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I can't tell this story without some brief personal background. So, here it goes. When I retired a few years ago, I decided that I would spend more time on my artwork. I have remained passionate about my artwork for a very long time, having been painting in watercolor for the past 50 years.  After retirement and giving up a very good income, I had hopes of supplementing my retirement income through my artwork. To be a successful professional artist requires excellent marketing and name recognition. Juried exhibitions are an excellent method of making contacts, getting your name out into the marketplace, and most important, exhibiting your work.

In the early 1980's I was fresh out of the United States Air Force and recently married.  I certainly had more time for painting after leaving the Air Force. I had decided to enter my artwork in some local and regional juried exhibitions. I was met with some success with gaining exhibition acceptance and awards, but I was mostly met with rejection and criticism in the larger exhibitions. I would go to the exhibition openings, view the art in an exhibition that I had been rejected and couldn't understand why.  Like I imagine most artists would feel, I was hurt and disillusioned and quit trying to enter juried exhibitions and the years rolled by.

This past week I read a Facebook post on a watercolor site where a lady had posted a skillful and attractive painting. Her comments were on how she had received criticism of the painting posted by someone she described as a professional artist stating that her work would never be accepted into a juried exhibition. This professional artist was obviously someone the lady looked up to and admired his work. This lady was obviously hurt by these comments and was seeking to find out what was wrong with her painting and whether she should enter the painting in a juried exhibition.

The reading of the comments to this Facebook post is what has prompted me to write this blog on juried exhibitions. I feel she received a whole ton of bad advice. Almost all who commented on her post, quickly sympathized with her and recommended that she not worry about exhibiting her work. That her critic was an SOB and should be ignored, doesn't know what he is talking about, juried exhibitions are a waste of time, etc., etc.  I quickly wrote a response, as her hurt and disillusionment struck a familiar personal note.

After retirement in 2010, I applied to a few national juried exhibitions and was accepted. Since 2010, I have entered 75 national or international juried exhibitions and have been accepted into 26 or 34.4% of those applied to. This may not seem like a great percentage until you consider your work is in competition with the best contemporary watercolor artists in the world. I find it extremely gratifying to know that I can successfully compete with the best. If I had continued to let my hurt and disillusionment with juried exhibitions continue, I would never know how my work stacks up to the best. I would never have achieved 3 signature memberships with various watercolor societies in the last year. I sincerely regret the wasted years between the early 1980's and 2010 and I absolutely hate to see someone else make the same mistake. I'll never get those 25 years back.

So here is my advice to the lady on Facebook and all of you aspiring artists:

1. Yes, you need to have thick skin to take criticism. Expect criticism.

2. All criticism must at least be considered. It may improve your artwork.

3. Not all criticism is valid, but keep an open mind.

4. Art is very subjective and the viewers taste widely vary. You can't and won't appeal to everyone.

5. If you believe in your art, you need to exhibit your art. You need to understand how you stack up to the best and is also a great marketing tool and source of inspiration.

6. Continuously try to improve your artwork. Artwork produced today will look like child's play five years in the future. Try to make it so.

7. Be yourself, don't copy or try to paint like the juror. Develop your own style.

8. Don't waste time. You never know how much you have.

Just last week my wife and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary and the point of my blog is, don't wait to pursue your dream. No matter whether your goal is a juried exhibition, a galley exhibition, a signature membership, etc. time is precious. On our artistic journey we all meet criticism and obstacles of every kind. Keep an open mind and an attitude on self improvement and quality of work. The journey is not easy. If it were, it wouldn't mean anything.

My best wishes of success,

Patrick Faile