Friends,
I just returned from the "reception" of the art show I entered this weekend. First, I didn't win anything - well, I didn't expect to. It was surprising that in our podunk town that the majority of the entries were really beautifully done. I loved several pictures, and appreciated the technique in many others.
However.........that said..............I was like a big, bright piece of what the heck is that doing here in the midst of all these paintings? This was not the right venue for me. There turned out to be no catagory for what I do. There were no other "mixed media" offerings at all. I think I just committed a big no-no, and everyone was too nice to say so. This show was all about painting and only painting. As Drake commented, "Maybe 'Fine Art' is code for painting." They had oil, they had watercolor, they had acrylic. Nothing else was really offered. I only felt a little stupid for not 'getting it'.
But, that said; I do have a brochure with my name bigger than Texas under the title "Contributing Artists". I learned a lot about how the system works - assuming this art show was representative. And, it will be a long time before I risk putting work out there if I have to compete as an orange among apples.
