It’s the first week of summer art classes at The Art League — not to mention summer art camp — so we had a lot going on. And, our awesome students kept us up-to-date by sharing images on Instagram, #theartleague.
Oust students spent the week …
… starting one foot at a time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG-FRw5pPQP/
… capturing fleeting beauty.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG2MD2cAaKK/
… finding their happy jam.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG_xDyavUru/
… enameling.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG8L8GZQtuZ/
… painting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG8SMQbQKz9/
… getting excited.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG5X8DZh_Hs/
… thinking big.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG7VwFOtx_4/
… pulling out another success.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG4TLeQMf8l/
Looks like fun, right? Lots of summer classes haven’t started yet, so check out the catalog!
What are you up to in the classroom? Tag your photo with #theartleague or tag us @theartleague to share it!
If you’re an artist and you don’t have a website yet — or if you want to change the one you have now — it’s never too late to get started!
That’s why we started our original artist website post, and three years later, it’s more true than ever. If you’re ready to take the plunge, you’ve come to the right place! This guide will walk you through:
A website is another way for people to find out about you and your artwork. They could be strangers who find you by googling “sculptors in DC,” or people who already know you and want to learn more.
Think about it this way: where do you go when you’re making a purchase or doing research? Online. So will your potential customers (and email subscribers, and fans, and so on).
The website of Andy Yoder is built in WordPress using the Vertex theme.
Step 1: Define your goal
Your goal for your website will determine what features you need. Common goals include:
I want to sell artwork through my website
I want my website to serve as a portfolio for interested galleries, customers, and fans
I want people to find and contact me
I want to keep my fans and customers updated with my latest news
If you want to sell work through your website, make sure the service you choose (below) has an option for an online store — and make sure it’s easy to use! If you want to make a portfolio site, make sure the service you choose can handle beautiful image galleries. If you want to keep customers updated, you will probably want a built-in blog and email newsletter.
If any of these are must-haves for you, make sure they’re a possibility on the platform you choose.
We made a chart comparing some of the most popular options out there. Some are geared specifically toward artists, but most of them have portfolio templates for your design, and they’re all suitable for use by artists. See below for an explanation of the terms used and links to the websites:
How to read this chart
Hosting: This is how your website is delivered to visitors. You’ll pay around $10 a month if you get hosting on your own (for example if you use WordPress.org), but it’s included in all the other services above.
Store: Is there a built-in way for people to purchase through your website? Typically, you’ll pay extra for this feature.
Stats: Can you get information on how many people are visiting your site and how they’re getting there?
Domain: A domain name, like theartleague.org, is an important factor. Do you get your very own domain? Or do you have to share one, like theartleague.squarespace.com? (This is sometimes offered as a free option, but it’s worth it to pay for your very own domain.) See below for tips on choosing your domain name.
Before committing, see if there’s a free trial. You should also look for examples of live artist websites using the service you’d like to use. Keep your goal (step 1) in mind as you tick off the following checklist:
Can you use the back end? The back-end is the part of the website that’s visible only to you, where you go to make changes to your website.
Is there customer service? When your website goes down or disappears, will there be someone to answer the phone?
Is it mobile friendly? Most of your visitors will be viewing on their phone (possibly at the very moment they’re standing in front of your artwork). Make sure everything works properly and is easy to use.
What designs are available? Notice that this is last on the list. It’s typically the easiest thing to change, and it’s most important to consider the function and content before appearance. That said, you’ll want to pick a service that matches your abilities. There’s a trade-off: easier services with drag-and-drop builders will tend to look more bland, but a highly customized site will take more work and know-how.
As explained above, the domain name is where people will find you online. It typically ends in .com. Follow this formula if you can:
your first name + your last name + .com
For example, fridakahlo.com. That should be your first choice, but if that’s taken, try one of these variations: fridakahloart.com, fridakahloartist.com, fridakahlostudio.com, or frida–kahlo.com.
Note that people are more likely to visit a website that ends in .com than .net or something else.
Now comes the fun part. Again, what you put on your website depends on your goal. At a bare minimum, you will want the following two things:
images of your artwork
your contact information
You’ll probably expand on this to include things like your artist bio or statement, different image galleries, or a store or blog, depending on your needs.
It’s important to start small and keep your website up to date. Any obviously out-of-date information is going to lead to visitors leaving your website. As you get comfortable with building and updating your website, you can start to build more.
A functional, up-to-date website is a must for any artist working today. While it takes some time to set up and maintain — time that you’d rather spend in the studio — it pays dividends in creating a visible, professional presence for your art.
Hopefully, this guide gave you a head start on the process. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments!
Other resources
Here are some other articles you might find helpful:
Deadline: July 8. The Academy Center of the Arts (Lynchburg, VA) 2016 National Juried Photography Exhibition applications are now available! Entries must be original photographs or photographically derived work. Open to U.S. residents 18 years or older.
Plein air competition
Deadline: July 8. Harford Plein Air (October 10-15, 2016) invites artists from all over the U.S. to enter this second annual competition to create art in the “open air.” 30 competing artists, juried by Michele Byrne, will paint throughout Harford County, MD.
Hyattsville Arts Festival
Deadline: July 15. Exhibitor applications for the Downtown Hyattsville Arts Festival (September 10, 2016) are now available online. Artists from DC, Maryland, and Virginia are invited to apply to this juried festival.
Fall art show
Deadline: September 1. The 45th Annual Fall Foliage Art Show (Waynesboro, VA) is seeking fine artists and artisans for the annual two day outdoor juried fine art exhibition.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Photographers
Deadline: June 30. Photo ’16 is a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Sam Abell, a long-time National Geographic photographer, will be the juror. All photographers living in the U.S., 18 years or older, working in traditional, digital or alternative photographic processes are eligible to participate.
Projekt30
Deadline: July 1. Projekt30 in Baltimore is taking submissions for our August publicly juried exhibition. We are an artist-run arts organization dedicated to promoting emerging artists.
National juried exhibit
Deadline: July 1. The AI&G National Juried Exhibition in Salisbury, MD is long-held tradition featuring the best artwork by artists from across the country. The theme for 2016 is “Tradition & Innovation”. Open to all artists aged 18 or older and all media.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Politics
Deadline: July 5. For the national juried exhibition Art as Politics at Touchstone Gallery, express everything you love and hate in the current election process as a visual art form.
Holiday Market
Deadline: July 9. The Downtown Holiday Market (outside the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture) is a juried, high-quality crafts and gift market featuring a diverse display from exhibitors of many types of merchandise, as well as prepared food and beverage vendors.
Mural project
Deadline: July 18. For the second “Paint the Town,” the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites artists to beautify the plaza at 3 Bethesda Metro Center. Applicants must be residents of DC, MD, or VA who are 18 years or older.
Ward 5 Wonders
Deadline: July 25. Art Enables is seeking work made by Ward 5 artists for the August/September exhibition, “Ward 5 Wonders” (see bottom of page) in Off-Rhodes Gallery.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Pets and animals
Deadline: August 10. For “Fur, Feathers, and Fins” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the jury seeks works that explore the wide world of pets. All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; indoor and outdoor works accepted; cash awards to be presented.
