Below is me making up for this omission in time for the deadline foe entries to the 126th Annual Exhibition 2025

This is your chance to take part in a contemporary, adventurous and creative show, presenting a positive challenge to those with pre-conceived ideas about pastel and dry media.

This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be

• included in the catalogue
• seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a lot of visitors
• viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
• eligible for a number of prizes & awards - and some have significant cash awards.

Pastel Society | Annual Exhibition 2025 | Key Facts

What drew me to the Pastel Society was the thought of being surrounding by other people fascinated by dry media in particular
Curtis Holder

Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
Dates: 

• Exhibition: Wednesday 22 January - Saturday 8 February
• Private View: Tuesday 21 January
• The Pastel Society Art Event Evening: Tuesday 28 January, 6pm to 8:30pm

Submissions: 

• ONLINE ONLY and open until 12 noon Friday 15 November 2024
• Notification of selection: Friday 29 November, 12 noon
• Receiving Day (if selected): Saturday 11 January 2025, 10am to 5pm
• Find out more about how to enter:  
• Open Calls - Pastel Society on the Mall Galleries website
• and BELOW.....

This is a video about the exhibition and the Call for Entries

Call for Entries

Artists are invited to submit work in pastel and dry media for the Pastel Society’s 
126th Annual Exhibition, BENCHMARK, sponsored by Caran d'Ache.

Who is eligible to enter? 

• This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members.
• This exhibition also has works exhibited by people who live outside the UK. There is no restriction of where you live. It's open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU
• Any artist over 18 may submit.

What media is acceptable for entries?

• All types of pastel including: soft pastel, hard pastel, oil pastel, ink pastel, water-based pastel, conté crayons or sticks, sanguine, and other dry mediums that are similar in their application including charcoal, chalk, and pencil. 

Mixed media works are welcome where pastel or another dry media is the primary medium. Such work should be submitted with a full description of the media used and any process which has been employed in the finished work beyond drawing and painting, e.g. printing, photography.

Bottom line - no sleight of hand! This exhibition emphasises the use of dry media and the expertise of the artist in using it.

What can you enter?

Analysis of Sales at the RSMA Annual Exhibition 2024

This post about the number of sales and the prices they sold for is specific to the Royal Society of Marine Artists. However it has a number of useful lessons for:

• more than one art society
• members and associates of the RSMA
• ALL those who enter open exhibitions by national art societies in London - and most especially those who exhibit at the Mall Galleries.

The reason I'm writing this post is because I'd like to see:

• more artists do better
• more artists make sales
• more artists improve their annual income from their artwork
• THROUGH more intelligent pricing of their artwork

Bottom line, the most realistic price for your artwork is the price which enables a sale. Otherwise, why bother pricing at all?

So far as I'm aware, I'm the only person who provides detailed analysis across various national art societies and comments on the lessons that can learned - which all can benefit from.

I've no objection to changes to "the rules" being made over time - but I do know that those which are grounded in real numbers and real life are much more likely to be successful over time.

I've established in the past that there's a strong trend which generates lots of sales in the £350-£500 price range. 

The rule which I think curtailed sales in this exhibition was the one which required a minimum sale price of £600 - when there are a lot of people buying art priced below £500.

Read on to find out why....

General commentary on Sales of Artwork

These days art sales are typically generated via

• the associated online website for the artwork - and the fact this goes online before the exhibition in the gallery opens
• sales at the Private View - where it's a common expectation that a goodly proportion of artwork will be sold given this is an opportunity to be nice to collectors!
• sales during the time the exhibition is open to the public.

Sales in the last couple of years have been less than usual due to the constraints on people's budgets.

Number of Sales by Price Range

By the time the RSMA Annual Exhibition closed on 28 September 2024, there had been 57 sales in total (out of 452 artworks in the exhibition) i.e. 12% of artworks "hung" sold.

The analysis in this post is based on those sales.  See my review post for the explanation of how I arrived at these numbers

The remaining unsold artwork remains available for sale on the online art sales pages website

The chart below is based on an analysis of the 57 sales - splitting them by

• the artist as follows:
• RSMA - a full or associate member of the RSMA 
• Open - an artist selected via the Open Entry
• different price ranges - based on prevailing price hurdle (eg 1,000) demonstrated at the Mall Galleries in the past

Analysis of the 57 art sales at the RSMA Annual Exhibition 2024

You can compare 2024 performance to a previous chart from 2020 

Click to see a larger version

NOTE that just 4 years ago:

• there were 56 sales in total of which:
• 17 sales were below £500 
• 48 sales were below £1,500 - and only 40 now in 2024.
• how few sales there were above £2,000 (during the pandemic)
• how the number of open artists selling has improved since 2020

In this context 

• sales in the upper price ranges have improved  since 2020 - but not by much. 
• While the bottom price range (£350-£500) has been completely eliminated by the requirement for a minimum price of £600.

