To Show, or Not to Show: That is the Question (My Grappling with Juried Shows...)

... Last night, as the clock on my computer screen ticked closer to 11:50 pm, I was frantically trying to finish, resize and upload my images to OnlineJuriedShows.com for entering Randy Higbee Gallery's 2012 6 Inches Squared Show. And tonight, I opened my emails -- and happily found out "April's Passing" and "Island Beauty - White Plumeria" are accepted. I've just learned several days before that "Peppermint Rose" was also accepted into Debra Huse Gallery's Holiday Treasure Salon 2012. So, it looks like I will have a bunch of small paintings shipped down southern California for the holidays...

April's Passing,  Watercolor on Ampersand Aquaboard, 6"h x 6"w, 2012 #52

Accepted into Randy Higbee Gallery's 2012 6 Inches Squared Show

Bid in my DPW Auction (Starting Bid $95)

With all these great news, I do not want to sound ungrateful. But after the initial ecstasy faded, the practical side of me cannot help but wondering -- should I really be working against the clock to enter so many juried shows?

Asking a full-time artist who is trying to make a living making and selling their art, you are likely going to get a very passionate answer about this question -- and ask a hundred, it's likely you'll get fifty yes and fifty no, with very good reason on both sides. I've had quite good luck with juried shows this year, getting into many and sold quite a few works with much higher price tags than selling online (mostly because juried shows often requires a minimum size of 10" x 14", much larger than what I usually sell online, and these larger pieces are also framed). However, doing the hard math often suggests such sales are not necessarily economically viable, contrary to my initial belief: take "Peppermint Rose" as example, its label price in the Holiday Treasure Show is $400. If it is sold, Debra Huse gallery takes 50% (which I think they fully deserve for spending time, efforts and money putting on such a great show and doing all the marketing for it, not to mention the huge gallery space a show like this will need also costs money), so what I will get is only $200. Now if we calculate the framing cost (I used a $50 frame from Randy Higbee frames shop for this one, since they have great quality frames, and they also do all the fitting for the paintings juried into the Holiday Treasure Show for free), entry fee ($45 for three images), shipping ($15 each way), handling fee (a very reasonable $10), packing material -- you can see the profit quick go down the drain on my side. So, is it truly worthwhile to spending that much time photographing, uploading, submitting my artwork, and packing/shipping it hundreds of miles away to exhibit in these juried shows? Is there any real benefit for me as an artist to sell my artwork this way versus simply selling by myself online, or in local galleries?...

Island Beauty - White Plumeria,  

Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, 2012 #12

Accepted into Randy Higbee Gallery's 2012 6 Inches Squared Show

Sold!

After almost a year's exploration, experimentation and contemplation, I think the answer to that question is more likely "yes", but the reason does not lie in the economic side. In stead, I think it maybe worthwhile to enter juried shows for the following two benefits:

-- Exposure. Juried shows in different regions of the country may expose your work to local buyers, who may not have a chance to see your work otherwise. Often it is not practical or even possible for an artist, especially artists who are just starting their career to have representations in galleries across the country, therefore, juried shows can bring your work in front of potential customers in the regions far from your normal reach. Juried shows also often showcase larger-sized works whose scale is hard to fully comprehend until the viewer is standing in front of it, instead of looking at it on a computer screen. Some work are definitely more powerful and awe-inspiring when viewed in person. I think this is why my larger work are often sold in juried shows instead of online. 

Peppermint Rose, 

Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, 2012 #36

Accepted into Debra Huse Gallery's Holiday Treasure Salon 2012

Sold!

-- Recognition. For artists who are just starting their career, getting into juried shows, and getting awards may open a few doors leading to wonderful opportunities. Art magazines, art book editors and curators may see your work and approach you for potential possibilities of writing an article about you, using your work in one of their art books, or even suggesting a future show opportunity. Art communities may see your work and invite you to give a demo, teaching a class or even a workshop. Adding national juried show acceptances and awards to one's resume also definitely make that road to gallery, artist-in-residence or grant application a bit easier. What's more, it is a demonstration that you are continuously making an effort presenting your work as a professional artist, which serves as a strong evidence in case you file your tax return as a professional artist, but cannot generate profit three out of five consecutive years. (Often, tax agents are quite flexible regarding applying this standard to artists, as long as you demonstrate the "continuous effort" toward becoming more professional and making steady progresses.)

Crimsonscape - Red Poinsettia, 

Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 2

Of course, one can also add that simply putting one's work "out there" to compare with all the wonderful professional artwork submitted to a juried show can serve as a measure of one's current level and progress through time. However, I would definitely caution taking this measure too serious, as more often than not, acceptance or rejection in a juried show with only one juror reflects more on the juror's taste and preference than the absolute quality of the artworks entered, and it can (surprisingly) be quite subjective. Therefore, whenever I am accepted into a show I really like, I would always caution myself that this by no means is a certificate that I have "made it" and better than all the artists that did not get in. Instead, it more likely just means that I am lucky enough that my artistic expression happens to fit in the vision of this particular juror...

