The Guide to Preparing for the Landscape Painting Competition

Participating in art competitions is one of the easiest ways to introduce your artwork to the public and catch the attention of critics and the media. However, just having your artwork ready is not enough. If you are serious about it, we have some proven tips that can help you put your best foot forward in a landscape painting competition and pave your path to success.

Tips to Rule a Landscape Painting Competition

Without making you wait any longer, here are our proven tips that have always helped artists get a step ahead of their peers.

Make it a Rule to Read the Rules

The first step is to go through the rules of the competition to decide if it is the right fit for you. Most art competitions charge a specific entry fee, and it makes no sense to shoot yourself in the foot by skipping the details. All your efforts and money go to waste if your entry gets rejected solely because you didn't follow the rules.

Going through the rules will tell you the type of landscape artwork acceptable, the medium of submission, deadlines, and everything else you need to know. If you are still confused about submissions, reach out to the organizers and ask them.

Choose an Appropriate Landscape Art

Your next step should be to choose an artwork that fits the criteria. If it is a landscape painting competition, make sure to submit a landscape artwork and not an abstract painting loosely based on a landscape. This doesn't help your case as it makes the judges think you don't understand your own art. Being an artist, this is the last thing you want for yourself. 

Additionally, as long as your artwork fits the guidelines, don't hesitate to send multiple entries, either. Doing so improves your chances by many folds. 

Extra Points For Efforts in Submission

With the evolution of technology, you can participate in both virtual and physical landscape painting competitions. The physical competition requires you to physically ship your artwork, whereas you need to send pictures of your artwork for virtual competitions. 

For the former, make sure to mindfully pack your artwork using bubble wrap and sturdy boxes so it remains safe during the shipment. It will ensure your artwork doesn't get damaged in transit. Whereas for virtual competitions, the trick lies in how you take the picture. Ensure good lighting when you take the picture, and remove any other element that is not a part of the artwork. If you are clicking it in your backyard, make sure your fences don't become a part of the picture. 

Study the Past Winners

Every organizer has their own set of preferences when it comes to choosing artwork. Studying the past winners shall give you an idea of their tastes and preferences. If it is a juried competition, you can also go ahead and search the members of the jury to understand their preferences. This will help you choose an artwork that matches their taste and stands a better chance of winning the contest. If a gallery has organized it, you can also look up the type of artwork they mostly sell to get a hint of their preferences.

Art Competitions Can Be Your Stepping Stone

Numerous artists take part in an art competition, but there is only one winner at the end. Therefore, for your next landscape painting competition, choose an art contest that gets you good media coverage and presents your work to a big audience. All of these can help you take off your career, even if you don't win. Finally, whatever the outcome, don't feel disheartened, and keep creating artwork to soothe your soul and take over the next art competition in town!