Games
Deadline: August 18. For “Games: From Marbles to Minecraft” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the jury invites artists to submit works that celebrate and explore the broad spectrum of game history, development and innovation, including game design, production, packaging, and marketing.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Digital Fabrication Residency
Deadline: September 1. Digital Fabrication Residency program residents learn and gain hands-on experience with laser cutting, CNC routing, FDM 3D printing, digital embroidery, 2D plotting and 3D scanning. Applications for the 3 Day Onsite Residency Program in Easton, MD must include a project proposal that outlines what the resident plans to work on while onsite.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Deadline: Ongoing. Washington ArtWorks (Rockville, MD) is holding an Open Call for the Walls. Artists pay a fee to hang work for two-month periods in these unjuried exhibits.
Emergency grants
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
That’s because the exhibit, open through July 3, isn’t only ceramics: glass, fiber, and wood and metal furniture are included this time for an all-media celebration of the table.
Why the table? What’s so special about the art we use there, like a bowl, a tumbler, or a table runner? We asked the exhibit’s jurors — McKenzie Smith for ceramics, Kate Lydon for everything else — to share their thoughts on functional art.
Side Table by George Tkabladze, Best in Show for Functional Art FormsPitcher by Diane Kenney, Best in Show for Functional CeramicsMoon Spirits by Barbara Freeman Warden (Equal Merit Award)
In functional art, what sets a successful piece apart?
Kate Lydon: Whether functional or sculptural, key elements — high quality craftsmanship, use of material, balance and form — are key to the success of the work. If the intent of the work is function, the object should be well designed and function perfectly.
McKenzie Smith: What sets a successful piece apart is that it is thoughtful in the way it’s made, in both the form, and relationship to the decoration.
What stood out in the Best in Show piece you selected?
MS: The best of show in ceramics went to Diane Kenney because her Pitcher was beautiful, and showing her mastery of form, surface, and function.
KL: The artist’s craftsmanship, execution and knowledge of woodworking.
Quote and artwork: juror McKenzie Smith
What’s your relationship with functional art?
KL: I am engaged by functional art because of the role it has played in the history of decorative arts and more recently in the contemporary craft movement. What is most engaging for me is art that encourages dialogue and an exchange of ideas. For example, a quilt that moves beyond its intended use as a bed covering and is recognized as a piece of art that shares personal narrative or history.
MS: I have been a functional potter for over 30 years. Function is what we do. It is on our minds always, and the pots we make serve the table in daily use.
Cup Caddy, porcelain and pine, by Kate Fisher (Equal Merit Award)
Is there a particular tabletop form or object that holds special meaning for you?
MS: A table set for dinner is a wonderful sight and still holds special meaning for me. Food, family, and friends all play a part in this romance and it is one that is shared worldwide.
KL: Over the years I have gathered together an extensive collection of handmade mugs. I begin each day by selecting a cup — porcelain or wood fired, colorfully glazed or bearing beautiful markings from its firing. Each mug has a unique fit in my hand and offers an engaging dialogue with its artist maker.
No, we’re not talking about the solstice. It’s the start of summer classes and Art Camp at The Art League!
Classes (in painting, ceramics, drawing, sculpture, photography, fiber arts, printmaking, jewelry, and more!) start on or after Monday, June 20. Many are scheduled to start after July 4, so you can still fit in that vacation.
Art Camp runs weekly, Monday to Friday, from June 20 to August 19. Kids ages 5 and up can try lots of different art projects this summer!
When Brian Kirk (welder, artist, and Art League instructor) left a cardboard box on his steel welding table, it was an accidental start down a new artistic avenue.
Two months later, he was surprised to discover a beautiful pattern on the box — created by the oxidation of the table below. That led to five years of experimentation and, as with any artistic endeavor, a lot of trial and error.
Brian Kirk with two prints and a steel sculpture.
How to Make a Rust Print
Cardboard was the inspiration, but for his on-purpose prints, Kirk uses archival watercolor paper.
He places a steel plate between two sheets of paper, then soaks it for six weeks in water. During that time, the steel oxidizes (rusts) and transfers that rust onto the paper. Afterward, he seals the finished print.
Dancing Moons by Brian Kirk
Each print is unique, and while the outcome is somewhat predictable, Kirk said the interesting and unexpected effects are what make the process enjoyable. By using two sheets of paper, one on top and one on bottom of the steel plate, the process yields two distinct prints each time. The bottom is typically more “watery,” and the top more “crisp,” Kirk said.
Originally, the steel plates were found scrap metal, and then he started to use metal he cut for the purpose with a torch. Today, he’s cutting steel with a laser cutter for precise edges.
Kirk’s background is as a sculptor and welder, but he also has some printmaking experience that guided him on his five years (so far) of diversifying his art practice and trying to perfect the prints.
The exhibit
Through August 30, you can see rust prints from the past two years at Old Ox Brewery as part of his exhibit, “Metal.” There’s a reception July 1 (read more about the exhibit).
Andy Yoder making sheets of paper, numbers 1 to 476.
When we last visited artist Andy Yoder for the “Highest Honor” project he’s spearheading, papermaking had just begun. Now in a new studio space and with help from a number of volunteer participants, the papermaking has reached the halfway point!
A little background about the project: inspired by the Army-Navy “E” Award given to the Torpedo Naval Station staff during World War II, Yoder is creating a three-story banner to hang in the Torpedo Factory this summer. To do so, he started with military scrubs, which he’s turning into paper to make the banner. You can read more about it in our original blog post.
Here’s “Highest Honor” by the numbers:
476
squares of paper so far
914
squares needed to complete the banner
50
red and blue scrubs used to create the paper
36
volunteer participants … and counting
Want to join in the fun? Anybody is welcome to visit Studio 326 (the project’s new location for June) during Yoder’s daily studio hours, which are posted on the project page.
As a newcomer to papermaking himself, Yoder says participants are helping him learn the whys of the process, and it’s easy for beginners to pick up. (And if red’s not your color, he’s switching to blue paper after today.)
Extended deadline: June 20. “HotHot” at Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC is open to painting, drawing and mixed media by artists age 18 and up in Washington, Maryland or Virginia. Work should not be more than 40” wide. There is no theme.
Gentrification
Deadline: June 21. Sankofa Bookstore is calling local DC artists to submit work that embodies the products, changes and outcomes of gentrification.
Holiday Market
Deadline: July 9. The Downtown Holiday Market (outside the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture) is a juried, high-quality crafts and gift market featuring a diverse display from exhibitors of many types of merchandise, as well as prepared food and beverage vendors.
Ward 5 Wonders
Deadline: July 25. Art Enables is seeking work made by Ward 5 artists for the August/September exhibition, “Ward 5 Wonders” (see bottom of page) in Off-Rhodes Gallery.
Games
Deadline: August 18. For “Games: From Marbles to Minecraft” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the jury invites artists to submit works that celebrate and explore the broad spectrum of game history, development and innovation, including game design, production, packaging, and marketing.
Open Call
Deadline: Ongoing. Washington ArtWorks (Rockville, MD) is holding an Open Call for the Walls. Artists pay a fee to hang work for two-month periods in these unjuried exhibits.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Art League members: Installation art
Extended deadline: June 15. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
Vermont fellowships
Deadline: June 15. Vermont Studio Center is thrilled to announce 54 fellowships available at our June 15th, 2016 deadline. Fellowships for Visual Artists include those specifically for east coast artists of color, female painters over 45, craft artists, and emerging artists, plus 25 fellowships open to all.
