A top art blog for artists and art lovers: news about major art competitions and exhibitions, interviews with artists, techniques and tips for art and business
Alongside the work of its elected members, leading figures in contemporary
watercolour and water-based media, the RI welcomes both emerging and
established artists who push the boundaries of the medium through traditional
and experimental approaches.
Why enter this exhibition?
This is the biggest exhibition dedicated to paintings in water
colours in the UK.
around 50% of the artworks are from the Open Submission
The exhibition is the largest of its kind, featuring over 400 of the finest
works from around the world.
displays a wide diversity in approaches to paintings using watercolour
media and subject matter - from traditional to the more contemporary.
although more contemporary artwork has a lower profile in the show
and tends to favour acrylic and mixed media.
relatively little of what I tend to term the "can't draw, can't paint, won't sell" school of painting which lacks application to both concept and craft
The overall impression is that most of the artists in the show, on the whole,
are very much more inclined to paint natural scenes associated with the outdoors
- and have a distinct preference for more traditional media.
To be more precise, last year:
more than a third paint landscapes or cityscapes
just under 20% painted portraits and human figures
14% painted still life and interiors
less than 10% painted Marine and Coastal OR Wildlife and Animals OR other
topics.
very few people created abstract paintings
This is worth a study - in terms of what subjects get painted in
what media (from my review of the 2025 exhibition - see link
above)
Call for Entries for RI Annual Exhibition 2026
The deadline for entries for the
214th Exhibition
of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours is
2pm on Friday 23 January 2026
There is a single-stage virtual judging process for ALL submitted works.
Selected works should be delivered to Mall Galleries, London, for inclusion in the exhibition by Saturday 16th March (10am-5pm)
This Annual Exhibition opens on 28th March 2024 and closes on 13th April 2024.
I highly RECOMMEND this exhibition to ALL those who paint in watercolour media - no matter what your subject or style. I'm a very big supporter of those art societies which try hard to recognise that their annual exhibitions are
a major way of helping 'emerging artists' with their careers - and
finding good quality new members for the society in the future
This exhibition offers:
several prizes and awards (see below)
the chance to have your work seen alongside artwork by RI members
the opportunity to exhibit at a prestigious gallery in the heart of London
have your work seen by very many visitors - some of whom regularly buy watercolour paintings
Call for Entries - RI Annual Exhibition 2024
You can read a summary of the process below - but for full details visit the websites of the RI and the Mall Galleries
You can READ the official details of the Call for Entries for the exhibition in 2024 in two places:
which contains all the current open exhibitions for the Mall Galleries on one page
where you can see and read the full terms and conditions (BUT unfortunately these do NOT have a separate URL allowing artists to print and/or save)
Below is a summary - but the rules you need to abide by are in the above links!
Who can submit art to the RI Annual Exhibition
Any artist over 18 may submit, in the UK, EU, and outside the EU i.e. this open exhibition is
open to international artists who live/work anywhere in the world.
BUT - a word of caution - make sure you understand what's involved with international art shipping, customs paperwork and VAT before you submit OR you may have a nasty surprise.
My page about Art Competitions & Juried Exhibitions provides some useful generic information for those who have never entered a juried exhibition before about
tips for entering juried exhibitions
outlines how artwork can make a good impression and get selected and
why artists typically fail to get selected.
View of the RI Annual Exhibition on the Private View day in 2023
What can you submit
Your artwork MUST be ORIGINAL (i.e. all your own work) and conform to one or more of the following acceptable media and presented as follows:
All works must be an original creation by the artist.
Watercolour or water-soluble mediums on any support including:
watercolour,
acrylic,
ink or
gouache
(BUT excluding water-soluble oils).
The type of support MUST be specified (for example paper, board, wood, parchment, etc) as well as the medium.
Age / Exhibitions
Artwork in water-based media
MUST have been completed within the last two years and
should NOT have been previously shown in London.
