Brand New!! The Derwent Fine Art Prize - A Discussion

Earlier this twelvemonth I wrote this post NEW! The Derwent Art Prize - for pencil art about a novel fine art contest amongst a major prize £5,000 for artists working inwards pencil.  It was smashing to reckon pencil fine art beingness taken seriously together with the reach for some serious prizes for artwork inwards pencil.

The deadline for entries has passed. The judges receive got directly reviewed the entries (artists were allowed to submit upto six) together with in that place is directly a gallery on the website amongst a number of images - some of which are excellent.

Derwent Art Prize - a choice of the images inwards the Website Gallery

However a number of issues receive got been thrown upwards past times the prize together with I'll elbow grease together with summarise them below.  I'll likewise survive commenting on the selected artists adjacent calendar week - when matters decease somewhat clearer than they are at present.

• Dismay at the Judges Selection. The gallery of selected works are predominantly graphite despite the make of pencils available.  

• The choice - inwards price of both dependent area thing together with media - is beingness heavily criticised past times some artists inwards populace together with inwards individual groups.  It's sure as shooting non impressed a number of pencil artists amongst a presence online - amongst some of the comments beingness quite vitriolic!
• It's possible that the choice says a lot virtually the judges sense of dissimilar types of pencil.  I'm likewise actually surprised that real piffling operate inwards pastel, watercolour or coloured pencils has been selected - especially if i assumes that i of the objectives of the contest is to enhance the profile of pencil fine art inwards all its scope.  
• However my impression is that some of the artists' comments may state to a greater extent than virtually the someone making the comment together with then they practise virtually the artwork selected for this prize.  My overwhelming impression is of artists who demonstrate piffling awareness of the make of contemporary fine art seen inwards major fine art competitions. 
• I practise manage that it is disappointing that the choice shown inwards the gallery does neglect to fulfil what must receive got been i of the principal objectives of this prize - to break what tin sack survive achieved past times the multifariousness of dissimilar types of pencil which are available today. However "it takes 2 to tango" - together with choice is every bit much dependent on what is presented every bit on who gets to create upwards one's hear what is selected.

• Utter confusion over The People's Choice Award. For some argue artists believe that all artwork is eligible or at to the lowest degree i icon submitted past times each artist. It's sure as shooting the illustration the plant which receive got non been selected past times the Judges had been loaded to the website together with had voting buttons adjacent to their cite inwards the concluding 48 hours. These receive got since been removed. However:

• I can't detect anything inwards the FAQs or the price together with atmospheric condition which suggests that ALL artworks submitted would survive eligible for the People's Choice Awards
• It's sure as shooting convention of most, if non all, fine art competitions for a People's Choice Award  to survive chosen from artworks selected for exhibition.  Why would it survive otherwise?

Approximately lxxx plant volition survive selected for exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland on sixteen – 21 September 2013

• Images inwards the gallery are allow downwardly past times website construction together with presentation:

• no sizes given for the artwork - impossible to tell whether they are large or pocket-sized - together with this matters!  This is absolutely VITAL for whatever digital exhibition of artwork - speaking every bit i who has looked at many exhibitions of artwork online together with and then inwards an exhibition!  It is likewise especially of import for whatever fine art contest amongst online voting every bit the icon relative to size should survive an of import business office of the assessment process.
• alphabetical listing is past times championship NOT every bit per the mutual convention for all fine art websites ie artist's surname
• no slideshow available or powerfulness to to page through the images. The website requires yous to proceed returning to the principal page.  This becomes EXTREMELY TEDIOUS if yous are reviewing all the images on the website - every bit i should earlier casting a vote.  [NOTE: That's assuming you're non casting a vote because yous know the creative someone together with they've shown yous their icon on Facebook on inwards forum or a individual grouping online.  I implemented a strict "no lobbying" dominion for my Making H5N1 Mark Awards having seen what happens when i creative someone posts an icon on a pop website.]
• images receive got been loaded on to the website which receive got non been selected for exhibition.  Why?  Is this because images appeared on the website every bit shortly every bit they were uploaded?  I can't operate out how anybody could ever access them except via what is apparently the artist's ain link to their operate (ie the ones I've seen receive got been via a link provided past times the artist)
• this is a link to the fellowship making the website amongst their comments
• Please banker's complaint that the comments I've made are based on NOT having registered for the website.  That's because I don't give out my outcry number to websites unless absolutely necessary.  I'm non persuaded it's necessary for the role of voting - therefore won't survive voting.

My ain thought - every bit a coloured pencil creative someone - has ever been that if coloured pencil artwork is expert plenty every bit ART (as opposed to demonstrations of burnishing etc!), together with then it volition receive got no difficulty beingness selected for fine art competitions together with exhibitions past times a multifariousness of national fine art societies (If it's expert plenty for David Hockney etc....). However the commitment of real many pencil together with coloured pencil artists to realistic together with hyper-realistic artwork is non i shared past times many judges of fine art competitions. One of the questions which CP artists mightiness usefully address is whether the artistic attributes together with nature of the artwork beingness produced inwards coloured pencil meets the standards of national fine art competitions together with exhibitions when judged past times people who are non CP artists.  The assessment of the measure of ART executed inwards pencil media needs to survive made past times people who are independent of the media - together with this contest presents a wonderful chance for this to happen.

There are some who intend there's no such thing every bit bad publicity.  I'm rather to a greater extent than inclined to intend that the concept behind the Prize is first-class but the execution to engagement has been a piffling wobbly together with that hasn't helped Derwent's icon inwards all quarters of the pencil world.

Can I emphasise that it's non at all odd for the offset twelvemonth of whatever contest to receive got a few wobbles. Let's promise all is resolved past times adjacent week.

I'll comment farther on the selected artists when the listing is formally confirmed - which I sympathize volition survive Mon - when the voting volition likewise begin.

However I all the same won't survive voting.  I supply electronic mail addresses to websites but non outcry numbers!  I mightiness only state which images print me at this phase though......

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