Should all of us try to enter competitions?

[Lynn Der]

Hello - I've been painting commissioned portraits for 3 years, after having studied with some great painters. At this point, I have a lot of commissions and a fair amount of experience, but am having trouble making the "jump" to charging $3,000 a portrait.

Would you (more experinced painters) recommend entering competitions? I have compared my paintings to some of the past winners, and it seems as though my best work could hold its own next to some of the winners' works. Not that I'm perfect, by a long shot.

Do you think that earning a placement in a competition would help my credibility? All of my commissions are by word of mouth, so I feel as though I can't charge more to the friend of a friend.

Do I need to attend competitions in order to win? Which ones are the best? Is it really worth the investment of money spent on travel, hotel rooms, etc.? If you have won a competition, do you feel that it has helped your confidence in raising your prices? Most importantly, possibly; do your clients even care that you have won recognition?

I have been juried into the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters, but am unsure what it means!

Thank you all for your help.

Lynn Der

[Michele Rushworth]

In my experience, most clients care far more about the quality of the work than anything else that is on an artist's resume, including any prizes won at competitions.

If you have a lot of commissions coming in, by all means, raise your prices, often if you have to, in order to get your price to the level you feel your work is worth.

As far as the idea of not wanting to charge more to a friend of a previous client, they understand that prices on all types of items go up all the time. Many clients are impressed that an artist's prices are rising since they feel they made a good choice. The new prospective clients may well feel the same way. Your status as an artist goes up as your prices go up.

Another portrait artist told me that whenever she has a waiting list of six months or more she raises her prices.

[Chris Saper]

I have never ever had client who asked about competitions.( Although I automatically include a brief credentials page with my brochure.)

Credentials matter more when you: want to paint inventory and are looking for gallery representation; when you want to teach; or when you want to publish. Because sometimes you don't know when in your future these might be things you'll want to do, there's no reason not to start assembling them.

Organizations that sponsor competitions spell out the requirements clearly with the prospectus, and they're different so you have to read them carefully.

[Lynn Der]

Chris and Michelle - thanks so much for your input. I've never had a client seem to be very interested in my background at all - I thought maybe it was just my customers!

I think I'll just keep raising my prices gradually, and not worry too much about charging one friend more than the other if time has passed between the two portraits.

Thanks again! You guys are such fountains of knowledge and inspiration!

Lynn Der

[Mike McCarty]

I have a general question about competitions ...

Some competitions say that you can not enter a painting that has previously won in competition. Would this mean a painting that was a finalist, honorable mention? What does it mean to win, in this context?

[Michele Rushworth]

I would imagine each competition would have its own ideas about that. You should probably contact the organizers to find out what they mean.