Size
Works should not be larger than 240 cm high and 150 cm wide including the frame.
The Selection Committee has the right to exclude paintings that are over this limit.
Number
A maximum of six works may be submitted,
a maximum of four works may be selected.
TIP: My recommendations are:
if you have never visited the exhibition before you might like to take a look at the variety and quality of the artwork selected by looking at the images in my reviews of past exhibitions at the bottom of this blog post
bear in mind it's unlikely that anybody who has not been selected before will get more than one artwork selected. So just submit your very best artwork!
The OPEN Call for Entries for The Royal Institute of Water Colours (RI)
Annual Exhibition in 2023 has been published. It invites submissions from both International and British artists over 18 years of age.
The RI's annual exhibition has been described by Rosa Sepple, Former President of the RI
as....
"the biggest exhibition of watercolour paintings in the world"
The deadline for entries for the 211th Exhibition of the Royal Institute
of Painters in Water Colours in early Spring 2023 is
Friday 6 January 2023, 12 noon
so three weeks earlier than last year!
Something to focus your mind on
over the Christmas Holidays - if not before!
I highly RECOMMEND this exhibition to ALL those who paint in
watercolour media - no matter what your subject or style.
I'm a big supporter of those art societies which try hard to recognise
that their annual exhibitions are
a major way of helping 'emerging artists' with their careers -
and
finding good quality new members for the society in the
future
This exhibition offers:
several prizes and awards (see below)
the chance to have your work seen alongside artwork by RI members
the opportunity to exhibit at a prestigious gallery in the heart of London
have your work seen by very many visitors - some of whom regularly buy watercolour paintings
There are no images from the 2022 Annual Exhibition in this Call for Entries
due to me still mobilising on one leg following my ankle fusion operation and totally unable to manage getting to and/or around the exhibition.
However, if you are unfamiliar with an/or have never visited this exhibition you can TAKE A LOOK at my albums of photos from the 2021 exhibition on my (public) Making A Mark Facebook Page (click the pic to see larger)
The annual exhibition of the the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours has been described by Rosa Sepple, President of the RI as "the biggest exhibition of watercolour paintings in the world"
The deadline for entries for the 210th Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in April 2022 is Friday 28 January 2022, 12 noon
This is what I wrote earlier this year after visiting the 2021 exhibition.
I highly RECOMMEND this exhibition to ALL those who paint in watercolour media - no matter what your subject or style. I'm a big supporter of those art societies which try hard to recognise that their annual exhibitions are
a major way of helping 'emerging artists' with their careers - and
finding good quality new members for the society in the future
some of my photos of the RI Exhibition of water colours in May 2021
Periodically I get embarrassed by the fact that I've inadvertently missed the opening of a Call for Entries - and this is one of those posts which remedies the situation. I should have written it a month ago.
Features of the exhibition
The Call for Entries invites submissions from both International and British artists over 18 years of age.
What this Exhibition offers
several prizes and awards (see below)
the chance to have your work seen alongside artwork by RI members
the opportunity to exhibit at a prestigious gallery in the heart of London
have your work seen by very many visitors - some of whom regularly buy watercolour paintings
it's a truly open exhibition - this is what I wrote in my review of last year's exhibition
More importantly of those selected for the exhibition:
229 paintings (52%) were from RI members (who are allowed up to 6 in an exhibition - but have to pass selection too!)
about the exhibition - and what the artwork hung looks like
terms and conditions
who can submit an entry
what sort of artwork can be submitted
Prizes & Awards - The exhibition includes several prizes and awards, open to all participating artists - see below
Summary of Key Dates for Artists submitting an Open Entry
Submission closes: Friday 28 January 2022, 12 noon (i.e. a week earlier than last year)
Selection notification: Friday 4 February 2021, 12 noon [Log in to see if your work has been pre-selected]
Receiving Day (IF pre-selected from your digital submission): Saturday 5 March 2021, 10am - 5pm
Notification of Final Selection: Tuesday 8 March, 12 noon
Exhibition: Thursday 14th - 23rd April, 11am to 5pm
There are THREE major changes this year
digital selection only applies to the pre-selection - as per 'normal' (i.e. unlike last year when it had to be digital for everything) and there will be a jury of members artists making the final selection of works to hang from those pre-selected from the digital open entry
the submission fee has been increased - £20 per work (or £14 per work for artists aged 35 or under).
the exhibition has returned to its normal exhibition month of April - after being held in May last year due to lockdown
Do bear in mind thought that anything can change - although it seems more unlikely this year.