I'm still completely mystified as to the metric evidence which suggested this was a good idea.

RSMA Sales Metrics 2024

I've split my comments between:

• ones related to how one can categorise the artists eg members vs Open; men vs women
• ones related to the price ranges 

Call for Entries: Royal Institute of Oil Painters

You've got less than a week left to submit an entry to the Annual Exhibition 2024  of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries which opens on 28th November 2024.
I'd normally writing about this in August - but as regular readers will know I was on a lengthy break for various reasons.

So the first thing I need to tell you is that the deadline for online entries - to to submit your digital image of your artwork / form / fees ONLINE only - is Friday 4 October, 12 noon 

The ROI Annual Exhibition typically exhibits around 300 artworks by both members and those selected via the open entry. 

The ROI is the only major British art society that promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard exclusively in oil paint.

This blog post covers this Open Exhibition - and:

• who can enter
• what you can enter
• how to enter

Call for Entries - ROI Annual Exhibition 2023

You can find the official and FULL Call for Entries here on

• the Mall Galleries website
• the ROI website
• the portal to the entry screen

Plus this is the link to the Full Details, Entry Terms & Conditions

Below is a Summary of the different aspects of the Call for Entry - plus MY COMMENTARY.

I would love to see more artists having the chance to exhibit alongside us at this prestigious event. When I had my first chance, I was over the moon and just being associated with this society has really boosted my career in the most positive ways.
Adebanji Alade - President

WHO can Enter

Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the ROI Annual Exhibition 2023. ROI Exhibition Page

• The competition is open to all artists over the age of 18
• It is also open to international entries - you don't even have to be live or work in the UK. 
• However International Artists need to make sure they read the Mall Galleries/FBA Notice about the need to register for VAT to get your artwork through Customs and into the UK!  
• You might also find my webpage about International Art Shipping: How to ship / export art to other countries useful.

What you can enter

Portraits of people in oils
at the ROI Annual Exhibition 2023 (East Gallery)

SUBJECT MATTER

Artists may submit work on any subject matter.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK NOT PREVIOUSLY SEEN

Basically NEW to the Mall Galleries and less than 3 years old.

ALL artwork submitted MUST

• have been completed within the last three years and 
• must NOT have been previously exhibited at the Mall Galleries (i.e. if you've submitted it to one of the other art societies that exhibits at the Mall Galleries - and it was selected for exhibition you cannot submit it to this exhibition)

ACCEPTABLE MEDIA

I declare victory for common sense!  Last year and the year before in my Call for entries posts, I had a go at the ROI and the Mall Galleries for what was clearly confusing advice as to eligible media - which IMO bordered on being in conflict with mandatory regulations re marketing - and this year it has been sorted!!

I'm really pleased to acknowledge that the ROI is truly exclusive to entries in oil paint.

The definition of acceptable media is now as follows (with my choice of highlighting for what is now EXCLUDED!)

Oils. The ROI promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard in oil paint.

Water-soluble oil paint is acceptable if framed as an oil, so as not to spoil the general appearance of the exhibition.

Acrylic is no longer accepted

Most of the selected works have always been in oil paint i.e. high 90% so this shouldn't be an issue for the look of the exhibition

However this change may well affect all those artists submitting via the open entry in acrylic who will now need to find alternative exhibitions to enter - or start painting in oils.

NUMBER OF ENTRIES

Review: Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2024

This is a review of the Annual Exhibition 2024 of the Royal Society of Marine Artists - currently exhibiting at the Mall Galleries in London - until 28th September.

The exhibition is has lots of high quality artwork which is well hung and includes paintings (in various media), drawings, prints and sculpture and other 3D media.

Below this post covers

• different ways in which you can see the artwork
• a commentary on some of the aspects of the exhibition - given my commentary on a number of the artworks is contained in my Facebook albums
• an analysis of the sales to date - and a chart which shows these are spread across different price ranges and between members and open artists.