Annual juried show
Deadline: June 19. The Jacksonville Center for the Arts is located in beautiful, rural Floyd VA. We invite visual media artists to submit work for exhibition in our annual juried show.
Photographers
Deadline: June 30. Photo ’16 is a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Sam Abell, a long-time National Geographic photographer, will be the juror. All photographers living in the U.S., 18 years or older, working in traditional, digital or alternative photographic processes are eligible to participate.
Projekt30
Deadline: July 1. Projekt30 in Baltimore is taking submissions for our August publicly juried exhibition. We are an artist-run arts organization dedicated to promoting emerging artists.
National juried exhibit
Deadline: July 1. The AI&G National Juried Exhibition in Salisbury, MD is long-held tradition featuring the best artwork by artists from across the country. The theme for 2016 is “Tradition & Innovation”. Open to all artists aged 18 or older and all media.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Politics
Deadline: July 5. For the national juried exhibition Art as Politics at Touchstone Gallery, express everything you love and hate in the current election process as a visual art form.
Mural project
Deadline: July 18. For the second “Paint the Town,” the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites artists to beautify the plaza at 3 Bethesda Metro Center. Applicants must be residents of DC, MD, or VA who are 18 years or older.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Pets and animals
Deadline: August 10. For “Fur, Feathers, and Fins” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the jury seeks works that explore the wide world of pets. All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; indoor and outdoor works accepted; cash awards to be presented.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Digital Fabrication Residency
Deadline: September 1. Digital Fabrication Residency program residents learn and gain hands-on experience with laser cutting, CNC routing, FDM 3D printing, digital embroidery, 2D plotting and 3D scanning. Applications for the 3 Day Onsite Residency Program in Easton, MD must include a project proposal that outlines what the resident plans to work on while onsite.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
Printmaking is one of those processes that seems daunting if you’ve never tried it before. But what if we told you there’s an easy way to jump right in?
Jumpstart workshops are designed as easy entry points to different artistic media. In this two-day workshop, beginning artists can try engraving different kinds of blocks and printing onto different kinds of paper. There’s a starter kit available at The Art League’s store, with three blocks, two tools, a tube of ink, and a sharpening stone to keep your tools in shape.
The process is pretty straightforward: you’ll start with a drawing, translate it into a wood block, which you’ll then ink and print onto paper. You can read more about the wood engraving process (and how it differs from a wood cut) in this artist Q&A.
The best part about wood engraving? You don’t need a press to print with — or a steamroller.
… “Watermarks,” the exhibit of watercolor waterscapes by Alex Tolstoy
The opening reception is tonight (Thursday, June 9) at 6:30 pm, but you can catch these exhibits through Sunday, July 3.
“Watermarks” by Alex Tolstoy“Tabletop”: Vessels by Christina Orthwein and Marcel Artes Deolazo on a side table by George Tkabladze.“Tabletop”: Funny Table and Funny Chair by Joan WoodillFrom the June Open Exhibit“Tabletop”: Place Setting by Herrick Smith
Stay tuned for more about these exhibits, and we’ll see you soon!
Deadline: June 8. The Eclectic: A National Open Media Exhibition celebrates professional quality, original artworks in a variety of media and aesthetics. Open to all artists living in the United States, this exhibition is held at the d’Art Center in Norfolk, Virginia.
Annual juried show
Deadline: June 19. The Jacksonville Center for the Arts is located in beautiful, rural Floyd VA. We invite visual media artists to submit work for exhibition in our annual juried show.
Projekt30
Deadline: July 1. Projekt30 in Baltimore is taking submissions for our August publicly juried exhibition. We are an artist-run arts organization dedicated to promoting emerging artists.
Pets and animals
Deadline: August 10. For “Fur, Feathers, and Fins” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the jury seeks works that explore the wide world of pets. All media welcome; small to large-scale installations; new media encouraged; indoor and outdoor works accepted; cash awards to be presented.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Cultural viruses
Deadline: June 12. For “Dank Memes” at Non-Fiction Gallery (Savannah, GA), artists are invited to dig deep and decode the cultural viruses that live in you: show us your dank memes. $25 for 4 images.
On the Wild Side
Deadline: June 13. The Tappahannock Artists Guild invites you to participate in the Summer All-Media Show, July 29–September 5, 2016, at the Tappahannock (VA) Art Gallery. The theme is On the Wild Side: Exploring Creativity.
Curatorial proposals
Deadline: June 13. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA): This is an open call for independent curators working in North America to submit proposals for a group exhibition in the fall of 2016. The exhibition may not include work by the curator. Juror: Virginia Treanor.
Art League members: Installation art
Extended deadline: June 15. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
Vermont fellowships
Deadline: June 15. Vermont Studio Center is thrilled to announce 54 fellowships available at our June 15th, 2016 deadline. Fellowships for Visual Artists include those specifically for east coast artists of color, female painters over 45, craft artists, and emerging artists, plus 25 fellowships open to all.
Photographers
Deadline: June 30. Photo ’16 is a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Sam Abell, a long-time National Geographic photographer, will be the juror. All photographers living in the U.S., 18 years or older, working in traditional, digital or alternative photographic processes are eligible to participate.
National juried exhibit
Deadline: July 1. The AI&G National Juried Exhibition in Salisbury, MD is long-held tradition featuring the best artwork by artists from across the country. The theme for 2016 is “Tradition & Innovation”. Open to all artists aged 18 or older and all media.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Politics
Deadline: July 5. For the national juried exhibition Art as Politics at Touchstone Gallery, express everything you love and hate in the current election process as a visual art form.
Mural project
Deadline: July 18. For the second “Paint the Town,” the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites artists to beautify the plaza at 3 Bethesda Metro Center. Applicants must be residents of DC, MD, or VA who are 18 years or older.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Digital Fabrication Residency
Deadline: September 1. Digital Fabrication Residency program residents learn and gain hands-on experience with laser cutting, CNC routing, FDM 3D printing, digital embroidery, 2D plotting and 3D scanning. Applications for the 3 Day Onsite Residency Program in Easton, MD must include a project proposal that outlines what the resident plans to work on while onsite.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
This exhibit is an annual celebration of the table — breakfast table, dinner table, what have you — and the art we use that goes with it. Previously limited to ceramics, this year’s “Tabletop” was open to all functional art forms.
With jurying now complete, and installation set for next week, we have a host of art designed to be used on top of — or as — tables. Here’s a small preview. To see the full exhibit, and possibly take home your next tabletop love, come to The Art League between June 8 and July 3!
Nick Lammay, Oil CruetMelissa Yungbluth, Trinket BoxMaura McCandlish, Small BottleMarilyn Harrington, All the StarsKeiko Stusnick, Autumn LeavesJulia Walther, Watercolor Swirl Place SettingJoan Woodill, Funny Coffee TableGeorge Tkabladze, Side TableChristina Orthwein, Small Deco BowlBarbara Warden, The Gathering 2
157 artworks were entered, and 46 were accepted by the jurors, McKenzie Smith and Kate Lydon.