Call for Entries
You can READ details of the Call for Entries for the exhibition in 2022 in two places:
View of the RI's 208th Annual Exhibition September 2020
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours seeks the best in contemporary watercolour and watermedia painting
Features of the exhibition are:
It is open to both International and British artists over 18 years of age.
This Exhibition offers
several prizes and awards (see below)
the chance to have your work seen alongside artwork by RI members
the opportunity to exhibit at a prestigious gallery in the heart of London
have your work seen by very many visitors - some of whom regularly but art
Below you will find:
Call for Entries 2021 unpicked
about the exhibition
terms and conditions
who can submit an entry
what sort of artwork can be submitted
Prizes & Awards - The exhibition includes several prizes and awards, open to all participating artists
Summary of RI History and key metrics from the 2019 exhibition (see Pricing a Watercolour & RI Annual Exhibition Metrics)
a brief review of the history of the RI
exhibition metrics for the last exhibition in 2019 - which provides a very solid reason why this is an exhibition worth exhibiting in - and at the same time provides some very clear guidance on pricing.
Summary of Key Dates for Artists submitting an Open Entry
These are the key dates for all those wishing to submit work to this open exhibition. More details below.
Submission closes: Friday 5 February 2021
Selection notification: Friday 19 February 2021, 12 noon [Log in to see if your work has been pre-selected]
Receiving Day: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14th March 2021, 10am - 5pm
Exhibition: Thursday 1 - 15th April, 11am to 5pm
Call for Entries
You can find details of the Call for Entries for the exhibition in 2021 in two places:
The Royal Society of Marine Artists wants to see submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment for its annual exhibition in October 2020.
You can submit work inspired by the sea and tidal waters - shipping, sailing, harbours, beaches, creeks, coat and marine wildlife.
RSMA Annual Exhibition last October - A corner of the main gallery at the Mall Galleries
I've had a niggle for a while that there was a blog post I intended to do - but could not remember what it was. I'm sure there must be a condition called "lockdown brain" in which your "to do" list gets lost!
It turns out I was right. I've forgotten to do the Call for Entries for the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists - but have remembered just before the deadline for the call for entries!
As I indicated last year - there are three good reasons to consider an entry if you like painting anything marine-orientated
This is an exhibition which:
ALWAYS attracts a lot of people interested in buying marine artwork.
ALWAYS has a LOT of decent prizes
In addition, in the past, prizes have been dominated by strong work by non-members - which is always good to see for those who submit work via the open entry.
they'd sold c.10% of their exhibition by the end of the first day it was open to the public my comment when posting photos of the exhibition to Facebook
You can see my photos of last year's exhibition on Facebook. They provide:
inspiration for those who can produce work in a tight timescale
confirmation for those not sure whether or not their work is good enough
information about standards for those seeking to be candidates for members
North Gallery - view of part of the annual exhibition last October
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.
The RSMA seeks submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment. It makes two statements about the scope
The RSMA seeks submissions of painting and sculpture that involve the sea and the marine environment, including harbours and shorelines, traditional craft and contemporary shipping, creeks, beaches, wildlife - in short anything that involves tidal water.
and
Subject matter must be essentially marine in nature, relating in some way to tidal waters of the world; topographical, historical, still life, and figure painting are all welcomed. Works relating to non-tidal rivers, inland lakes and waterways etc are not permissible.