Marine scenes - water, skies and boats!
(East Gallery)

My artist to keep an eye on for the future in this year's exhibition produced the paintings top left and top right - and I was entirely unsurprised that top right sold - given it's a very contemporary painting of expensive yachts in a race at a prestigious event (racing around the Needles - in the Round the Island Race?) AND it's part of an edition of 5 and has been priced just under the £2k hurdle price! This very astute as well as accomplished artist is Alex Poyner and I fully expect her to become an Associate of the RSMA very soon - if she applies......

How to see the artwork online

I took a number of photographs when I visited the exhibition last Friday. This week I've spent a long time eliminating perspective distortions for those too high or too low for my current state of agility - and then uploading them to new Facebook Albums.  

These are the links to my photos of the:

• Artwork in the West Gallery
• Artwork in the North Gallery
• Artwork in the East Gallery

This is the only place - other than actually visiting the exhibition - where you can see the relative sizes of the artwork, which a lot of people find difficult to fathom when seeing artwork without a context and only numbers to guide them.

All my comments about artwork I liked can be found in commentary on artwork in the albums. 

You can also see 

• all the members artwork - in alphabetical order - on the RSMA website. I thought the idea of splitting the alphabet up into four separate pages and then providing clear signposts to different sections was excellent! A very fast solution to getting to see the artwork by the member whose artwork you really like!
• ALL the artwork  - by members and selected from the open entry - on the Mall Galleries website (see Annual Exhibition 2024 )
• if there was one criticism I'd make, it's that this image (below) is VERY BUSY.  The different text - in different fonts, sizes and colours - overlaying artwork makes it quite a challenge to understand quickly. I think it could be done a lot more simply - and that's the challenge I'm issuing for next year!

My comments on a number of matters

Exhibition Commentary 

To be honest, I've not got a lot to say which I didn't say last year (see Review: 78th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists) so, 

• given the context of my new priorities (see I'm back - but slowing down and walking more!) and 
• less time for writing blog posts, 

I'm going to try and be less long-winded and a bit more succinct!

Diversity

This is a very masculine art society. Hence it's always pleasing to see more and more female artists submitting artwork and getting selected. 

Call for Entries: Royal Society of Marine Artists

You might think the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists is just for artists who paint boats - and hence a very niche marketplace - but you'd be wrong. 

Indeed, in my opinion, it's well worthwhile checking out what sort of artwork is acceptable in this exhibition - which attracts a lot of collectors.

The Call for Entries for the next annual exhibition closes at 12 noon on Friday 26 July - so plenty of time to check out whether any of your artwork fits with their criteria and get an online submission completed!

You can check out my review of the last annual exhibition here - Review: 78th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. It includes links to my albums of photos of the exhibition on my Making A Mark Facebook Page

The RSMA leads the way by being:

• the OLDEST marine art society
• the BIGGEST marine art society - in terms of members
• the ONLY marine art society with an online exhibition which opens before and continues after the gallery exhibition.

This is an exhibition which generates a decent level of sponsorship of various awards valued at £10,500.  
 

What is the criteria for entries?

What's the scope of subject matter?

It's NOT just about boats!

The Royal Society of Marine Artists 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.

• Subject matter MUST be: 
• essentially marine in nature, 
• relating in some way to tidal waters of the world; 
• Subject matter MAY be: topographical, historical, still life, and figure painting are all welcomed.
• Works relating to non-tidal rivers, inland lakes and waterways etc. are NOT ACCEPTED. 

The RSMA Annual Exhibition in 2023 - in the East Gallery

What can you submit?

In reality, most are paintings with some drawings and sculpture and few prints.

• Number of artworks: up to six works - but note that a maximum of four might be selected. Typically it's more often one or two for people new to the exhibition
• Size of artwork: Works should be no larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.
• Acceptable media: 
• Paint: Oil, acrylic, watercolour, 
• Prints: original prints of any media, 
• Drawings: eg pastels, graphite, charcoal
• 3D/Sculpture
• mixed media, textiles
• Age of artwork: submit new work not previously exhibited
• Essential: All works must be an original creation by the artist
• Sales: 

• All works must be for sale. 
• There is a minimum price per work of £600 - which I said was a BIG mistake last year - and I believe sales were reduced as a result
• Prices for prints should start as 
• framed £325, 
• unframed £200.

In 2021, the vast majority of sales (80-85%?) are artworks were priced at less than £1,000. There were a LOT of buyers for small artwork priced at less than £500.

Last year, 419 artworks were listed in the catalogue. Of these 354 remain listed as unsold on the online website for online sales.

Who can submit entries?

Is a minimum price for artwork in open art exhibitions necessary?

This post argues that the use of a MINIMUM price for artwork entries for an OPEN art exhibition/competition needs to be ELIMINATED.

