Who's to Say What is Good Art?

Summer Afternoon

Pastel 9 x 12

Framed and matted $325

I entered three pieces into another show last week, and on Sunday won a 3rd place award for a new painting, Summer Afternoon. What's funny is that of the three pieces I entered, this would have been my last choice to win an award. But as is always the case when entering shows, the judge has his or her own ideas of what is good art, and what is not. Sometimes the judge is a skilled, talented, well trained artist; sometimes not. In this case, the judge's name was not familiar to me, so I don't know her qualifications.

I remember a couple shows a while back where the absolutely worst pieces of work won awards, while the work of one of the area's most talented artists did not even place, although she was one of the few entrants who makes a living from her art and has a backlog of commissions. So, you take your wins with gratitude, and your losses with a grain of salt.