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Wednesday, January 08, 2020

The Deadline is Coming! Enter Today!

'Dreaming in Color'                14x11               pastel               ©Karen Margulis

Are you thinking about entering the 36th IAPS Juried Exhibition? It will be held in Dunedin Florida and as always it will be amazing! If you are thinking of entering do it now! The deadline is January 10!  I am in the studio today looking through my latest paintings and making a decision what to enter.

Are you thinking of entering? Do you wonder how to decide what to enter? It isn't easy. We become so emotionally attached to our work that it is difficult to be objective sometimes. And even if we are totally objective it doesn't mean that a strong painting will be what the juror responds to. Here is my process for deciding on work to enter. 

When I finish a painting I usually keep it out on one of my extra easels for awhile. I will glance at the current paintings from time to time. If a particular painting continues to give me joy then I may set it aside and not offer it for sale. It goes into my pile of possibilities. When the deadline to an exhibition approaches I pull out the pile and evaluate the paintings. I look for a good composition and color harmony. I look to see if the eye moves through the painting. And I look for the story. I am still intrigued? Do I want to spend more time with it? In the end I select the paintings that have an emotional pull for me. Maybe these aren't the 'winners' but if they make me smile then I can feel proud of my entries no matter what the decision of the jurors. 

TIP: If you are thinking of entering but not sure if you are ready, just do it! No one has to know the outcome and you will gain valuable experience! Here is the link for more information:
http://iapspastel.org/exiaps_upcoming.php



Oil stain underpainting on Ampersand Pastelbord



3 comments:

MikeH said...

Are you a member through the Southeastern Pastel Society, Karen?
You .... and many who follow your blog, I'm sure, are professional artists.
Are there advantages for "us newbies to pastels" joining a local pastel society
in order to become a member of IAPS? Perhaps you have already addressed this
in another blog post in the past. I wish there were a pastel society closer to
me. Thankfully, for those of us who are NOT close enough to participate in local
meetings, we have your wonderful blog and Patreon page!

Karen said...

Great questions ! I am a member of the Southeastern Pastel society and the pastel society of Southern California because they are an inspiring group! There are definitely benefits to join a society and if you don’t mind I’ll gather my thoughts and respond in another post!

MYSTELIOS said...

Very beautiful flowers painting !!!