“Tabletop” will be on view June 8 to July 3, 2016.
Deadline: June 13. The Tappahannock Artists Guild invites you to participate in the Summer All-Media Show, July 29–September 5, 2016, at the Tappahannock (VA) Art Gallery. The theme is On the Wild Side: Exploring Creativity.
Curatorial proposals
Deadline: June 13. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA): This is an open call for independent curators working in North America to submit proposals for a group exhibition in the fall of 2016. The exhibition may not include work by the curator. Juror: Virginia Treanor.
Art League members: Installation art
Extended deadline: June 15. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
Politics
Deadline: July 5. For the national juried exhibition Art as Politics at Touchstone Gallery, express everything you love and hate in the current election process as a visual art form.
Digital Fabrication Residency
Deadline: September 1. Digital Fabrication Residency program residents learn and gain hands-on experience with laser cutting, CNC routing, FDM 3D printing, digital embroidery, 2D plotting and 3D scanning. Applications for the 3 Day Onsite Residency Program in Easton, MD must include a project proposal that outlines what the resident plans to work on while onsite.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Open call Richmond
Deadline: May 31. 1708 Gallery invites US-based and international artists, and curators, to submit proposals for the 2017 and 2018 exhibition seasons.
Creative reuse
Deadline: May 31. The inaugural Re:NEW Festival seeks submissions from artists and performers across the U.S. that explore the themes of creative reuse, transformation, and sustainability in thoughtful, engaging, and diverse ways. Maximum project budget: $3,000. Apply early! Deadline is May 31, but entries will be reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is encouraged.
Nature art
Deadline: May 31. The Allegany Arts Council in Cumberland, MD is holding the first Appalachian Nature Art Competition & Exhibition. This competition is national and open to all artists using traditional media (no photography or digital arts please). The juror for this prestigious competition is Paul Rhymer, a nationally known wildlife artist.
Artists 17–27
Deadline: May 31. VisArts welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, Virginia, area to submit their application for review for Gen-Y 3.0, our third exhibition by young emerging artists in our Kaplan Gallery from July 22 – August 28, 2016.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. The LUX Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska is currently acceptingapplications for artists-in-residence. Four positions are available, two in ceramics and two in other media: metals, fibers, painting, drawing, or mixed media.
MPAartfest
Deadline: June 1. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists in McLean. $30 application fee, $350 participation fee if accepted.
Anacostia Heritage
Deadline: June 1. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and Anacostia Trails Heritage Area Inc. invite artiststo submit multi- or interdisciplinary projects that combine the arts with the rich history and natural resources unique to the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area. $500 stipend.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: June 1. (Re)Invention: Art + Innovation + Disability + Design is a juried exhibition of emerging young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, that aims to showcase artwork created at the intersection of technology, innovation, and disability.
Art about animals
Deadline: June 3. Smithtown Township Arts Council (NY) invites submissions for its upcoming juried fine art exhibition: “Animals in Art – Our Partners on the Planet” at the Mills Pond Gallery. Juror/Judge Tim Newton. Artists are encouraged to share their artistic vision of animals, both domestic and wild.
Dave Bown Projects
Deadline: June 4. The 12th Semiannual Competition features three respected jurors and $10,000 in prizes. In addition, Dave Bown Projects will buy works of art from artists as submissions are received.
Baltimore Fine Craft Show
Deadline: June 5. The annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American & International crafts and design. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 150 artists from a large pool of applicants.
Cultural viruses
Deadline: June 12. For “Dank Memes” at Non-Fiction Gallery (Savannah, GA), artists are invited to dig deep and decode the cultural viruses that live in you: show us your dank memes. $25 for 4 images.
Vermont fellowships
Deadline: June 15. Vermont Studio Center is thrilled to announce 54 fellowships available at our June 15th, 2016 deadline. Fellowships for Visual Artists include those specifically for east coast artists of color, female painters over 45, craft artists, and emerging artists, plus 25 fellowships open to all.
Photographers
Deadline: June 30. Photo ’16 is a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Sam Abell, a long-time National Geographic photographer, will be the juror. All photographers living in the U.S., 18 years or older, working in traditional, digital or alternative photographic processes are eligible to participate.
National juried exhibit
Deadline: July 1. The AI&G National Juried Exhibition in Salisbury, MD is long-held tradition featuring the best artwork by artists from across the country. The theme for 2016 is “Tradition & Innovation”. Open to all artists aged 18 or older and all media.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Mural project
Deadline: July 18. For the second “Paint the Town,” the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites artists to beautify the plaza at 3 Bethesda Metro Center. Applicants must be residents of DC, MD, or VA who are 18 years or older.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
Are you ready to take the next step in your exhibiting career?
Apply for a solo exhibit at The Art League! This is an opportunity that’s open to all members of The Art League. Exhibits are selected by jurors two years ahead of time, so we are jurying this fall for exhibits in 2018.
If you’ve never applied for a solo exhibit before, we’re here to help. The info packet (see the link below) and our solo info sessions have resources to help you write a proposal and your artist statement and resume.
We’re excited to see this year’s entries! Here are the details:
Deadline to enter: September 23, 2016
Required info session (pick one; register at the links below)
Ancient Delos, oil on canvas, by Betsy Anderson. Winner of the Amelia T. Clemente Family Award for Best in Show.
Betsy Anderson is a long-time Art League member and Torpedo Factory artist, having been involved with both organizations for decades. With her retirement from the Torpedo Factory on the horizon, it seems fitting that she’s received two accolades this Spring.
First, she was named a Living Legend of Alexandria, an honor The Art League nominated her for. And this month, juror Lisa Golightly selected the painting above for the Amelia T. Clemente Family Award for Best in Show. We checked in with the artist to see if it’s all going to her head:
What draws you to oil paint and monotypes?
Betsy Anderson: I use oil paints because that’s what I have used since college. I like the slow drying of oils which allows me to soften edges, wipe out sections and have time to make corrections. I do not like the fast drying of acrylics and I feel like my colors are more pure.
I started doing monotypes about 25 years ago as a way to work smaller. For me, it is a perfect medium because it challenges my sense of design. When doing a monotype, you need to work fast. This keeps an artist from overworking a piece and getting mud. It’s also a way to practice your sense of design because you have to work so quickly.
How do your travels inspire you? Is there one location that you’ve painted/printed the most?
When we travel I always carry a camera. I’m not much on painting on site. I take photos, bring them back to the studio, make abstract drawings of the photos which I use for the basis of my paintings. My feelings about the place I am painting influences my choice of colors. Quite often the colors are not what I saw but my feelings about the place. I often do not use this technique when doing a monotype. I will think of places we have visited, make small sketches, think about color and start working.
Almost everywhere we have traveled I get inspiration. My favorite place is Italy. The colors, the ancient places, the people and the food all contribute to my paintings.
Approaching Santorini by Betsy Anderson, from her 2009 solo show, “Greece Abstracted.”
What was your goal with Ancient Delos?
Ancient Delos is a Greek island. It is a sacred island of the Greeks long ago. There are no homes and the landscape lacks much vegetation. My goal was to show the mystery of the island and its ancient religious feeling. So I kept my colors very limited and used a much more abstract design than I usually do.
