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What a plethora of responses!
Steven,
The big gut wrenching competitions are the Portrait Society of America and the American Society of Portrait Artists Competition, because....
1) They are the largest in the United States.
2) The top prizes are substantial, both monetarily and career wise.
3) The finalists are up and center in the banquet hall, much like the academy awards, needing to look like good sports if they win and good sports if they lose. No dancing around in glee or cursing of the judges.
As I've told Steven in the past, I am a political animal and there is much in this business to excite beyond painting pictures and getting commissions. The question asked was if winning the top awards were important to the client, which I tend to think it is not. However, if you are interested in teaching, writing, publishing, producing videos, judging, critiquing, being active in the portrait societies, being on television or in magazines, being noticed and being heard, this is the fire that winning the competitions feeds.
Stanka,
I mention being noticed by the art agencies because there is still a not insubstantial portion of the portrait making population who see being with the agencies as a major goal.
Tarique,
There were 8 years of competitions before I started being recognized, then another 10 years where I was a finalist, merit award winner, Miss Congeniality, etc., before finally receiving one of the top awards. Why did (do?) I enter? I like for my peers to see my work. I want my friends to see what I am doing. I want to see if my work is accepted (relevant) outside my expertise. (Entering landscape or still-life competitions.)
There are many competitions to enter. The Artist Magazine Portrait Competition was always a favorite, and of course the ASOPA and PSA competitions. I like the Portrait Society of Atlanta competition. I've also entered the Oil Painters of America Competition -- to be recognized as a painter by that group is something to be prized.
I guess for those of us who do not have initials before or after our names to show that we are professionals and ready to take this show on the road, winning the competitions is a way of showing ourselves and our peers that we are contenders.
I have found the judging of these portrait competitions to be fair and reasonable. I usually agree with the choices of the judges. The criteria I look for in judging a competition are:
1) The drawing, being anatomically sound, confident line, edge control.
2) Value control and composition.
3) Interesting subject matter.
4) Quality, assurance, and facility of painting.
5) Overall effect.
It is the non-portrait competitions that can be frustrating in the somewhat arbitrary criteria of the judging. (....although I was once in a "portrait" competition where the top prize went to a painting of three pears....anyone else remember that one? ).
Peggy
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