Art Competitions I'll Be Judging

I've agreed to judge four national art competitions in 2010, and I thought I would spread the word to my friends who might be interested in competing for some significant prize money and recognition.



1. Pleiades Gallery 28th Annual Juried Exhibition (http://www.pleiadesgallery.com/). This venerable New York City co-op gallery has asked me to select the work their annual competition. It is open to all media, entrants must submit CD's only (JPEGS), no 2-D work can measure larger than 60" x 48", and the entries must be postmarked by May 22, 2010. The exhibition in the Chelsea gallery will be from July 15-August 7, 2010.



2. National Oil & Acrylic Painters' Society (http://www.noaps.com/). June Wayne once presented an exhibition in New York that opened during a snow storm, and very few people attended the reception. However lots of people called June and wrote her letters saying they loved the print reproduced on the invitation and would make an effort to see the show before it closed. June's comment to me was "next time I will send out invitations and I won't bother hanging the show. No one saw the New York show, but everyone had a favorable response." I thought of that comment on the two previous occasions when I traveled to the Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery in Bolivar, Missouri to judge the annual NOAPS show. The large, attractive gallery is in the middle of nowhere and very few people actually get to see the first installation of the NOAPS exhibition, but the show gets lots of publicity and travels, and all the winning pictures are seen on the organization's website. As June Wayne might say, publicity is sometimes the most significant result of an exhibition. The prospectus is not ready right now, but the exhibition will open in September so I assume entries will be do in mid-July.



3. PleinAir Easton (http://www.pleinaireaston.com/). This annual competition brings together plein air painters from around the country, although the majority of the participants are active in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area. There is a significant amount of prize money, and while I will be selecting the artists for the 2010 event, museum director Jan Stern will be awarding the prizes. The prospectus should now be available for the event that takes place from July 18 to 23rd (with the exhibition remaining on view until the 25th when the winners will be invited to a special paint-out and brunch.

4. Blossom II -- Art of Flowers (www.blossomartcompetition.com) is sponsored by the Susan K. Black Foundation and opens in the spring of 2011 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The Best of Show prize is $25,000, and additional prizes totalling $40,000 will be awarded. When I served on the jury of awards several years ago, I was surprised that there weren't more outstanding paintings entered in the contest. Considering the amount of prize money and the fact that the show will travel, I think every talented artist who paints flowers should enter. Entries must be postmarked by September, 2010.

Good Luck!