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A few years ago, a friend of mine who is a "very-good-but-not-yet-a-famous-master-artist" discussed The BoldBrush Painting Contest with me.  He told me how he loved participating in the contest but felt that he would never win one of the top awards (although he has been in the FAV15 several times).

"How can I ever win when artists like Tibor Nagy, Matt Smith, Dan Beck, Nancy Guzik and Robert Lemler keep entering?" He asked.

And, when I ponder it, there is something to his point.  After all, $1,000 cash is a tempting carrot, even for the "big guys".

However, I've always had a philosophy that when you offer a "Best of Show" award, it should truly represent the artwork that the judge, in his or her heart, deems the best of show.  So we've always resisted "disqualifying" the top tier artists in some arbitrary way that forces the judge to compromise when making his or her selections. [1].  We've always felt that with The Best of Show, which can be won with a "home run" by a lesser known artist, the 8 finalist awards, the 7 medium-specific awards, and the FAV15, that there are lots of opportunities for artists like my friend who are "very-good-but-not-yet-a-famous-master-artist".  

Even so, his comment kept tickling the back of my brain.

That's why, in June, we quietly began an experiment.  We introduced a new award called The BoldBrush Award.  This award is exactly the same level of winnings as The Best of Show: It's $1,000 cash and a total value of $2,600.  But here's the twist:  Only artists who have not previously won a cash award in the BoldBrush Painting Competition are eligible to win The BoldBrush Award. Since The BoldBrush Award itself is a cash award, once an artist wins it, that artist is ineligible to win it again. This has the interesting side effect of meaning an artist can only win The BoldBrush Award once during their lifetime.

What this means, first of all, especially for all the "very-good-but-not-yet-a-famous-master" artists, is this:  Remember all those famous guys like Tibor Nagy, Matt Smith, Dan Beck, Nancy Guzik and Robert Lemler?

They can't win The BoldBrush Award because they've already previously won a cash award in The BoldBrush Contest.  (They are still elgible, of course, for any of the other awards, which can be won multiple times).

The second interesting thing is this:  Since an artist can only win The BoldBrush Award once in a lifetime, that means, in most respects, it's a more prestigious award even than our monthly "Best of Show" awards!  It also means, by definition, since the winners can never repeat, that more people will win this award,  providing every artist with a greater opportunity of sooner or later of being considered for The BoldBrush Award.

So, now, more than ever you have a shot at a top award and we encourage you to enter the BoldBrush Contest this month!

The First Winner

Artist Danielle Richard is the winner of the first BoldBrush Award. Danielle's BoldBrush entry, a pastel piece titled Quelque Part, was selected by BoldBrush Painting Competition judge Carol Marine. The BoldBrush Award has an estimated value of $2,600 - which includes $1,000 in cash. The award was introduced with the June 2013 contest and is sponsored by FASO.

Artist Danielle Richard was born in Quebec City. She earned a Bachelor's degree in arts from Université Laval. Concerning her background, Danielle has stated, "I have been painting continuously ever since my first solo exhibition in 1975!". She adds, "To this day, I am always passionate about this form of human expression.".

Concerning the BoldBrush Award, Danielle stated, "When I looked at the numerous paintings and the quality of some of the works in the competition, I almost abandoned the idea of receiving any award! I was really glad to receive the BoldBrush Award!".

And, that, Danielle, is why we introduced this award.  Congratulations again.

With this award addition, The BoldBrush Contest now has more than $180,000 worth of annual awards, including $33,000 anually in cash.  And those figures don't even include the promotional value of the FAV15 honor.   I haven't done the research, but I feel certain that, with the addition of this award, The BoldBrush Painting Contest in now in the company of some pretty big art shows in terms of our annual award values.

So there are now more awards than ever available to win.  I hope to see your entry in our current contest! [2]

Remember, Sharing Art Enriches Life.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson

FASO Founder, Software Craftsman, Art Fanatic

PS - This new award is, for now, an experiment through then end of 2013, and the rules might be tweaked.  But, if all goes well, and the level of participation justifies it, we do plan to make this a permanent monthly award.

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[1]  We did, though, early on add a restriction that a best of show winner couldn't win again within six months of winning.  Mainly so somebody couldn't just run away with the show every month and could still win twice per year, in theory (and it has happened once).

[2]  Yes, I do personally look at every single entry in every contest as part of our team's FAV15 selections. I usually sit back with a glass of wine and my iPad and enjoy all your great art as I go through the entries!