As an Alexandria Living Legend, what has your role been in the community over the years? What role do you think arts play in Alexandria?
I have had a studio at the Torpedo factory for 36 years. During that time I have worked at The Art League, served on The Art League Board and was President for 11 years. I served on the Alexandria Commission for the Arts for six years and tried to make the commission more aware of the visual arts in Alexandria. At that time, they were giving grants to a lot more performing arts than visual arts.
The Art League submitted my name to Living Legends and I was thrilled when I was named a Living Legend of Alexandria for 2016. I thank The Art League for thinking of me. I have also served on the TFAA Board in various roles and five years on the Torpedo Factory Art Center Board as The Art League representative.
Parrot Island, oil on paper, by Betsy Anderson. From the July 2014 All-Media Exhibit.
You’ll be retiring from the Torpedo Factory soon. What will you be doing next?
I consider myself to be an visual arts advocate and hope to continue that. I have been on The Art League Advisory Board and plan to continue that.
The Art League has been very important to me. The competitive shows really helped me to become a better artist and the friendships I have made have been wonderful.
Deadline: June 4. The 12th Semiannual Competition features three respected jurors and $10,000 in prizes. In addition, Dave Bown Projects will buy works of art from artists as submissions are received.
Photographers
Deadline: June 30. Photo ’16 is a national juried fine art photography exhibit at Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Sam Abell, a long-time National Geographic photographer, will be the juror. All photographers living in the U.S., 18 years or older, working in traditional, digital or alternative photographic processes are eligible to participate.
National juried exhibit
Deadline: July 1. The AI&G National Juried Exhibition in Salisbury, MD is long-held tradition featuring the best artwork by artists from across the country. The theme for 2016 is “Tradition & Innovation”. Open to all artists aged 18 or older and all media.
Mural project
Deadline: July 18. For the second “Paint the Town,” the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites artists to beautify the plaza at 3 Bethesda Metro Center. Applicants must be residents of DC, MD, or VA who are 18 years or older.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Northeast artists
Deadline: May 27. Art of the Northeast (Silvermine Arts Center, CT) is a competition/exhibition highlighting the diversity of work that is currently being created in the Northeast by emerging and established artists. The exhibition is a tightly curated show, where the curator/juror has, at their discretion, the ability to select a suite of three to five works by an individual artist. Open to all artists, 17 years of age and older, residing in CT, DE, MA, MD, DC,ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.
Open call Richmond
Deadline: May 31. 1708 Gallery invites US-based and international artists, and curators, to submit proposals for the 2017 and 2018 exhibition seasons.
Creative reuse
Deadline: May 31. The inaugural Re:NEW Festival seeks submissions from artists and performers across the U.S. that explore the themes of creative reuse, transformation, and sustainability in thoughtful, engaging, and diverse ways. Maximum project budget: $3,000. Apply early! Deadline isMay 31, but entries will be reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is encouraged.
Nature art
Deadline: May 31. The Allegany Arts Council in Cumberland, MD is holding the first Appalachian Nature Art Competition & Exhibition. This competition is national and open to all artists using traditional media (no photography or digital arts please). The juror for this prestigious competition is Paul Rhymer, a nationally known wildlife artist.
Artists 17–27
Deadline: May 31. VisArts welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, Virginia, area to submit their application for review for Gen-Y 3.0, our third exhibition by young emerging artists in our Kaplan Gallery from July 22 – August 28, 2016.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. The LUX Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska is currently acceptingapplications for artists-in-residence. Four positions are available, two in ceramics and two in other media: metals, fibers, painting, drawing, or mixed media.
Art League members: Installation art
Deadline: June 1. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
MPAartfest
Deadline: June 1. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists in McLean. $30 application fee, $350 participation fee if accepted.
Anacostia Heritage
Deadline: June 1. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and Anacostia Trails Heritage Area Inc. invite artiststo submit multi- or interdisciplinary projects that combine the arts with the rich history and natural resources unique to the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area. $500 stipend.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: June 1. (Re)Invention: Art + Innovation + Disability + Design is a juried exhibition of emerging young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, that aims to showcase artwork created at the intersection of technology, innovation, and disability.
Art about animals
Deadline: June 3. Smithtown Township Arts Council (NY) invites submissions for its upcoming juried fine art exhibition: “Animals in Art – Our Partners on the Planet” at the Mills Pond Gallery. Juror/Judge Tim Newton. Artists are encouraged to share their artistic vision of animals, both domestic and wild.\
Baltimore Fine Craft Show
Deadline: June 5. The annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American & International crafts and design. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 150 artists from a large pool of applicants.
Cultural viruses
Deadline: June 12. For “Dank Memes” at Non-Fiction Gallery (Savannah, GA), artists are invited to dig deep and decode the cultural viruses that live in you: show us your dank memes. $25 for 4 images.
Vermont fellowships
Deadline: June 15. Vermont Studio Center is thrilled to announce 54 fellowships available at our June 15th, 2016 deadline. Fellowships for Visual Artists include those specifically for east coast artists of color, female painters over 45, craft artists, and emerging artists, plus 25 fellowships open to all.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
An “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser was probably a little embarrassed after a jug he valued at $50,000 turned out to be a high-school art class project (albeit a very good one).
We thoroughly enjoyed this video about Degas and monotypes, created for MoMA’s exhibit that’s open now. It explores what a monotype is and how Degas used it to experiment with “a strange new beauty.”
The history of color is an always-interesting topic that has contributed more than its fair share of Artful Links. This time around, see a vault with some of the rarest historical pigments. You can see some of the jars on display in the Harvard Art Museums. h/t FastCo Design
Three artistic depictions of the aurochs by the Lascaux painters, Sigismund von Herberstein, and Charles Hamilson Smith.
In other art history news: Even if you’ve never heard of an aurochs, you’ll recognize it as the bull from the famous Lascaux cave paintings. This ancient muse is now extinct, but maybe one day modern painters will be able to paint it from life once more: scientists are on a quest to bring it back via a process called back breeding. Read about it on the Washington Post.
What art-related podcasts do you listen to? If you have kids and you want to talk to them about art, you might check out this episode of Art Made Easy, How to Talk to Kids About Art.
For a summer full of indoor and outdoor art activities (between Art Camps, of course), check out our Pinterest board.
We’ve given you some tips on this blog on writing artist statements, but the folks at Artsy are real experts when it comes to this subject: just see the title of their article, “What We Learned From Writing 7,000 Artist Bios.” This advice is specifically for writing a bio, but the tips transfer well to artist statements as well.
One great fact from this article: “Audience engagement researchers at museums have found that visitors lose interest in wall labels after 150 words.” Shorter labels would certainly help out museumgoers like area dad Phillip Schermeier, 58.
For a meditative ten minutes, we can recommend this Oscar-winning documentary short, “Glas.” It shows a lot of the process of making hand-blown and mass-produced glass. Like many of the best “how it’s made”-type films, it lets the process speak for itself, with help from top-notch editing and a jazzy soundtrack. h/t Colossal
You’ve heard of site-specific sculpture and found-object art — but have you heard of site-specific, found-object cameras? Read about two photographers who link the cameras they build to the places they photograph. h/t Hyperallergic
You’re finally doing it: entering your artwork in an exhibition for the first time. That’s great! You frame your work, load it up, make your way to the gallery, and go to sign it in. Medium, title, artist name — these are easy questions. Where’s the hard stuff?
