Is a picture a piece of art if no-one ever sees it?
I think it is, actually, but it’s a sad and lonely piece of art that is not being given the opportunity to fulfil its destiny. Art is meant to be seen. Sketches, doodles, experiments, ideas, not necessarily so. (I love seeing other people’s sketches, doodles, experiments and ideas, to be honest, but on the whole don’t want to show my sketches, doodles, experiments or ideas to the world. Knowing that no-one is going to see them means I actually do them. That said, I’m completely into the Urban Sketchers manifesto) Once I’ve finished a picture, I want people to see it. It isn’t quite that I want to show off what I’ve done, it’s that a picture is meant to be seen, just as music is meant to be heard and food is meant to be tasted. (And just as seeing photos of food on social media isn’t the same as eating it yourself, seeing photos of art on social media isn’t the same as seeing the original.)
Getting your work seen means entering exhibitions. That can be easier said than done and it’s often a lesson in humility. Which is a good thing. You definitely have to get used to rejection. The thing is, national exhibitions can get a thousand entries, often many more, and they’re pick at most a few hundred. Even if your work is fantastic (and for some of us it probably isn’t) it might be beaten by a few hundred even more fantastic pictures. Or the selectors might only want a couple of pencil drawings (or none at all). Or they might have a theme in mind that your work doesn’t fit into. Or it might just not be good enough. I’m learning over time which exhibitions are worth having a go at and which just aren’t for me but even so last year I probably had around a fifty per cent success rate and so far this year I’ve entered four and got into two (plus I have two very exciting exhibitions lined up that didn’t have a selection process). So at least I’m being consistent.
Exhibitions can also be expensive. You usually have to pay to enter, whether you’re selected or not. Then you have to get a good frame, get the picture to the exhibition (in person, by courier or, if you’re lucky, via a lovely helpful friend) and get the picture back from the exhibition (or pay, usually, a forty per cent commission if you’ve sold it). Plus of course there’s the expense of visiting the exhibition while it’s on and paying for at least two celebratory cocktails (each).
It’s all worth it though. Seeing my work on a gallery wall is one of my favourite feelings: being in the company of lots of amazing, much-better-than-me, artists; knowing my picture is living its best life, for a week or so at least; maybe making a sale; being part of something. I feel like a proper artist when I’ve got a picture in an exhibition.
So far this year I’ve only been in one exhibition, although it’s my favourite one – the SGFA Open at Mall Galleries. I have four in the diary and another four or five I’m thinking of entering.
The four in the diary, all local, are:
In Our Nature 23 May to 11 June 2025 at The Fine Foundation Gallery, Durlston Country Park, Dorset
The Harmony Festival 11 – 14 June at St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, Dorset
A showcase exhibition 3 – 16 November at The Duchess, Poundbury, Dorset
Bright and Beautiful 22 – 30 November at Jubilee Hall, Poundbury, Dorset