To show, or not to show, that seems to be the eternal question for an artist struggling to establish his/her artistic career. To answer it, one really has to reach deep down, and ask oneself -- what is the purpose and driving factor for me to enter this show? What are the biggest benefits? What are the draw-backs? How much time and money am I likely to spend for it? Can I afford such time and monitory expenses? What can I get in return? Who is likely going to see this show? And are these people who I would like to show my work to at this stage of my career?... It is not an easy answer, and only you -- the artist can answer it for yourself...

Purple Hibiscus - Sold, and Something I Learned in My First Art Fair

After putting this one aside for a couple of days and work on minor adjustments here and there today, I decided that nothing I do would add to it further, and instead I am just "fiddling", which is a dangerous thing to do and may cause a painting to lose its freshness. So, I signed it, and pulled it from the gatorboard -- another one finished!

Purple Hibiscus, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, 2012 #44

Sold!

I was hoping to get it done before the weekend, but was not able to because I had to do a lot of matting and wrapping for my first art fair event -- the "Meet the Artists Day" event held at the beautiful Filoli Garden. It turned out -- the event was totally worth all the effort! I had a blast meeting all the wonderful artists exhibiting in the same event, learned tons of tips and tricks regarding photographing, printing, making note cards and organizing my exhibition booth/table area. Everybody was very friendly and helpful, and I sold several small pieces of painting, including "Across the Bay"...

Across the Bay, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper , 5"h x 7"w, 2012 #38

Sold!

I made the interesting observation that most of things sold at such art fair events are items that are simple and "painterly" -- most of my paintings that got sold are very simple small landscape pieces. The more complicated flower paintings got lots of compliments, but not purchases. Is it the price? I did notice most of the items sold are below $40 - $50, and it seems anything beyond $100 tag is a hard sell. Or is it the style? Are people looking more at paintings that look more like "paintings" instead of photographs in an event where painters are exhibiting side by side with photographers like this? I am really intrigued. I have two other art fairs coming up in October this year, so I will keep on making my observations. What is your experience? Please share with me!...

Work in Progress: Orchids and Hibiscus

Despite of my best intentions, painting in thin layers of glazes is a process that cannot be hurried, and I am still not very dexterous with painting wet on dry using brush strokes instead of washes. Therefore, contrary to the promise I made on my facebook page, these two little 6" x 6" pieces are still not finished, although promisingly close...

Purple Hibiscus, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 2

Green Orchids, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 2

Work in Progress: Greetings of May, and more Sanchez 50-50

Ok, ok, I admit -- after painting a grouping of 6" x 6" sizes I did feel a little constrained in terms of composition, and took a break from them by working on this piece I started in May. I worked multiple layers of very wet washes of mingled colors in the attempt to created the airy, light-filled space behind the flower, which reminded me of the feeling of early summer when I took this reference photo. I love the effects I have obtained so far -- the soft-focused ring effects and the delicious granulation of pigments, but the painting surface overall is looking a little too busy right now, so I think I will darken some area and lose some of the "light rings" to provide resting area for the eye, and emphasize the light-colored flower a bit more. The Lanaquarelle Cold Press paper I am working on is very lovely -- easy enough to lift but still allows glazing provided a light touch is used. I will be very careful not to saturate the surface of the paper before the designed value range is reached...

Greetings of May, Watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140# Cold Press Paper, 11"h x 7"w, WIP 2

But, I did not slack off on the 50-50 project! I worked on this group of green(! yes, it is the actual color of the flower...) orchids. Contrary to the Blue Delphiniums, the subject of this painting -- the group of several orchid flowers -- is itself complicated enough, so instead of trying to add more soft-focused foliage in the background and make it way too busy, I opted for a soft, smoothly gradated background, mostly dark to contrast with the light flowers, hoping it would provide a "quiet area" for the viewer's eyes to breathe. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task, give I don't want to use masking and the background shapes around the flowers are complicated with interlocking edges. I also had to glaze multiple times to obtain the smooth gradation, leaving some lighter yellow-green areas to hint more flowers in the background space. I still have lots of work to to on the flowers in the foreground -- it's going to be a long night again... :-P

Green Orchids, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

... And, I am really really excited that I finally finished the preliminary work required to open my Etsy Shop! All that shipping policy, story of the shop, greeting message -- everything takes careful drafting and a whole lot of typing! But it's finally there, and I've uploaded the first item, optimized the title and tags for it to be easily reached via the all mighty search engines! (A lot of reading of FAQs and Forum Postings on Etsy, and thanks to the great introduction by the wonderful Crystal Cook -- you really rock!) I know it takes time to build a potential clientele, so I will be patient. But this is a new chapter for me and I am really excited...