Oh, there it is. “Price.” You draw a blank.
The mystery of pricing artwork
For first-time exhibitors, pricing artwork is often a last-minute, difficult decision. It’s daunting to assign value to your own work, and beginning artists often tend to err on the side of under- or over-pricing.
Let’s start with two main assumptions:
Your work has value, and you deserve to be paid for it.
Someone out there will like this piece, want to own it, and be willing to pay the reasonable price you set.
Now, what does “reasonable” mean?
Where to start
Here’s our standard advice for an artist contemplating pricing for the first time:
give yourself a fair hourly wage
add to that the cost of materials you used and other expenses
So, if a piece took you 10 hours to make, you want to get $15 per hour, and the materials cost you $45, you could use $195 as your starting point (10 times 15, plus 45).
Cost of materials would include your canvas, paper, paint, ink, and so forth. For expenses, don’t forget things like the framer you used and exhibit entry fees. It can be trickier to factor in annual business costs like your website hosting, but once you have an idea of how many pieces you’ll sell in a year, you can include that as well. The important thing is not to forget these costs, or else you could end up losing money!
You can also visit a gallery with artists similar to you to get a rough idea of what numbers you should be looking at.
Note: This is a starting point for artists who are new to exhibiting and selling artwork. Artists at different points in their careers may use different formulas that aren’t based on time, and those are good too!
Other considerations
Commission
If you sell artwork through a gallery, it will take a commission. (At The Art League, it’s 40 percent to us, 60 percent to you.) Don’t forget to take this into consideration when you price your artwork! You want to make sure you’re still making money after that commission is taken out.
Does that mean you should sell the artwork for less on your website? No! Your artwork should be consistently priced no matter how and where it’s sold. Galleries won’t like discovering they’re being undersold, and buyers won’t like discovering that others paid less for similar artwork.
Size
Some artists price artwork based only on size, either by the square inch or the perimeter. This is easy to explain to buyers, and certainly makes sense if you spend less time on smaller work.
Even if your smaller works take every bit the time and effort of your larger ones, buyers expect to see lower prices for smaller sizes by the same artist. It’s not a hard rule, but it’s an expectation you should be aware of and prepared to respond to.
What’s your medium?
Depending on the medium you work in, you may have other things to take into account.
Photography and Printmaking: You’ll be selling one (or more) of a limited edition, so make sure you number and sign each piece! (Read more about selling editions.)
If you’re using the time and materials formula outlined above, you can divide by the number of prints to find the price you should charge for each. If the time and materials for an edition of 15 totals $1,500, your starting price would be $100 each (1500 divided by 15).
Jewelry and Sculpture: You can still use the time and materials formula, but materials will probably be more of a factor. Be sure to keep track of what goes into each piece!
Track record
Be sure to keep records of the art you sell! You can use them to back up the prices you quote and when making decisions about raising prices (see below).
Common problems
“But I don’t really want to sell it”
If a piece was particularly difficult to work on, or you are particularly attached to it, there’s a tendency to want to price it higher. That can be hard to explain to buyers, though, and is best avoided. Stick to the tangibles like the time you spent, the cost of materials, or the size — and if you don’t want the work to sell, don’t list it for sale!
Impostor syndrome
Remember what we said at the beginning of this post? That your work has value? Don’t forget that.
Lots of people, however, sometimes get the feeling that they don’t belong. That they shouldn’t be charging what comparable artists charge, even though they’re having success. It’s called impostor syndrome (and knowing is half the battle).
Where to go from there?
Your prices won’t stay the same forever. As you get more sales under your belt, you’ll want to raise your prices — you’re in demand now! If you find that you’re selling half of what you make in a six-month period, then that’s a good sign that it’s time to charge more for your work. Raising prices by 10 to 20 percent is a good starting point.
Should you lower prices if you aren’t selling? Don’t be too hasty. Make sure you or your gallery are putting effort into promotion before you blame your prices. (See below for some tips on spreading the word.) However, keep an eye on comparable artists (same medium, size, place in career, etc.) for a rough idea of where to price.
Avoid putting artwork “on sale”: remember, you want to present a consistent price to the public. If your buyer sees work sometimes goes down in price, they’re less likely to buy it at the original price. In general, your prices should only go up over time (slowly).
Also: don’t forget to promote yourself!
Setting a price is only step one! Improve your sales with a healthy dose of self-promotion. Telling your story, and your artwork’s story, increases its value. Here are some other blog posts to get you started:
Finally, don’t think that you have to do all the work. If you exhibit at a gallery, are they sending out emails about the exhibits you’re in, blogging about them, and otherwise getting the word out? If not, ask yourself: are they earning that commission?
Conclusion
We get it: you’re an artist, and you’d rather be spending time in the studio. You can always pay someone else to manage your website and even your social media, but no one but you can set your prices.
That said, getting started is the hardest part. After your first few sales, you’ll have the confidence to know your prices are all right. You’ll find the pricing formula that works for you, and coming up with prices won’t take so much effort.
And soon enough, you’ll be raising your prices. Good luck!
Carla Hall and Mother, oil on linen, 40” x 40”, 2015. Courtesy the artist.
It’s always a good thing when someone calls to commission a portrait. It’s even better if they’re also a television personality and share your work on national TV.
“I’m still reacting,” said Rod Dennis, who painted a portrait of Carla Hall and her mother.
Hall is a chef and co-host of ABC’s “The Chew,” which featured Dennis’ painting on the May 6 episode (see the painting about two minutes in). Dennis is a former Art League student based in Arlington, VA and an apprentice of Art League instructor Danni Dawson. He only found out his painting would be featured on air when a producer called the day before.
The hosts of “The Chew” in the May 6 episode.
In the limelight
Since the episode aired, the image of the painting — accompanied by the note “Courtesy Rod Dennis” — has prompted a deluge of inquiries through his website, Facebook page, and Twitter. People want to find out how to commission a painting of their own, or just find out who he is. “It’s just an overwhelming response,” Dennis said.
It was one of Dennis’ first commissions at this level, and a challenging one at that: he needed to capture not only two people, but their interaction as well.
The painting as it appeared on the show
The commission
The process of a commission (when someone asks an artist to create a work of art) is a long one. This painting took over 260 hours, not including the studies and prep work. The real painting begins after the commissioner okays a preliminary sketch.
But even before that, the process starts with a series of interviews, because portrait painting isn’t about replication, Dennis said. It’s about understanding what the subject wants to say. “It’s a communication process,” he said.
In Hall’s case, she wanted to show her relationship with her mom. The painting ended up as a Mother’s Day gift, as Hall revealed on the show, but it was also intended as a tribute.
Preparation
Dennis started his involvement with art at age five, and while he’s been developing his artwork all his life, his career in art only emerged more recently. He has studied under the late Henry Koener and now with Dawson.
“He’s really good and he’s getting better,” Dawson said of her student. “Every painting he does is better and better.”