2019 will be the 40th year of the BP Portrait Award and the 30th year of its sponsorship by BP. It's grown in stature over time as the number of entries from around the world have increased. The entry for the BP Portrait Award 2019 will be no different.
This is my annual guide to the BP Portrait Award - it's somewhat encyclopedic (but I've been analysing this competition for well over a decade!)
PLUS
great reasons for entering the BP Portrait Award 2019
how to give yourself a better chance than most with your entry
how to enter the competition - the deadline is 21 January 2019
Why you should enter the BP Portrait Award
1. You can change your life!
This is the sort of art competition / exhibition that changes people's careers and lives. Just getting selected can be enough to get taken seriously and after that it's up to you. If you are or aspire to be a serious portrait artist you need to think very seriously about entering the competition that in the past has been characterised as "the Oscars of Portraiture".
Winner of the BP Portrait Award 2018
Miriam Escofet with her mother and Miriam's portrait "An Angel at my Table"
- this could be YOU in 2019!
2. Awards
There's a £74,000 prize pot. If you win, you cash out of the competition as you won't be able to enter again. Ideally you get to win second or third prize before winning!
First Prize: A cash award of £35,000 with a commission valued at £7,000
Second Prize: £12,000
Third Prize: £10,000
BP Young Artist Award: £9,000 (All entrants aged between 18 and 30 will automatically be considered for both the BP Young Artist Award and the BP Portrait Award, but an individual cannot win both.)
BP Travel Award 2019: £8,000
3. International
This competition has serious international standing. It regularly attracts
over 2.5k entries annually from some 80+ countries all over the world
about half the entries are from outside the UK
it also regularly has prizewinners from all over the world!
4. Audience
A HUGE number of people come to see this exhibition.
You could be an exhibition lasting several weeks for a major art prize in a major national art gallery right in the centre of London.
Every year, this is one of the top exhibitions in the UK, regularly attracting more than 200k visitors to the exhibition - BEFORE it tours to other parts of the UK.
5. Profile & Status
"Selected for the BP Portrait" is the sort of entry on your CV that galleries like to see! This is the competition that artists boast about being selected for - and galleries like to boast about your selection too!
6. Exposure
Your portrait painting could hang outside the National Portrait Gallery on a banner - or be on all the posters around the Underground and London!
The artworks chosen for the publicity materials are usually not those shortlisted. Consequently a few lucky artists each year will get seriously major exposure for their artwork via the publicity materials.
7. Marketing / Commissions
The point about the exhibition is to be in it - the prize is just a bonus
Being selected can be as big as winning a prize. The big thing about this exhibition is to get selected for the exhibition.
Benjamin Sullivan RP NEAC, the 2017 Winner of the BP Portrait Award is crystal clear that participation is everything
It's one enormous shop window for those who want to accept commissions for painting portraits. It instantly raises your profile as somebody who has a serious claim to the title "portrait artist". However you need to have geared up for this in advance or else it's a wasted opportunity.
8. Have a great reason for visiting London
Many international artists choose to come to the previews and can be around for the events at the beginning of the exhibition.
9. Network and make lots of friends.
In 2014, David Kassan (Third Prizewinner 2014) suggested that the networking and friendships that painters make with fellow artists also exhibiting in the show are "unbeatable".
Helen A Pritchard with her winning entry in 2017
Photo by Nigel Howard
The overview below is interspersed with images of some of the works which made it though to the Shortlist last year - as in these were the ones I liked!
The Prize and the Judges
The Prize
There is one prize which comprises three elements - all of which on their own are worth having!
£10,000 in cash,
a lifetime National Arts Pass and
Hiscox Fine Art Insurance up to a maximum premium of £2,500 for one year (subject to eligibility; and the artist must reside within the UK).
The winning entry will be the favourite entry selected by the judging panel from all valid entries received.
(Note: Emphasis on the word 'valid' - as in compliant with every single aspect of the terms and conditions. Get any of them wrong and you cannot win the prize)
first, has the artist successfully reflected the brief?