In my view, any use of a MINIMUM price for artwork entries for an OPEN art exhibition/competition needs to have 

• a clear and cogent business purpose - based on facts and not assumptions
• which generates positive results i.e. more income not less
• produces better value than no minimum sale price!

READ ON:  My investigations to date have produced no good reason for the use of a minimum price - and even less for raising it above the affordable art level if it is used!

PS. If you want to know why I write about the money side of art a lot, you might want to look at my background.

The Open Art Exhibition / Competition

The basic business premise of an open art exhibition / competition  is that it aims to

• attract lots of entries - and thereby generate funds via entry fees 
• get lots of good calibre art entered
• select art which is good AND is priced to appeal to buyers
• which sells well - and thereby generates funds from sales 
• which means more exhibitions next year!

However it cannot just be about wishful thinking.

Generating sales at an open exhibition/competition needs to be focused on:

• good calibre art - which appeals to people AND art buyers
• artists understanding how to price their art to sell (see How to Price Your Art) 
• including art which people can afford to buy (see my previous two posts: 
• What is "Affordable Art"? and
• The important things to know about pricing Affordable Art)
• attracting and getting visitors who want to buy - and not just look at art
• creating funds so you can do it all again next year!

Generating funds is about:

• covering the direct costs of the this year's exhibition
• making sure next year's exhibition can take place i.e. creating a reserve for expenses related to running next year's open exhibition - many of which need an outlay in advance of the exhibition opening
• contributing to the overheads of running the organisation / art gallery / competition etc
• making money for the artists 
• paying taxes!

What the exact business model is varies according to every open exhibition, its organiser and their business aims and financial / budgeting expertise.

So it's worth looking at what currently happens....

Specifically in relation to the concept of "the minimum price" for art entered into an art exhibition / competition.

What is a minimum price?

Very simply, SOME open exhibitions or art competitions require that art entered must be priced at or above a minimum specified price.

However, this is NOT a rule. It is NOT required. It is an OPTION.

I've rewritten this blog post a number of times. It keeps foundering on trying to define any sort of rationale for a minimum price - of which more below.

Who uses a minimum price for art in an open art exhibition/competition?

A number of open art exhibitions stipulate a minimum price for artwork entered into open art exhibitions. 

BUT NOT ALL DO. Below I've identified whether or not art competitions and open exhibitions use a minimum price

ABSOLUTELY NO MINIMUM PRICE

The important things to know about pricing Affordable Art

The really important things to know 

about pricing Affordable Art

There are two things you need to know about pricing affordable art.

The first is that what the PUBLIC think is "affordable" is the only game in time.
It's emphatically NOT what the artists or the art galleries and art fairs think it is. 
That's because they're trying to make money for themselves so they have a huge incentive to call it "affordable" but then pitch the price high!

The second is that it's the PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE of a number that really matters. A poll I ran revealed that

• Between 64-70% would buy art up to 500 (of whichever currency)
• Between 70-91% would buy art up to 1000 (of whichever currency)
• ONLY 9-10% would contemplate buying art above 1000 (of whichever currency)

The important thing is to identify what are the key hurdle prices which change behaviour. It's akin to the notion that you should always price just below an important hurdle price rather than just above.

IMAGE: My page about The Price of Affordable Art on my website Art Business Info for Artists

Why I got interested in the price of affordable art

I became very interested in the concept of affordable art - and its pricing - back in 2010 (post the banking crisis of 2008 and what followed).  

This was a time when a lot of art galleries were closing - mainly because people were not buying and/or because the people who ran the galleries were not good business people and/or they had no concept of risk management and made no provision for a difficult economic context

The main reason for my interest was that artists were trying to sell in a difficult economic context and kept getting their pricing wrong which meant their sales were also plummeting.

They very much needed to understand 

• what was deemed "affordable" and would still sell.
• what were the key hurdle prices within the range they considered affordable.
• how to avoid shooting themselves in the foot due to poor pricing practices.

We've now had 12 months of a very difficult economic climate with inflation and significant interest rate rises. It's not coming to an end any time soon - even if it has improved somewhat. We are still a long way adrift from where we were two years ago.

Bottom line - we are now back in the same territory as 2010 and the same issues and questions apply re. pricing.

What is an affordable price?

Review: 78th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists

This is a review of the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists  which I visited on Tuesday morning last week - straight after the PV the night before. 