When it came time for Dennis’ turn on national TV, it was all about being ready for the opportunity.
The “E” award for Excellence in Production, presented to the personnel of the Naval Torpedo Station during World War II, is the jumping-off point for a new collaborative art project that brings together the historical and present-day uses of this space in a site-specific sculpture.
It seems strange, but it’s easy to forget what used to take place in the Torpedo Factory before it was an art center.
Namely, hundreds of wartime workers were busy building aerial and submarine torpedoes here from 1918 to 1945:
A worker at the Naval Torpedo Station lubricates a torpedo propeller during World War II. (Photo from the collection of George L. Dant, copyright the Naval History and Heritage Command.)
Visitors to the Torpedo Factory Art Center know that a big, green Mark XIV torpedo is still on display here from the building’s days as part of the Naval Torpedo Station. If you had been here during the production years, you would even have seen a torpedo testing barge and targets floating out back on the Potomac.
The testing barge, recovery launches, and target floats moored outside the Naval Torpedo Station, around 1920. (Photo from the collection of George L. Dant, copyright the Naval History and Heritage Command.)
For their work here, Torpedo Station personnel were awarded the Army-Navy Production Award, also known as the “E” award, seen at the top of this post. It was presented as a pin to the staff here and represented in the banner of the facility’s newsletter, the Torp.
Department heads posing with the last torpedo manufactured here, in 1945. (Photo from the collection of George L. Dant, copyright the Naval History and Heritage Command.)
That award is the jumping-off point for a new collaborative art project, bringing together the historical and present-day uses of this space in a site-specific sculpture.
Artist Andy Yoder, a sculptor and Art League instructor, is leading the project. Along with veterans from our IMPart outreach program, he’s creating a 25-foot-tall banner version of the “E” award to hang in the building’s atrium. The project is titled Highest Honor.
To see how it’s coming together, we visited Yoder in Studio 8 in the Torpedo Factory, where you can see the work in progress. (Update: the project has moved to studio 326. You can find the schedule on the project page.)
The paper for the sculpture is created from old military scrubs, red and blue to match the banner.Before it can be made into pulp, the fabric must be cut into bits.This industrial paper beater shreds the fabric into pulp that can be used to make paper.Yoder dunks this frame into a tub of watery pulp, then drains the water. The pulp settles to create a wet square of paper, which needs to dry.Yoder’s scale drawing of the finished banner, which will be 25 feet tall and use over 900 of these squares. To construct it, the paper will be wetted and the squares will bond with their neighbors.Finished squares of handmade paper air-drying. The paper lightens in color as it dries.
Like the original award, the Highest Honor project is intended to recognize the contributions of individuals to the greater good. Veterans who participate can add personal imagery to the sculpture, as well.
Yoder will be working in studio 326 through the end of June, 2016. Stay tuned for updates! For more about the project, visit the Highest Honor page on our website.
Deadline: May 23. The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art invites artists to enter its juried competition. All styles of artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to the creation of the images are acceptable. Video stills are acceptable. This call is international, open to all geographical locations.
Anacostia Heritage
Deadline: June 1. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and Anacostia Trails Heritage Area Inc. invite artists to submit multi- or interdisciplinary projects that combine the arts with the rich history and natural resources unique to the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area. $500 stipend.
Vermont fellowships
Deadline: June 15. Vermont Studio Center is thrilled to announce 54 fellowships available at our June 15th, 2016 deadline. Fellowships for Visual Artists include those specifically for east coast artists of color, female painters over 45, craft artists, and emerging artists, plus 25 fellowships open to all.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Greater Reston Arts Center
Deadline: May 21. The Greater Reston Arts Center will present its second biennial exhibition highlighting the talents of our artist members for the Mary B. Howard Artist Member Exhibition. Membership is $35.
Prints
Deadline: May 21. The 19th Annual Washington Printmakers’ National Small Works Exhibition features selected prints by artists from across the nation. Hand-pulled prints, digitally printed images, or photographs completed in the past two years are eligible.
Workhouse Arts Center
Deadline: May 22. The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA invites artists to apply for the Fine Arts Festival, taking place September 10–11.
Northeast artists
Deadline: May 27. Art of the Northeast (Silvermine Arts Center, CT) is a competition/exhibition highlighting the diversity of work that is currently being created in the Northeast by emerging and established artists. The exhibition is a tightly curated show, where the curator/juror has, at their discretion, the ability to select a suite of three to five works by an individual artist. Open to all artists, 17 years of age and older, residing in CT, DE, MA, MD, DC,ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.
Open call Richmond
Deadline: May 31. 1708 Gallery invites US-based and international artists, and curators, to submit proposals for the 2017 and 2018 exhibition seasons.
Creative reuse
Deadline: May 31. The inaugural Re:NEW Festival seeks submissions from artists and performers across the U.S. that explore the themes of creative reuse, transformation, and sustainability in thoughtful, engaging, and diverse ways. Maximum project budget: $3,000. Apply early! Deadline isMay 31, but entries will be reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is encouraged.
Nature art
Deadline: May 31. The Allegany Arts Council in Cumberland, MD is holding the first Appalachian Nature Art Competition & Exhibition. This competition is national and open to all artists using traditional media (no photography or digital arts please). The juror for this prestigious competition is Paul Rhymer, a nationally known wildlife artist.
Artists 17–27
Deadline: May 31. VisArts welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, Virginia, area to submit their application for review for Gen-Y 3.0, our third exhibition by young emerging artists in our Kaplan Gallery from July 22 – August 28, 2016.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. The LUX Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska is currently acceptingapplications for artists-in-residence. Four positions are available, two in ceramics and two in other media: metals, fibers, painting, drawing, or mixed media.
Art League members: Installation art
Deadline: June 1. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
MPAartfest
Deadline: June 1. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists in McLean. $30 application fee, $350 participation fee if accepted.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: June 1. (Re)Invention: Art + Innovation + Disability + Design is a juried exhibition of emerging young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, that aims to showcase artwork created at the intersection of technology, innovation, and disability.
Art about animals
Deadline: June 3. Smithtown Township Arts Council (NY) invites submissions for its upcoming juried fine art exhibition: “Animals in Art – Our Partners on the Planet” at the Mills Pond Gallery. Juror/Judge Tim Newton. Artists are encouraged to share their artistic vision of animals, both domestic and wild.\
Baltimore Fine Craft Show
Deadline: June 5. The annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American & International crafts and design. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 150 artists from a large pool of applicants.
Cultural viruses
Deadline: June 12. For “Dank Memes” at Non-Fiction Gallery (Savannah, GA), artists are invited to dig deep and decode the cultural viruses that live in you: show us your dank memes. $25 for 4 images.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Oil painters
Deadline: ongoing. If you are a high-level oil painter, interested in using your oil-painting skills to animate on a film, and available for training and employment between January and August of 2016, send in your portfolio! Loving Vincent will be the first fully painted feature film.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Emergency grants
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
Thursday is your chance to see our May exhibits and meet the artists! There’s an opening reception starting at 6:30 on Thursday, May 12, and you’re invited.
The May Open Exhibit was juried by Lisa Golightly, a Portland, Oregon-based artist.