Second, have they followed the rules – which are very simple?
Paintings, drawings and sketches are all accepted, so long as they’re no larger than size A0 (841 x 1189 mm) … and that’s pretty much it.
According to Thompson, the judges were determined to make the Art Prize as open as possible. ‘There are a lot of art competitions catered to established artists, like the Turner Prize,’ she says. ‘But breaking into the art world can be quite difficult.’ The solution was to make the competition completely free to enter, so that way it was accessible to everyone – no commission, no fee, no hassle. Why everyone should enter the Evening Standard Art Prize | Hiscox
Who can enter?
Only artists aged 18 years or over and resident in the UK can enter. (Note: That's going to be resident as in "legitimate resident")
What can you enter?
You can only submit one piece of artwork. - it can be a painting, drawing or sketch no bigger than A0.
Photography submissions are not valid entries
The artwork MUST be:
an original piece(as in wholly original / no copying! The definition of "original" in art means you must be capable of asserting legal copyright ownership)
no larger than 841 x 1189 mm (33.1 x 46.8 inches) ( It's unclear but in most competitions the size normally means "including the frame")
capable of being displayed on a wall or on an easel (the size is equivalent to size A0 i.e. the largest size which can safely sit on an easel. )
reflect the the brief of ‘progress’
How to enter
The deadline for entries is 23:59 on Sunday 30 September 2018.
To enter, send the following via email to [email protected]
your full name,
your contact number,
your postcode,
the title of the artwork,
the dimensions of the artwork and
three images of the work from different angles (not to exceed 14 MB) .
There are NO ENTRY FEES!
Note that by entering, your submission automatically becomes content which may be used by The Evening Standard or Hiscox in future marketing. (i.e. you are licensing the use of the work to these two entities for marketing purposes)
For further information, please write to Customer Care, Evening Standard Limited, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London, W8.
You can follow this art competition on social media using the hashtag #ESArtPrize
Longlist to shortlist
Details of "what happens next" will be sent to those artists whose digital entries are long listed. I'm guessing you will hear within a few days of the deadline for entries - which means if it needs to be framed you need to plan ahead - before you hear the result!
Long listed entries:
must be sent/brought in to a London address for judging by 15 October 2018
artists will be required to sign a waiver before their work can be displayed for final judging. Hiscox is solely responsible for the Fine Art Insurance prize.
SUBSCRIBE and receive every post from Making A Mark via email.
Your subscription is only activated after you verify the link in the email you will receive
Most have a minimum of £10,000 as a prize. My dedicated blog page provides
Overview of the basics for each competition - listed by year below (I've been running this page since 2010 and it gets updated on a rolling basis - but sometimes I forget. Use the labels in the side column to find the latest post if I have! THE ARCHIVE is at the bottom of the page)
Prizes: List divided into major and minor art competitions on basis of main cash prize
Calls for entries - for UK (and international artists for some competitions)
Deadlines - look out for the red dates highlighted
Selected Artists - with websites embedded in names
Exhibition reviews - with images
PLUS
links to tips about entering art competitions
notes about VAT for international artists entering UK art competitions
AN ARCHIVE of posts relating to exhibitions in previous years (Going back to 2010 if you want to look at what sort of art got selected in the past)
Entries from non-members are welcome and you have until 12 noon on Friday 6 July 2018 to get your entry ready and upload it and complete your submission online
The RSMA seeks submissions of paintings, limited edition prints and sculpture that involve the sea and the marine environment, including harbours and shoreline, traditional craft and contemporary shipping, creeks, beaches, wildlife - in short anything that involves tidal water.
The exhibition is the premier event for the exhibition of contemporary marine art.
It's also an OPEN exhibition - which means artwork selected from the open entry will hang alongside artwork by members of the RSMA. The exhibition will be held at the Mall Galleries on 11-20th October (10am - 5pm).
