Sharing News...and a Strategy

 

Up Close, Charcoal on 16 x 20 panel
Honorable Mention The Artist's Magazine All Media 2015

On Sunday evening I checked my email and discovered Up Close has been awarded Honorable Mention in The Artist's Magazine All Media Competition. I cannot say how surprised I was by this news.  Each year I budget a  portion of money for shows and competitions. This includes local shows, art fairs, national competitions and submissions for publication or prize money. 
In 2015 I submitted three works to different print based competitions. Up Close to The Artist's Magazine, Hillary to North Light Books, Strokes of Genius 8: Texture and Sense of Place, Common Thread Works to North Light Books, Incite 4. All were successful. 
This took a little research and an editing eye to figure out which competitions were best for what I do; my work. 



I'm posting about this here because if I can do this successfully, anyone can. In 2014 I decided to submit a painting to International Artist Magazine. I just thought, let's go for it...honestly I thought the time has lapsed, but then I got an email stating I was a finalist. They gave me a full page in the 2014 December/January issue with image, a write up that I did myself and contact information. I also got a full year's subscription...nice. This started the process for me. 

So I set a goal in 2015 to find those competitions that not only interested me, but fit with my work. I teach charcoal classes at the Cobb Marietta Museum in Marietta GA, so I do a lot with the medium and experiment daily. This seemed a good option.

In February 2015 I began to create a listing of competitions with dates and submission fees. I narrowed my focus based on my budget, and my strongest works or studies. Aside from making sure I kept money aside for payment, it really was a simple as that. 

 

Being, Rocks and Water, 8 x 10 featured in 2014 International Artist Magazine

Hillary, Charcoal on Paper, 18 x 24, selected for North Light Books
Strokes of Genius 8, 2016

Estefania, Sense of Place depicts the affinity of a woman to her homeland - Portugal. This image began as a wash of earthen watercolor over leftover paper. Not fully aware of its purpose, I put it in a drawer. Months later I put it with Estefania, our paternal grandmother. I could somehow see her character within the marks of the watercolor. I picked out a warm pastel to create her portrait, and after sketching the facial structure, I made holes for needle and sewing thread, as a way to show the common threads of person to a place.

Communicating a story is life experience; good days, bad days, we must do it in order to share it. So let's all get out there and do it - look for and find those opportunities to promote our work as artists. We can do it -

 

Sense of Place, Common Thread Works, 8 x 12, selected for North Light Books
Incite 4 2016

Here's my daily work from the morning, and my post for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge. More information here http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/blog

Grapes with Citrus, 6 x 8 oil on panel

 Thanks for your time. I welcome you to visit me at http://www.donnashiver.com/


Peace and Health all -