View of the West Gallery with a range of artwork and sizes on display

I'm writing this essentially for three four parties:

• artists interested in marine art and maybe thinking about applying for next year's exhibition
• members of the RSMA (re. framing and pricing)
• the Mall Galleries
• the Royal Society of Marine Artists.

I'll be commenting very specifically on the artworks in the exhibition.

However, some of the comments in my review follow a theme arising from earlier reviews of annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries for the very simple reason it's important and universal. That theme very much relates to the interest rate shenanigans and the cost of living crisis experienced over the last 12 months i.e. fewer people having disposable income or feeling confident about buying and this has an impact on sales and by definition to income of artists.

This morning, I've been reviewing the photos I took and counting the subsequent sales on the website after the ones I counted in the exhibition last week - of which more below.

East Gallery

The morning after the PV turned out, as I hoped, to be an excellent time to take photos without a lot of people in front of the artwork. These will be loaded into albums on my Facebook page where they will 

• either give you an incentive to visit the exhibition
• provide an insight into the type of artwork which gets selected for the exhibition, if you're unable to visit.

These are the links to my photos of the:

• Artwork in the West Gallery
• Artwork in the North Gallery
• Artwork in the East Gallery 

You can also 

• SEE all the Prizewinners on the wall in this FB post and 
• READ about who won what in this news post by the Mall Galleries Royal Society of Marine Artists Exhibition 2023 | Award Winners
• VIEW all the artwork by both members and selected from the open entry online on the Mall Galleries website. Sadly there are no filters so you have to work your way through to see what you want.

The exhibition continues until Saturday 30th September (10am to 5pm) at the Mall Galleries.

BELOW you can find my review of the artwork and a commentary on sales and the price of artwork sold

Review of RSMA Annual Exhibition 2023

Overall, this is an exhibition which continues to impress in terms of the standard of artwork submitted - with particular respect to its execution. There are, in particular, a number of very impressive oil painters. 

The exhibition is also becoming more diverse and is demonstrating a wider range of both subject matter and media over time. 

It also receives a good level of sponsorship which is reflected in the prizes on offer to participating artists - both members and those selected via the open entry.

Subject Matter

This is an open art exhibition which invites artwork about anything that involves tidal waters of the world. 

In other this is NOT about water per se - it MUST be essentially marine in nature i.e. involved with TIDAL water. This includes:

• harbours and shorelines,
• traditional craft and contemporary shipping,
• creeks and beaches,
• wildlife and marine workers
• in short anything that involves tidal water

The range of subject matter on display in the marine art in this exhibition is fascinating. 

One of the key aspects creating and maintaining a successful art society is knowing your audience and how to reach out to them - otherwise you and your members could be out of pocket pretty fast! 

Call for Entries: Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2024

The Pastel Society has published its Call for Entries for its 125th Annual Exhibition in January next year.

The Pastel Society seeks the best in contemporary pastel and dry media, combining technical skill with creative originality for the Society's 125th Exhibition.

This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be

• included in the catalogue
• seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a lot of visitors
• viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
• eligible for a number of prizes & awards.

READ ON If you work in pastels, oil pastels, charcoal, pencil, conte, sanguine, or any other dry media and would like to achieve a higher profile for your artwork - and maybe a sale or a prize!

The 125th Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society: 
SUMMARY of the Call for Entries

• Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Pastel Society
• All submissions are online. 
• DEADLINE for entries - for a digital image, application form and fee - is noon on Friday 24 November 2023
• All artwork submitted is judged virtually, after which selected works should be delivered to Mall Galleries, London, for inclusion in the exhibition
• Exhibition Dates: 23rd January (PV Day - Invite only) to Saturday 10th February 2024.
• Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, London

Below you can find MY version of the Call for Entries. Note that:

• it includes TIPS and additional comments which those who have not entered before may find useful.
• Some of those who have entered before and been unsuccessful might also like to have a read.

Submission: key dates and points to note

ALL artworks must be submitted online. 

It means that the quality of your digital image is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.

REQUIRED READING: On the Mall Galleries website you can find:

• Call for Entries for the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2024
• Full Details, Entry Terms & Conditions
• Website to use for Entries
• Exhibition Contact: exhibitions@mallgalleries.com

Note: The Frequently Asked Questions Page (FAQs) appears to have disappeared from the website.

TIP: If you don't read all the relevant information, do NOT be surprised or irritated if your entry is not selected.

Below is a summary of the stages of entry.

1. ELIGIBLE ARTISTS: Who can enter?

This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members.
This exhibition also has works exhibited by people who live outside the UK.