Last year it was a large exhibition with artwork with nearly 400 artworks in all three galleries with a good mix of artwork by members with that selected from the open entry across the galleries as a whole (i.e. no segregation!) This exhibition regularly does well as it is also well attended by fans of marine life (i.e. people who own boats!). That said, people who own boats are always very quick to spot errors made by those not familiar with marine life! I vividly remember standing looking at a painting one year with somebody who knew what he was talking about - and him commenting that the boat would capsize very fast in a swell! Proportions and details are everything for those who love their boats!
Last year's RSMA Annual Exhibition PV in the Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries
- home to more contemporary looking artwork
In addition:
the RSMA Friends' Evening will be on Tuesday 9th October (Ticket required. 5.30 – 7.30pm)
Private View on Wednesday 10th October (Invitation only. 11.00am – 8.00pm) - with
Opening & awards presentation at 3.30pm with guest of honour.
The very first exhibition of the Society of Marine Artists was prevented from going ahead because of the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Its first exhibition was actually held in 1946 at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London. In 1966, 20 years after the first exhibition, the Society was granted its Royal Charter and became known as the Royal Society of Marine Artists. Exhibitions moved to the Mall Galleries in 1981
The subject matter of our paintings has gradually broadened over the years to encompass not only sea-going vessels, but yachts and dinghies, the coast and sea-shore, harbours, estuaries and tidal rivers – indeed anything that is essentially marine related.
Last year I commented in my review
This exhibition has a major emphasis on paintings with an overall lean towards the blue/grey/green colour palette! By way of contrast, there is very little sculpture, drawings and fine art prints. The framing tends towards the traditional rather than contemporary. There's a tad too much gilt on show for my liking which I personally don't think suits paintings of boats!
Gilt tends to go with paintings of traditional ships from the past
The small works hung on the mezzanine wall
One thing worth noting last year is that this is an art society that now has a female President and more evidence of female artists not only getting their work selected but of also doing well in the exhibition (see my review post for more evidence of this)
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 contains lots of images of the type of artwork that gets selected for exhibition.
Call for Entries
The RSMA seeks submissions of art inspired by the sea and marine environment.
Artists are strongly urged to submit NEW work NOT PREVIOUSLY EXHIBITED.
If you want to get your artwork into an exhibition then it needs to very good and it needs to be NEW. Three reasons why artwork regularly does not make it into an art exhibition are:
seen before - in another exhibition (the equivalent of dissing your host!)
not presented well (poor framing can undermine good painting - and it's not very "professional")
Yesterday I wrote about What do paintings by BP Portrait Award winners look like? going back to 1990. That's because 2018 marks the Portrait Award’s 39th year at the National Portrait Gallery and 29th year of sponsorship by BP - and over a decade of me being invited to the Awards Ceremony and taking photos of and interviewing artists who win the awards
Below you can read about:
why every aspiring portrait artist should enter the BP Portrait Award
how to improve your chances of being selected for the major annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery next summer
before you submit your digital entry prior to the deadline of 22 January 2018.
In 2017, 53 artists had their portraits selected for the 2017 Annual Exhibition of the BP Portrait Award - from 2580 entries from 87 countries. (2016: comparable numbers were 2,557 entries from 80 countries)
People who win prizes read this post every year. Maybe this year it will be your turn?
Giving the awards a polish before the BP Portrait Awards Ceremony 2017 starts
Why you should enter the BP Portrait Award
As last year's winner, Ben Sullivan, emphasised in my video interview with him the REALLY IMPORTANT important thing is to be INCLUDED in the exhibition rather than win a prize.
That's because being included in the exhibition is the best possible marketing of your work to those who may be thinking of commissioning a portrait.
Ben exhibited in 13 exhibitions in total and every one for the last 11 years prior to his win this year. His style is very attractive for those who want a realistic but not photographic portrait and he has earned a lot of commissions over the years.
