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I am primarily a watercolor artist and focused on watercolor juried exhibitions. This blog is written from this perspective, but I hope it will provide any artist, of any medium, some suggestions for preparing and entering juried exhibitions. The process described below is not the only way to prepare, it is just my way of preparing to enter juried exhibitions. I will apologize for the length of this writing in advance, but there is a lot of information I hope will help you along your path.

Set your goals & tasks (The Plan)

Know where you want to go with your art or what you hope to achieve by entering juried exhibitions. Develop a task list of how you get from where you currently are to where you want to go over a specific time. Over time, your goals are likely to change depending on your success or failure, as will your task list. Plan for success. I have found that writing my goals and task list to complete those goals help me maintain focus.

1.     Goals-Write them down and keep them in front of you on a regular basis for maintaining your clarity and focus. If your goals change over time, be sure to update them.

2.     Tasks List-List the activities that will help you achieve your goals and work on them. Working on unrelated activities will not help you achieve your goals.

Art Evaluation

We are all at different places with our art, with regards to skill levels and knowledge of Art. It’s time to add to our task list from above. Juried exhibitions are very competitive. At the national/international juried exhibition level, you will be competing against the best contemporary artists in the world. Daunting, but not impossible. Difficult, but not unachievable.

1.      Research the competition-Know your fellow competitors. Know their art and what you will be competing against. Research the internet for art societies and associations that regularly hold juried exhibitions in your chosen medium. Most of these organizations will post art from their juried exhibitions with the award winners and jurors. (example: National Watercolor Society-under exhibitions. They currently have their 2017 exhibition video posted.)

2.     Evaluate your art against the competition-As you research multiple juried exhibitions, you will begin to see consistent winners emerge. You may already know them. Be honest and evaluate the characteristics of their work compared to yours. Where are you lacking and how will you address your deficiencies? Add to your task list. (A word of caution. The evaluation process is not to copy another artist style or work, but to understand where the bar is set.)

3.     Know your Juror and his/her work-If your juror is an artist, it could be beneficial to know the type work he does and his style. Again, not to copy it, but to stay away from it. Copying his style or subject matter may quickly offend him, reducing your chance for acceptance. Develop your own style and subject matter that reflect who you are.

Finding and Selecting a Juried Exhibition(s)

It is important to find and select your juried exhibition(s) at this point prior to preparing your painting entry. Each juried exhibition has different rules and restrictions contained in their prospectus that your painting entry must conform to. Get ready to add to your task list.

1.      Consider your goals and artistic skills-At this point you should know that not all juried exhibitions are equal. From the local and regional level juried exhibitions to national/international level juried exhibitions the level of difficulty to gain acceptance and awards increases exponentially. Many organizations, such as, watercolor societies have member shows that are an excellent starting place, but require membership. Consider learning to walk before you try to run, otherwise, you increase your odds of failure. It’s better to build off a solid foundation gaining experience as you go through the process.

2.     Research juried exhibitions-Finding a juried exhibition that fits your needs in not a difficult task. There are numerous resources and they are easy to find.

a.     Art societies and associations-Most of these organizations hold annual and membership juried exhibitions and are easily found on the internet.

b.     Juried Exhibition Websites-There are numerous websites dedicated to listing “artist calls for entry”. A few are Café’ and Juried Art Service. Setting up an artist accounts is free.

c.      Magazines and Art Publications-In the back of most art magazines and publications is a section on “artist call for entry”. I few that I use are Artist Magazine, Watercolor, and The Art of Watercolour.

3.     Create a tracking spreadsheet-Once you have located juried exhibition(s) you are interested in applying to, you need to develop a spreadsheet to track exhibition dates, entries and costs. I use an excel spreadsheet I have developed that I copy info from previous year to new year and update as new exhibition prospectus become available. Information you need to track are as follows:

Due Date, Notification Date, Exhibition Dates, Organization, Exhibition Name, Juror, Awards, My Entries, My Sale Price, Commission %, Accepted, Membership Fees, Handling Fees, Framing Fees, Shipping Fees, Art Material costs.

In addition, I use a text color key to color code my information as to whether I am accepted or not, whether information in my spreadsheet is updated or not, and whether my submission has been made or not. The spreadsheet is an invaluable tool if you are applying to multiple exhibitions.

4.     Research the Prospectus-Upon completion of your tracking spreadsheet, start reading the exhibition prospectus from each juried exhibition you are interested in entering and transfer key dates and other info to your spreadsheet for ease of tracking. Read your prospectus carefully, as it contains all the rules for your exhibition. Last thing you want to happen is to be rejected because you did not follow the exhibition rules. If you get rejected you want it solely based on the quality of your art.

