Busines of Art - Art Vita or Ribbons are Important

My painting with the Red Ribbon

I won a Red Ribbon at the Moreno Valley Arts Council Winter Exhibit last night. I was thrilled but more for my friend Laura Holbrook. She won her first only prize - a 1st Place Blue Ribbon for her jewelry.

Jewelry by Laura Holbrook of Juniper Jewels

Robert Wilder Nightingale of Wilder Nightingale Fine Art was the judge for our show. The bio of the judge is important. It was an honor to have Rob as a judge. A visit to his gallery in the heart of Taos or to the linked website is proof of his eye for art.

My friend, Laura Holbrook, had not had the joy of winning a ribbon before. She finished in the money as the saying goes. But more than the ribbon and the check is the ability to add that new line under Awards and Honors on your art vita or biographical sketch. Keeping up your artistic resume is every bit as important as maintaining that portfolio of your work. Some fairs ask for it for press releases, all potential galleries want one, any gallery you are in wants it updated, and it is nice to have it on hand when a publication wants to feature you in an article.

Winning awards and ribbons is one of the reasons for entering exhibits. And art fairs that have awards figure higher in the "which show to apply to" shuffle. But is is also the opportunity to have your work evaluated by a professional in your field and not just by the buyers, though they are really important. I try to enter edgier new work in exhibits and the the Moreno Valley Arts Council Winter Exhibit was a great place to debut my new dark side work. I was very pleased that The Long Walk received a ribbon.

 

 

Judge Robert Wilder Nightingale and best of show piece by Wanda Rodgers