Now that's he's won first prize we won't be seeing his portraits in the exhibition any more....
It's time for someone else to reap the benefit of being included in the exhibition.
...the UK’s leading prize for representational and figurative art – art that seeks to capture the real world
The definition of figurative art seems to be a bit of a moving target these days so it's nice to have a definition of what they mean. Its specific aims are to:
encourage the very best creative representational painting and
promote the skill of draughtsmanship
“The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize celebrates the very best of British representational art and acts as a show case to the rest of the world. It’s all about the way in which our artists see the real world and capture it." Daphne Todd - one of this year's Judges
I've got a lot of time for this competition - mainly because I think they pick good judges who tend to stick to the brief. It's also a competition which tends to select artists who go on to become selected for more art prizes - and winners of them - in the future. Bottom line - in career terms this is a really good art competition - with great prizes - for those who are sound and talented figurative artists.
This is its 13th year - and you can see what sort of art gets picked in my archive of past blog posts posts about past competitions at the end of this post. This post covers:
About the 2017 Prize
the prizes
the judges
How to Enter
eligible work
how to enter
About the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2018
Approximately 200 artists are invited to deliver their actual works after initial selection from digital entries.
Approximately 100 works will then be selected for exhibition in March 2018at the Mall Galleries, London.
Work selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017
Prizes
In terms of prizes it's certainly one of the more prestigious art prizes in the UK - particularly for younger artists who are eligible for two worthwhile prizes in addition to the others.
The total pot for prize money is £30,000 split as follows:
the Lynn Painter-Stainers First Prize (£15,000)
a second prize (£4,000)
a newly introduced People’s Prize (£2,000)
the Young Artist Award (£4,000) for young artists aged 25 or under. The aim is to promote and support fresh new talent.
the Brian Botting Prize (£5,000) for an outstanding representation of the human figure by an artist aged 30 or under
“Do enter the competition, it’s really something to work towards. I entered many times before I won.“Winning the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize has been the high point of my work so far. I’ve been very busy since the announcement.” Christopher Green, winner of the 2017 Lynn Painter-Stainers prize
“After winning the prize, my painting View from Tate Modern was accepted for the Bath Society of Artists annual exhibition and was featured in the media. I also gained many more connections in the art world.” 2017’s People’s Prize winner, 22-year-old Kieran Nash
Kieran's prize-winning work is the small painting in the centre
Judges
It should be interesting this year. The Judges are
Artist and Educator - Robin Mason- Head of Fine Art at the City & Guilds London Art School
Art Gallery Owner - Johnny Messum- Founder and Director of Messums, Wiltshire
Artist and prizewinner - Benjamin Sullivan RPNEAC- Artist and Winner of the 2017 BP Portrait Award and winner of the Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize in 2007
Artists, prizewinner and experienced Judge - Daphne Todd OBE PPRP NEAC- Past President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, BP Portrait Award winner in 2010 (and second prize winner in 1983) and latterly a television celebrity as a judge in the BBC's The Big Painting Challenge. She also exhibits at Messums and is an .Honorary Liveryman, Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.
How to Enter
Not all the works selected are big
Eligibility
Who can enter
Living artists over the age of 18, who are resident in the British Isles - irrespective of whether or not they are a British citizen.
You can be professional or amateur artists
British citizens living abroad cannot enter.
Two of the prizes are age-related. Despite highlighting this issue last year, it is still IMPOSSIBLE to tell from the website what the date is for determining age - which is extremely odd to say the least! Not good practice as it leads to scope for ambiguity and mistakes. The "normal rule" is that the determining date is the deadline for entry.
Eligible artwork
Original - which (although they don't say) means in art competition terms that you can assert copyright for your work. What the law says is that your work is derivative and not eligible to claim copyright if you have copied another original artwork done by somebody else - and that includes photographs.
two-dimensional worksin any painting or drawing media.
completed in the last three years (assume the date ends on the deadline for entry)
not previously exhibited. (Presumably within the three years which ends with the deadline for entry - again no date is specified)
All works must be for sale, except for commissioned portraits (which must be marked NFS on rear).
available for exhibition
Number and size of artworks
You can submit up to 4 works
Longest dimension - including frame - must not exceed 60 inches (152 cms).