Sanchez 50-50: Delphinium Blue

I spent more time planning the composition of this painting today than actually painting it -- at this stage it is just the first layer of wet-in-wet underpainting of both the main flower stalk and the background. Ideally, for tall, slender groups of flower like the foxgloves and delphiniums, the best format of paintings should be vertical. Due to the specific size constraint of the 50-50 project, this is not an option. Therefore, in order to break the monotony of parallel stalks of the main flowers and the buds, I deliberately tipped them over so that the direction of the stalks are forming an oblique angle with the sides of the paper. This creates more interest than letting the stalks go parallel to the edge of the paper, thus dividing it to a couple of vertical bands. This also allow a longer portion of the stalks to show in the paper surface. I am quite happy with the resulted composition.


For the background, I first painted a variegated wash with Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, Permanent Magenta and Dioxazine Violet, repeating the colors appearing in the flowers. After it dried, I reassessed and realized the background is too empty if I just layer it with amorphous washes, and decided to draw in more impression of leaves in the shade. They will be painted wet in wet to produce a soft-focus effect, thus not competing with the main flower in the foreground. We'll see how that goes...

Blue Delphiniums, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

On the business end, I've been working on my etsy shop front! I've got some very valuable advice from the wonderful Crystal Cook, whose etsy shop is truly a sight for sour eyes. I think etsy is a wonderful way of reaching a large base of potential customers, however, to differentiate one's shop from 400,000 other merchants there and be found by the ones who are looking is not an easy job. I am spending a lot of time crafting my artist's profile and the overall descriptions of the works sold in my shop. I am debating over whether to include prints in the shop or only sell original paintings, and right now I am settling on including prints of only the larger, more expensive works (11" x 15" or larger). The prints would be printed on-demand from Fine Art America, which is a wonderful website for artists to customize prints on a variety of surfaces, including canvas, and to produce affordable note cards. I just started to set up my account there following the advice of fellow artist Irina Sztukowski -- so many wonderful venues to explore, so little time! What is your favorite online (or offline) venue of art sales? Please share ;-)

More for Sanchez 50-50...

Things at home are a little chaotic here and I am quite distracted from the progress of the Sanchez 50-50 project by some bad health news from family member. There are a few pieces for the show whirling around in the studio, but frankly speaking I am far from happy with them. This new effort started well and we'll see where it is going... In the mean while, how is everyone else enjoying their summer?

Purple Hibiscus, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

Painting a variegated dark background around a light flower subject can be tricky -- I usually don't use any masking agent since my limited experiments with it always seem to roughen up the paper surface, and I don't quite like the hard edge it leaves all around the flowers. Since wetting a large area in the background with complicated edges can take a lot of time, it's hard to maintain the entire background equally wet for a successful application of wet-in-wet. What I have learned is to use the flower to break up the background space into unconnected pieces, thus giving each piece a chance to be able to be painted separately, buying time for myself in execution. For larger connected areas, I look for narrow passages as "stopping points", such as the narrow area left to the bud on the left on the flowers, and the area right to the right-most tip of leaves. I will wet the area on each side of this narrow "mouth" separately, let clear water run a little bit pass the mount and into the adjacent area, but not flowing paint beyond it. This way, the entire background seem to connect into a coherent flow without any discernible hard edge in its soft passages, and allow the viewer's eye travelling around without much effort. What is your trick? Please share!

Another One for the 50-50 Show...

A very busy week with tons of framing, purchasing materials, picking up paintings and dropping off paintings... I was barely able to squeeze out a few minutes here and there to do this small piece of flower painting. It is a very uncommon kind of green flower that I found in our local Whole Foods store, with the name "Bells of Ireland". I liked the little bell-shaped flower heads with the unusual green color and decided to give it a try... The flower heads are almost finished but I still need to do more work on the background, which is some out-of-focus flower heads...

Green Bells of Ireland, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

A New Series (Sanchez Art Center 50-50 Show)

I was quite busy since the end of June on this new project -- I was juried into the "50-50 Show" hosted by the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, which requires each participating artist to create 50 small pieces of art -- 6"h x 6"w to be exact -- and exhibit them as a body of work, installed in 7 rows and 7 columns, plus one title piece together. There would be a theme chosen by each participating artist, and mine was "Rainbow Colored Flowers". I had planed to create 7 rows of flowers, each taking a spectrum of the rainbow, plus a white title piece flower. Now that I am trying my best to paint one 6"h x 6"w sized image in one day, I have some new ideas, which I will talk about when I show more images in my later posts. But this is one piece, almost finished but not quite yet in the lightest parts, created for the show. It would be in center of the red row.

Crimsonscape - Red Poinsettia, 

Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

I've also got some good news in the mail today -- my painting, "Edge of Summer II" was awarded the Golden Acrylics Merchandise Award in the Red River Watercolor Society's 19th National Juried Watermedia Exhibition. This piece is currently on view at Hjemkomst Center Gallery, 202 1st Avenue North, Moorhead, MN. I am looking forward to receive some beautiful juicy Golden Liquid Acrylics... ^___^

Edge of Summer II, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 10"h x 14"w, 2012 #32

Buy It Now from My DPW Gallery ($200)