Have you seen that TV program where artists compete to create art for a jury? Like America’s Top Model but with artists? Do you like it, or do you run screaming from the room if someone puts it on? (My daughter has occasionally watched it.) Personally I belong to the latter group.

People who know me well might consider me a tad competitive. It’s not something I like about myself, and I try to put a lid on it. Strangely enough, when one is a very competitive person and at the same time not 20 years old anymore then the result is that you tend not to want to compete at all. Unless you think you have a chance of winning, I might add. (Now that I wrote that last sentence I realize that might imply that my reaction is more that of a two year old: “it’s my ball, and if I can’t be the striker I’m taking it home.” At least I’m aware of my own ambiguity on the subject).

Now, I think that this doesn’t affect my opinion that competing in art is a bit…wrong. And yet artists have always competed against each other. If you try to sell anything you have created you are implicitly competing for someone’s money against other people. However, there is a slight difference in that we generally – perhaps incorrectly – don’t see it that way when there is no direct “finishing line”. Your picture won’t go out of date, so even if your is the only picture in the exhibition not to sell, or if you have a print series that is moving slowly, it doesn’t really matter except in as much as it might affect your income. For us amateurs that is a minor concern, but for professionals it it obviously much more important.

It comes down to ego, which is not a bad word. It is defined as “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.” We all have an ego, and putting a piece of art up for someone else to look at is to expose a part of your ego to criticism. “Look at this, do you like it?” when we mean “Look at this, do you like me?” It is a difficult thing for many of us to do. I mean, do you find it difficult to go into a shop and say, “Do you want to sell my picture for me?” Some people have no problem with this, but an awful lot of people do. Perhaps it’s a British thing though – generalising enormously, us Brits are very deferential and heaven forbid that anyone thinks that we’re big-headed (which means: our ego has an over-inflated view of it’s self-importance).

This problem affects not just taking part in competitions, or asking shops to sell my art, but also in pricing. I’m not alone in this – many companies have problems deciding how much to charge for their goods and services. I was very interested in the prices artists were taking when I was on the Isle of Man last week. The lower end I thought was a little high, whereas the upper end was a bit low. I have been told I charge too little, and I realize the people telling me this (other artists) are correct.

SOoooo…time to get a bit more tough, in other words. Get over it, get out there, don’t take things so personally. Get my Fabiola prints sold (they´re a 1000 SEK each by the way, full-size on high quality rag paper, real nice, I have the AP framed and hanging on my wall).

I took the first step last week and entered a local competition run by a shop where most Facebook likes for a drawing would win (my entry is the picture to the left). I worked into Friday night, about 10 hours total, and sent in my entry. And I won, with nearly 300 likes, where 90% came from people who aren’t my Facebook friends.

I still won’t be watching that American TV show, though.