This an overview of the Call for Entries for the 2017 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize which has a first prize of £15,000 and two prizes for young artists.
This prestigious and well regarded art competition for painting and drawing has two aims:
to encourage the very best creative representational painting and
to promote the skill of draughtsmanship
View of some of the prizewinners in the 2016 competition
I like this art competition a lot. The selectors typically stay on brief and it attracts some excellent artwork from a wide range of artists - both experienced and emerging
I've also been following it for long enough now to know that it's very often a competition which picks out young artists who become extremely well known and successful in the years that follow (You can see my review posts for this competition in previous years (back to 2008) listed at the end of this post)
All entries are digital in the first instance with works selected for exhibition from a second round of judging of the actual artwork.
The deadline for entries is Monday 19th December 2016 at 5pm (17:00 GMT).
Approximately 100 paintings are selected for exhibition and all works are for sale. The exhibition will be held at the Mall Galleries opening 6th March 2017 and closing on 18th March 2017. It will be open daily 10am to 5pm with free admission - and always gets a good attendance.
Below you can see my overview of the Call for Entries.
As more and more art competitions and open exhibitions change over to digital entry, it's becoming more and more important to know how to photograph your artwork.
One thing I do know from the very many images of artwork that I see on people's blogs / websites / Facebook is that lots of people do NOT know how to produce a good quality image which
avoids photographic distortions
loses the grey background which should be white
shows the colour accurately.
You can scan your work or you can photograph it - but whichever approach you use you need to do your homework about how to:
avoid common problems
make your work look like it does in reality
Photographing artwork
One of the benefits of digital submission is that everybody and his or her spouse has asked the competition organisers how to produce a good quality image!
There's a limit to how many questions that organisers get asked before it seems like a good idea to produce a good quality advice note! So - what the very large art competitions have got really good at is producing documentation and videos showing people what to do.
So what follows is not me explaining how to photograph artwork - it's the people who run the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy and the people who run the BP Portrait Award!
These are a couple of posts I did back in 2009 which come out for an airing every so often. They tackle the perennial problem of photography which produces grey paper. Both reference Photoshop Elements (at the time) and how to get the grey back to white.
The main advantage of scanning artwork is that it gives a very even colour - but only so long as the artwork is completely flat and fits onto the platten. That's fine if your work is smaller than A4 and not if it's bigger - unless you want to invest in a good quality A3 scanner.
When scanning you need to use at least 300 dpi - and that means you need to check the scanner resolution before you use it.
to encourage the very best creative representational painting and
to promote the skill of draughtsmanship
It's a well regarded competition and one which looks good on a CV!
An exhibition of c. 100 works selected by the Panel of Judges will be held at the Mall Galleries between 7-13th March 2016 (10am - 5pm) followed by an exhibition at Guildford House Gallery in Surrey.
The deadline for entry is 5pm (17:00) on Wednesday 16th December 2015
Given that entry is now digital I'd very much encourage artists to at least submit a digital entry. the expenses of framing and getting the work to London are only incurred if your work gets through the initial judging.
It's also a particularly good competition for younger artists given there are two prizes which are limited to younger artists.
Lynn Painter-Stainers Prizewinners 2015 at the Mall Galleries
Having a good look at the paintings which won prizes in 2015
What's happened in the past?
It's worth looking at those selected and exhibited in previous years to make an assessment of the sort of art which has a good 'fit' with this competition.
You can see the artwork shortlisted for the Lynn Painter Stainers Prize on the website on the Past Winners page which includes images for all the competitions 2005-2015. This is the link to the 2015 Exhibition and prizewinners
In terms of my blog posts for the 2015 competition here are:
