Painting
I wanted to apply for a programme on BBC, a competitive arts series. I saw the application online here so I decided to try and enter. I did three drawings; an oil painting which took me three and a half hours, a pen/watercolour drawing which took me 2 hours, and a oil pastel sketch which took me one hour. The drawings can be seen below.
While doing my drawings, I focused on doing the best I could possibly do, rather than just doing it for my own enjoyment, like I usually do. This was a new challenge for me because I have never submitted my art to a competition, and I've never been professionally judged on my art, so dealing with the possibility of rejection while drawing was difficult for me. At some points, I considered giving up, thinking that there is no point if I'm going to be rejected. I tend to be very worried about what others think of my art, and knowing it was going to be judged and critiqued by a panel of judges was tough. Even though I had lapses where I gave up, I always continued later because I knew that if I never submitted my art, I would never know if I had the potential to be a professional.
Additionally, because I was going to be submitting it into a very competitive competition, I was hyper-critical of myself, and tried to push myself to do different styles and experiment. I realised that although I enjoy art and I paint/draw regularly, I rarely push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to art, and I need to start doing that. By pushing myself, I realised how much more potential I could have if I just tried harder.
In the end, I was unfortunately rejected. Despite this, I am very glad I had this experience. Now I can allow others to criticise my art, and let myself grow as an artist, because without criticism and rejection, I can never improve.
Additionally, because I was going to be submitting it into a very competitive competition, I was hyper-critical of myself, and tried to push myself to do different styles and experiment. I realised that although I enjoy art and I paint/draw regularly, I rarely push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to art, and I need to start doing that. By pushing myself, I realised how much more potential I could have if I just tried harder.
In the end, I was unfortunately rejected. Despite this, I am very glad I had this experience. Now I can allow others to criticise my art, and let myself grow as an artist, because without criticism and rejection, I can never improve.