Nancy McIntyre’s solo show, Rhythms of Time, explores changes over the short term and long term. You can see intricate silkscreen prints, explained in this blog post, as well as these paintings:
We hope to see you Thursday for the opening reception! You have until June 5 to see these exhibits before they close.
Interested artists are invited to enter a mural competition in Georgetown. Four artists will be selected, with a cash prize of $1,000. For more information, view the PDF flier.
Functional art
Extended deadline: May 12. “Tabletop” at The Art League (Alexandria, VA) is an exhibit of ceramics and other functional artforms designed for food, drink, and the table. Jurors: McKenzie Smith (ceramics) and Kate Lydon (other functional art forms). $3,600 in awards.
Greater Reston Arts Center
Deadline: May 21. The Greater Reston Arts Center will present its second biennial exhibition highlighting the talents of our artist members for the Mary B. Howard Artist Member Exhibition. Membership is $35.
Baltimore Fine Craft Show
Deadline: June 5. The annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American & International crafts and design. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 150 artists from a large pool of applicants.
Bas-relief
Deadline: October 3. The Dexter Jones Award, an unrestricted prize of $5,000, is presented annually to a sculptor for an outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief. Each competitor must be a United States sculptor between the ages of 18 and 39.
Emergency grants
Deadline: Reviewed monthly. The Foundation for Contemporary Art’s Emergency Grants provide prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: have unanticipated, sudden opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding; or incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Botanical art
Deadline: May 12. Smithtown Township Arts Council seeks entries for juried fine art exhibition “Of A Botanical Nature” at the Mills Pond Gallery in St. James, NY. A call for original artwork that reflects the beauty and uniqueness of flora in a realistic or representational style.
Fiber art
Deadline: May 12. The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its 4th biennial Fiber Options: Material Explorations competition. Any original 2-D or 3-D artwork created with fiber is eligible.
Virginia residency
Deadline: May 15. The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts is currently accepting applications forVCCA residencies. Artists, writers, and composers can apply.
Be My Medici
Deadline: May 15. This is an open call to visual artists wishing to participate in the Be My Medicionline patronage platform launching later this year. Selected artists will be able to create an artist profile on the platform and have the chance to acquire a number of monthly subscribers to support their practice who, in exchange for their patronage, will receive a monthly letter or postcard-sized original by the artist in the mail. At no point will we charge artists any kind of fees.
Prints
Deadline: May 21. The 19th Annual Washington Printmakers’ National Small Works Exhibition features selected prints by artists from across the nation. Hand-pulled prints, digitally printed images, or photographs completed in the past two years are eligible.
Workhouse Arts Center
Deadline: May 22. The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA invites artists to apply for the Fine Arts Festival, taking place September 10–11.
Northeast artists
Deadline: May 27. Art of the Northeast (Silvermine Arts Center, CT) is a competition/exhibition highlighting the diversity of work that is currently being created in the Northeast by emerging and established artists. The exhibition is a tightly curated show, where the curator/juror has, at their discretion, the ability to select a suite of three to five works by an individual artist. Open to all artists, 17 years of age and older, residing in CT, DE, MA, MD, DC,ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.
Open call Richmond
Deadline: May 31. 1708 Gallery invites US-based and international artists, and curators, to submit proposals for the 2017 and 2018 exhibition seasons.
Creative reuse
Deadline: May 31. The inaugural Re:NEW Festival seeks submissions from artists and performers across the U.S. that explore the themes of creative reuse, transformation, and sustainability in thoughtful, engaging, and diverse ways. Maximum project budget: $3,000. Apply early! Deadline isMay 31, but entries will be reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is encouraged.
Nature art
Deadline: May 31. The Allegany Arts Council in Cumberland, MD is holding the first Appalachian Nature Art Competition & Exhibition. This competition is national and open to all artists using traditional media (no photography or digital arts please). The juror for this prestigious competition is Paul Rhymer, a nationally known wildlife artist.
Artists 17–27
Deadline: May 31. VisArts welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, Virginia, area to submit their application for review for Gen-Y 3.0, our third exhibition by young emerging artists in our Kaplan Gallery from July 22 – August 28, 2016.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. The LUX Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska is currently acceptingapplications for artists-in-residence. Four positions are available, two in ceramics and two in other media: metals, fibers, painting, drawing, or mixed media.
Art League members: Installation art
Deadline: June 1. “Not a Box” at The Art League is an exhibit of installation art, juried by Alex Paik. For more information, read our FAQ and the juror’s tips.
MPAartfest
Deadline: June 1. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists in McLean. $30 application fee, $350 participation fee if accepted.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: June 1. (Re)Invention: Art + Innovation + Disability + Design is a juried exhibition of emerging young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, that aims to showcase artwork created at the intersection of technology, innovation, and disability.
Art about animals
Deadline: June 3. Smithtown Township Arts Council (NY) invites submissions for its upcoming juried fine art exhibition: “Animals in Art – Our Partners on the Planet” at the Mills Pond Gallery. Juror/Judge Tim Newton. Artists are encouraged to share their artistic vision of animals, both domestic and wild.
Cultural viruses
Deadline: June 12. For “Dank Memes” at Non-Fiction Gallery (Savannah, GA), artists are invited to dig deep and decode the cultural viruses that live in you: show us your dank memes. $25 for 4 images.
Public sculpture 1
Deadline: July 1. Art in Place (Charlottesville, VA) is seeking submissions for the Outdoor Sculpture Competition 2016/2017, with sculptures to remain in place for 11 months at selected locations around the city. Each artist selected will receive a $1,500 honorarium.
Public sculpture 2
Deadline: July 1. Four locations around the City of Fredericksburg, VA have been selected for the display of public sculpture from October, 2016 to September, 2017. Liability insurance provided. Stipend of $2000. Artist responsible for delivery and removal.
Harrisonburg juried exhibit
Deadline: August 1. National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA: This is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist, who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or other traditional or non-traditional two-dimensional media, excluding film, are welcome.
Athenaeum
Deadline: August 18. The Athenaeum Invitational in Alexandria, VA is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through a call for submissions open to anyone living or working in Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, or Maryland.
Art League solo exhibits
Deadline: September 23. Entry is now open for 2018 solo artist exhibits at The Art League. Entry is open to all Art League members.
Paintings
Deadline: September 28. “Root to Bloom: Places Artists Call Home” at Principle Gallery (Alexandria, VA) will feature paintings representative of where the featured artists call “home.” Works must be paintings no more than 40 inches along the longest edge (measured unframed).
Oil painters
Deadline: ongoing. If you are a high-level oil painter, interested in using your oil-painting skills to animate on a film, and available for training and employment between January and August of 2016, send in your portfolio! Loving Vincent will be the first fully painted feature film.
Restaurant residency
Deadline: ongoing. The Artist-in-Residence program at Palette 22 showcases and promotes the original work of VA- based and regional artists inside and beyond the restaurant.
Depending on the medium you work in, you may have other things to take into account.
If a piece was particularly difficult to work on, or you are particularly attached to it, there’s a tendency to want to price it higher. That can be hard to explain to buyers, though, and is best avoided. Stick to the tangibles like the time you spent, the cost of materials, or the size — and if you don’t want the work to sell, don’t list it for sale!
How to Create an Artist Website
