I was reminded (7 hours before the deadline) of the “Art Takes London” art competition. I’ve entered, and if you like my work I’d appreciate you taking a minute to Click Here and go vote for me.

If you’re thinking of entering an art contest to promote your own artwork, here’s some things you should know:

Should I enter an art contest to promote my paintings?

Here’s how art contests (or any contests that aren’t governmentally funded) work: they charge a submission fee, and then make enough money to give prizes, have celebration banquets, pay staff and STILL make a profit. For example, let’s say 1,000 artists signed up for the Art Takes London competition and each submitted $50 ($10 for 5 images). That’s a nice $50,000 for the organizers to use, pay the $10,000 prize, pay off expenses and still have extra. But as they grow, maybe they’ll be able to attract 10,000 artists and make $500,000. However the chances of winning the competition also get much slimmer!

So how do you know if you should enter?

There are basically three types of art contests you should enter to promote your work.

1. The 1st is a small or local art contest, where you’re already a pretty big fish and you have a chance to win.

2. The 2nd is a big competition with a lot of exposure (for the competition itself!) – so that even if you lose, the exposure you get from entering is worth the price of joining.

3. The 3rd is a contest that is voted by the public – IF you have a huge following you can mobilize to vote for you. You could even sweeten the deal by offering a contest FOR the contest (giving away a painting to one of the voters who voted for you).

Don’t be swayed by the DREAM of winning a huge prize, getting discovered and making it big off one contest. You need to put in your dues. Even if your art is amazing, where you’ve been and what you’ve accomplished as an artist does matter. Don’t throw money into contests waiting to win one and “make it”. Choose your battles wisely. Enter the contests that have specific mediums or themes that your art is really perfect for.

Know of other good art contests coming up? Tell me about them! Like this article? Click here and go vote for me for the Art Takes London competition.