I’m thrilled, my painting Waiting in the Wings was chosen for the 35th National Georgia Watercolor Society’s Exhibition! This is my second year in the show. Last year my painting Hong Kong Happy Hour was chosen. It’s always a great honor for me to be juried into shows, and to have my work included with some of the most talented watercolorists in the nation for national shows and from all over the world for international shows.
If you enter a few shows a year whichI do, the logistics of keeping track of it all can be tricky! Some show dates conflict with each other. Therefore a careful review of your inventory is necessary to decide which paintings will be submitted where. Some will accept three paintings for the judge to see, some accept two, and some only accept one. But usually only one paintingis juried into the show. Many shows are going on at the same time, therefore if you submit three paintings for one judge to review for a particular show, those can not be submitted for other shows because any one of the three could be chosen and you don’t know which one it will be!
You always want to submit your best work, but usually out of the two or three you submit, you have a personal favorite that you feel is the strongest. But, your favorite may not be the favorite of the judge, and he or she will choose their preference! Judges are different from show to show. Therefore, if a piece is rejected one year, from one organization, doesn’t mean it will be another time from a different judge!
If you are interested in submitting work to juried shows, keep your brushes moving so that you have a good inventory to choose from. Only submit you strongest work that you are most proud of. Keep careful records so that you don’t submit the same painting that may be tied up in another show, sold, or not be shipped back to you in time for the other deadline. Most of all don’t give up!!! Rejection is all part of the process which doesn’t mean you are a bad painter or your work is bad either. The way I look at rejection from shows is, the judge’s taste just didn’t lean toward my work, and now I have a painting that is available as consideration for another show, where the judge’s taste might lean in my direction!