• Any artist over 18 may submit.
• There is no restriction of where you live. 
• It's open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU

Call for Entries: Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2023

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters invite entries to its Annual Exhibition 2023 at the Mall Galleries which opens on 29th November 2023. This blog post covers this Open Exhibition and:

• who can enter
• what you can enter
• how to enter

It also covers what, in my opinion are two serious mistakes.

The deadline for entries is 12 noon on Friday 6 October to submit your artwork / form / fees ONLINE only.  

Call for Entries - ROI Annual Exhibition 2023

You can find the official and FULL Call for Entries here on

• the Mall Galleries website
• the ROI website

There's not been a lot of marketing of this Call for Entries by either the ROI or Mall Galleries - I only spotted it this week!

Below is a Summary of the different aspects of the Call for Entry 

- plus MY COMMENTARY. 

(UPDATE: I should add that I emailed the President of the ROI before I published and he's written back to say that the ROI Council will consider the points made for the future.)

View of the East Gallery at the ROI Annual Exhibition 2022

WHO can Enter

Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the ROI Annual Exhibition 2023. ROI Exhibition Page

• The competition is open to all artists over the age of 18
• It is also open to international entries - you don't even have to be live or work in the UK. However International Artists need to make sure they read the Mall Galleries/FBA Notice about the need to register for VAT to get your artwork through Customs and into the UK! (See the last bullet point under Sales in the Call for Entries re the need to register for VAT). You might also find my page about International Art Shipping: How to ship / export art to other countries useful.

View of North Gallery - ROI Annual Exhibition 2022

WHAT you can enter

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters was founded in 1882 and is the only major British art society that promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard exclusively in oil paint. ROI Exhibition Page

Acceptable media: Oils. Acrylic and water-soluble oil paint is acceptable if framed as an oil, so as not to spoil the general appearance of the exhibition. 

The ROI have a problem with the wording of the Call for Entries (and website). I explicitly noted the problem with the Call for Entries and the two statements above last year. I warn about issues once and, if not addressed, the following year I spell out why it needs to be addressed - which is what I'm doing this year.

The two statements above are ambiguous, contradictory and misleading which means they are very unlikely to be compliant with The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code)

A Call for Entries is a direct marketing communication. I'm not sure many art societies are aware of this, but it applies to ALL marketing communications on the Internet, print publications, advertisements and promotional material - including websites. Compliance is also NOT optional!

The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) is the rule book for non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing communications (marketing communications). (CAP Code)

In my opinion, the ROI really MUST review the use of the word 'exclusively' on the ROI website (and Mall Galleries website). All that needs to happen is either:

• EITHER: delete the word "exclusively" and have another think about how to describe the ROI and acceptable media
• OR: delete non-oil paints from eligible media since it's impossible to be "exclusively in oil paint" - and then accept other paints e.g. acrylic which are NOT oil paints! ( i.e. a frame does not change a media!!)
• AND make sure all communications comply with the CAP Code in every respect.

Number and percentage of works - by medium

- in the ROI Annual Exhibitions 2014-2019

The number of works exhibited each year typically varies between 270 and just over 300. 

I RECOMMEND that artists submit artworks in oil paint only via the Open Entry.

In relation to other matters there are various requirements

• Age: All artwork must have been completed within the last three years 
• Previous Exhibitions: Artwork must not have been previously shown at Mall Galleries.
• Presentation: 
• Paintings should be completely dry at the time of delivery
• Wide mounts between painting and frame, as in watercolours, are not acceptable.
• Glazed work is not encouraged.
• Unframed work can be accepted if on a well-presented box canvas.
• Works that are poorly presented or differ significantly from the photograph entered will not be exhibited.
• Exhibition Theme: 
• This year’s mini theme is ‘Urban Life’, which can be interpreted widely. 
• Artists are encouraged to contribute a work on the theme, however it is not compulsory.
• Number of artwork submitted: A maximum of six works may be submitted
• Number / size of artwork selected: 
• A maximum of three works may be selected.
• The combined measurement of works accepted will not exceed 8 feet maximum per artist.
• For Sale: 
• Work must be for sale, unless portraits.
• The minimum sale price is £500.
• All prices must allow for the deduction of commission @45% plus VAT %20% on the commission sum and the cost of the frame and shipping (there and back if unsold).

I'm very concerned that the minimum price has been raised to £500 for a number of reasons. I can only assume this is the product of some misplaced notion that eliminating very affordable art will increase sales and income. This is wrong. If anything the emphasis should be on making artwork more affordable.

Key Pricing Points - based on analysis of actual data: