Entering my very first competition. The 20th National Open Art Competition (NOA)

Vote for me in The World Vote. See if you can get my painting to London!!! Have your say! Click on the link to vote 😀
​http://www.nationalopenart.org/gallery2.php?as=1&The-Sick-Day-18213

Confidence has prevented me from entering art competitions. That self doubt that speaks to me like a little person in my head, 'you're not ready to enter a competition, it needs to be bigger, smaller,neater, less neat, more colourful , less colourful, better composition,stronger,more professional, more naive....'
Well this time I told self doubt to get stuffed!

I decided that if I was to enter it needed to be something close to my heart, something sincere and a subject that challenged me.

My daughter and dog were unwell on the day I had decided to start work on my entry. Just typical, I thought, I was both annoyed and frustrated that I now I was not going to have time to develop a piece to enter !!

Silly me, my subject was staring me in the face. They both modelled for me in the studio for sketches and photographs and I completed the work over several days.

​I finally entered the NOA competition, filling in the online form and parting with £20, I even considered entering 2 works but decided in the end on just the one.

Well this this morning I got the email to say I had been shortlisted and selected to go through to the second round! I was thrilled and somewhat shocked.

What's the saying? Oh yes, feel the fear and do it anyway. So I did and it has paid off. Even if I don't get any further , that first step to enter has definitely been a step in the right direction for me.

So 'The Sick Day' will now be packaged up and sent by courier to Chichester to be viewed by the judges. NOA have collection points around the country, so it's a drive to Swindon to deliver it to the courier, then I will find out by September if I've got through!

Even getting shortlisted brings benefits, as my work will go online for a public vote tomorrow, and if successful , even without the judges decision , my work could be exhibited in the final show in London.

What do you talk yourself out of? Perhaps you should step out of your comfort zone and take a risk. What do you have to lose?!