Blog

I had a chance to judge an art show and I was simply stunned.  The show was out of town so first of all I did not know any of the artists or their work, and beyond that all the pieces names were covered up so even if I was to be judging local work I would not know who did what.  It was unusual for me as with the local shows they never cover the names.  It should always be done that way.  I am finding that the local art shows are becoming much more political and it's more about who you know and how active you are with their organization, and not about the art itself.  Such a shame.  Because I have seen some work presented with broken frames, or glass, old and yellowing matting, or bugs on the mats behind the glass, that actually win prizes.  I will admit some of the artwork was good, but should it not be presented in the best possible way.   This is a tough question, "If you were the judge and you were presented with two pieces that were worthy of best of show, and one was presented nicely, and the other was in a broken frame, or with broken glass which one would you choose??

With the show I judged I was impressed with the work presented and it was a broad age group from young adults and beginning artists, to more mature and polished artists.  There were some very impressive pieces and one in particular still stands out in my mind.  It was a charcoal drawing on white paper nothing else.  It's had a human element and it was beautifully done.  It had actually made it to the top pics for Best of Show, except for the framing.  It was an acrylic type box frame that looked it had been through Hurricane Katrina.  It was broken on 3 sides, and was so scratched you could hardly make out the drawing behind the acrylic.  You do not have to have a lot of money to frame your work.  You can find inexpensive frames that are clean and simple, and cut glass is very inexpensive.  That piece could have been framed nicely for around $20.00.  Why would you enter a piece you did and not have it presented well?  I have seen it too many times.  I had another opportunity to visit a gallery where an artist from overseas was sending their work to the gallery owner (unframed) to show in the gallery.  The pieces were beautiful and very unusual.   It was up to the gallery owner to frame the work and present it.  It was so poorly done I would be ashamed as the gallery owner to present the work. As the artist I am sure they were unaware of the finished framing.  We as artists (well most of us) love our work and want to present it at its finest.  

Most of the galleries and show venues do not take responsibility for accidents that do happen, and that is usually a full disclosure in the very beginning.   Don't be afraid to contact the artist and let them know what happened and ask how they want to proceed.  I don't want any of my work showing in a show, or gallery broken.  I will replace it, have it fixed, or remove it completely. I had a show earlier this year with all my doodles.   One piece unfortunately was ultimately dropped and the framing tweaked.  It happened and the curator called and let me know, and asked the questions on where he could get the framing fixed.  I gave him the information and he assured me that they would take care of it.  What I did not ask was when would it be taken care of.  The show was up for 3 months so that painting hung broken through the whole show.  Not a complete disaster but I should have been more forward with the how's and when's. Ask the artist what they want do. It does not hurt to have that conversation.   I work very hard on my art pieces and ALWAYS want to present them in the best way possible.  If you are a beginning artist and want to show your work check your local Art Store, or with an artist friend for help in framing, and presenting your work.

Most artists will say that they paint from the Heart.  Their paintings mean something them so if you are showing your work it should be presented in the best possible way that you can afford.   Like I said before, it does not have to be expensive for it to appear clean and neat.