PAINTING FOR JURIED SHOWS
A presentation to The Brush and Palette Club,
December 6, 2006
Prepared by Auke van Holst
This presentation is based on a session taught by Denis Cliff,
Fleming School of Arts, Halliburton
July 22, 2006
Denis began by having us answer the following questions:
Why do you paint?
Paint for yourself!
For shows?
To sell?
Why do you want to enter a juried show?
If you have entered a show what restrictions were given?
If you were allowed to enter more than one piece did you choose work of the same
or different character?
If entering more than one piece it is best to have them of the same manner.
Don’t try to beat the system by entering different kinds of works – jurors may
think you have no direction. Most of them like consistency. Consistency of
style, not necessarily subject matter, is what counts.
How did it feel to be accepted?
How did it feel to be rejected?
It is difficult not to take it personally.
i. “He picked people he knows and likes.
ii. She picked people from her courses.
iii. That piece of crap got in?”
What qualifications do you expect of a juror?
There are no set of criteria for jurors.
Knowledge of art history is important.
Three jurors are always better than one.
What do you think a juror’s job is?
To reduce the entries to a number of paintings that makes a show hang well. i.e.
that doesn’t look crowded.
A show should be about good art, not what will sell.
Not getting into a show often has to do with the space that is available.
Jurors prefer to see the work itself. Slides are all the same size. Digital
entries are becoming more popular.
What does a juror look for?
Your work needs a voice, i.e. a personal character. Landscapes for instance
often have the same look. Do something unique. Take a different point of view.
Does the piece have intrigue?
Painting is not about technique alone. It needs good ideas as well. Think about
the content, is it like everyone else’s work? Does it require thought?
i. Ken Danby – technical virtuosity. He tells the whole story. There are few
questions raised.
ii. Alex Colville - technical virtuosity plus intrigue. His work raises many
questions.
Naming and framing usually does not affect the juror’s decision. They may
comment that a frame or mat does not work well, but it would not necessarily
keep the piece out of a show. Probably has more impact on the buyer.
Advice
Paint from life whenever possible. Photos are already flat images. It takes
experience from life work to interpret photos effectively.
Do not make your signature overwhelming, keep it subtle. Anything readable will
be seen first because we know letters
Composition is the most common difficulty in painting.
The biggest problem in landscapes is the separation of values.
A focal point is a good idea but not a necessity for a good painting. Much
recent work has none. Jackson Pollock (Jack the Dripper), Mark Toby , a Bahai
painter, created forms out of individual marks.
When taking a living thing out of the painting don’t decapitate it. The head and
especially the eyes have a psychological impact.
Bigger is not necessarily better.
The weight of color needs to be considered.
Three objects is often better than two. Two tends to be symmetrical and
uninteresting.
A painting is finished when there are no more problems to solve. Look at your
work in a mirror to check for problems.
Viewing a Painting
In our culture we read from right to left.
Be careful with the right side of the painting! If the right side is weak it
lets the eye move right out of the painting. The eye needs to be stopped and
guided back into the piece.
If the right side is too dominant our eye is drawn to it and may have difficulty
getting back to the rest of the painting.
We think we see the whole painting in detail but science says we see a rough
whole with a few small spots in detail. The eye bounces from interesting spots
and colors to others.
What sustains interest in a painting? Why should anyone look at my painting?
How much time do people spend looking at a masterpiece.? Research shows that
people spend an average of 15 seconds looking at a masterpiece.
Painting is about more than beauty, it also needs ideas- social order, darker
side of life, hope, etc. I.e. it needs a voice.
Portraits are a different ball of wax – some likeness is expected. Picasso
painted Gertrude Stein and made her look witch-like. “It doesn’t look like me.”
“It will ma’am!”
Large objects may need a large format.
A shape picture has tremendous power because it doesn’t echo the shape of the
wall.
The thickness and texture of paint produces sensuality and excitement.
Seen in the small plein aire work of the Group of Seven.
Heavy paint in form, and light scumbled background paint often works.
The support usually should not show through the painting.
Sometimes the texture of the support can work for you.
On Experimentation
Experimenting is important in art. It often takes you to the next level. No
risk, no change, no growth. Be willing to destroy something you like. “You can’t
afford to become your own connoisseur.” Picasso.
Tony Onley got caught in the no-change trap. Did interesting abstract collages
until a new landscape form worked for him. Then never changed. He may have
become caught in the commercialism trap.
Don’t become a victim of history, especially with abstract work. A new form that
you have “discovered” may have been worked to death decades ago.
The biggest problem with painting is fear. Is it good enough? Will people hate
it? Do it for yourself, you’re more likely to be successful.
On Composistion
1. the canvas or paper is usually thought of as a window looking into the larger
world. In the 1950’s the idea of the canvas as an arena arose . Nothing was
meant to exist outside the painting.
2. a consistent manner of painting creates unity. Using the same kind of
technical marks.
3. unequal balance is more engaging – child and adult on teeter totter
4. try to look for the objective of the painting – a work can be appreciated
without liking it.
5. shape- in Michaelangelo’s God touching Adam it is the space between their
fingers that creates the tension – what will happen when?
6. color/space – can’t put down color without creating space. Hans Hoffman’s
push and pull.
7. movement can be created by connecting elements – closure – created by
opposites and direction.
8. if the top is heavy it creates tension; if the bottom is heavy it creates
stability
9. composition creates tension
Additional Sources of Enlightenment
Comments By Other Jurors:
The Pastel Journal, no.43, April 2006
Doug Dawson – on still life and florals. “If you are trying to choose from among
several slides of your paintings to submit to a competition, view them the way
the juror must – with only 10 seconds to accept or reject each piece.”
Albert Handell – on landscapes and interiors. “When jurying a show, I want to
see a sense of the artist’s experience rather than technique …..Paint only what
truly inspires you.”
Wende Caporale – on portraits and figure. “…images clearly done from life
yielded a vitality not often possible when using a reference photograph.
Photographic reference can be used effectively – if the artist has a background
of working from life.”
Brennie Brackett – on animal and wildlife. “Did the artist effectively
communicate emotion or personality? Did the painting draw me in? I caution the
artist against using photos shot with a flash because the image can look flat,
losing both form and shadow detail. You’ll likely end up with an exact rendering
of a poor photo.”
This piece was posted by Robert Genn in his Twice Weekly Letter:
Yesterday, Jeanne Long of Selby, Minn, USA wrote: "In judging
an art fair this weekend, I found myself utterly affected by
the input of a fellow juror. Suddenly my picks seemed wooden
and overworked. He was looking for spark. I was seeking
mastery. In my search, I lost my yen for a purity of
expression. He brought it back again by describing his delight
in seeing a single line applied with élan! I've been changed by
this occurrence. I can see that my own future work will grow
from the exchange."
The Twice Weekly Letter is an interesting read. I was alerted to him by Dorothy
Adams. If you are interested in getting this little gem send me your email
address and I will forward it to him, or contact http://painterskeys.com/subscribe/.
These websites provide interesting reading.
http://mayorsartshow.blogspot.com/
On this site three jurors discuss the judging process.
http://artshowjury.com/concept.htm
A discussion on “Digital Jurying” considers the pros and cons of on-line
judging. Jurors from different geographic areas would be able to use their home
computers to judge a show from afar.
I hope this information has been helpful.
Auke
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