Prepare your Work(s) for Entry

At this point you should have some idea of the level of quality required for your entry to a juried exhibition to achieve success. It is time to set aside other activities and begin the creative process of painting. Plein air painting is fun, but not very effective in producing work of a quality that will gain acceptance in a juried exhibition due to time constraints. Studio painting will not press you to complete a painting in a day and will allow you as much creative time as required to complete your work(s) for submission. Just food for thought.

1.      Originality-Most juried exhibitions demand originality, including any source materials used, such as, reference photos.

2.     Prospectus Rules-Make sure you follow all rules contained in the prospectus. Most organizations post their prospectus in PDF format so that you may download and keep them for reference.

3.     Inventory of Entry Quality Art-Some juried exhibitions will allow more than one entry and of course, the fees are higher. Be mindful of your art inventory available, if you are entering multiple exhibitions. Once you make your entry the entered art is committed and unavailable for sale or for another exhibition entry, at least until the notification date passes. If accepted, your work is committed to the end of the exhibition or possibly sold during the exhibition. Use the spreadsheet to keep track of your entries and sale price.

Understanding Your Costs

Juried exhibitions are not horribly expensive, but they are not inexpensive either.  For a typical national exhibition my costs are detailed below for a completed 20" X 30" painting:

Material costs-$45.00 (average cost- annual material purchases/divided by number of works produced)

Entry fee - $45.00

Upon Acceptance to the exhibition additional costs:

Handling fee -$50.00

Framing costs -$134.00 (gallery framed-1 1/4" wood frame, white mat, w/plexiglass for shipment)

Prepaid shipping costs-$90 (for UPS or FedEx ground service to and from the exhibition) If work is sold, return shipment of empty shipping carton is a little less expensive.

Shipping Carton - $12.50 (I use Strong box shipping cartons designed for shipping art. These cost approximately $125.00. I get ten shipments to and from exhibitions before the box is no longer useable. I use 4 different sizes for various size framed artwork.)

So, my average costs are $376.50 for a successfully entered and accepted juried exhibition. This number may be used for planning and budgeting.

1.      Budget Creation-It is important to make a conscious decision on how much money you can afford to devote to juried exhibitions. Entry does not guarantee any financial reward from sales or awards, but there are intangible benefits, such as, name recognition and exposure to the market.

2.     Entry Artwork Pricing-Understand that the host organization is going to take a commission on the sale of your work. This percentage will clearly be in the prospectus and must be considered along with your other costs in establishing a sale price for your work before exhibition entry. This must be done prior to entering the exhibition as you will have to provide a sale price in your application at the time of entry. Be sure not to price yourself out of the market.

General Information

The last couple sections are general information I think it is important to understand regarding juried exhibitions.

1.      What is it Jurors do?  

I've met and spent time with many women and men who were jurors. I've researched their work and know what they do artistically. All these jurors seem to have a goal of developing a balanced exhibit. By this I mean, they want to include works of all genre, including realism, abstract, impressionism, etc. They want varied subject matter and technique. They spend a great deal of time in evaluating the works submitted and going through the selection process to build this balance with the goal of appeal to widest range of people attending the exhibition. That's it. Of course, their personal likes and dislike influence their decisions, just like it does all of us. If you want to understand the jury process better, I recommend reading the juror's comments in exhibition catalogs, or go talk to them is the best way to understand them and their selection process. The Jurors are approachable and are available at exhibition openings and awards ceremonies, but be aware they will be involved in the exhibition activities.

2.     How do Exhibition Sponsors operate?

I read some negative comments about exhibition sponsors making money from artist in response to my last blog and I would say of course they do. For reputable organizations like the American and National Watercolor Societies, and most watercolor societies operate as non-profit corporations led by elected officers from the membership. In the case of these two organizations their exhibitions pay approximately $40,000 in awards annually, they print exhibition catalogs, operate their own facilities paying for maintenance and operations, and many other costly expenses. Their incomes primarily derived from membership dues and material sales, not just entry fees, but it all goes for the same end. Organizations like the American Watercolor Society have had members like Winslow Homer and Thomas Eakins as members over their 150-year history.

In closing, my view is this. To gain acceptance to a national/international exhibition, I'm risking a $45.00 entry fee. That's it. Acceptance comes with more expense and much more to gain. Acceptance means exposure and publication in a catalog, possibly a sale, possibly a traveling exhibition for a year. Who knows what may happen. Maybe a magazine editor attends the exhibition and likes your work. Maybe a gallery owner will show up and likes your work. None of these things are possible unless your work is out in front of the public. Heck, I never expected my first juried exhibition blog to be published by FASO, but if I had not gone to the trouble to write it, I wouldn't have had you as interested readers and I wouldn't have had nearly 4oo site visits Wednesday with my artwork viewed over 3300 times.  So, get out there and have a go at it, do your homework, and be prepared.

My best wishes for success.

Patrick Faile

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