wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
Gramma wrote:

"AZTEC" wrote in message
...

good luck and, if you don't mind, can we see your entry? AZTEC

If I don't get cold feet in the mean time and if I have the courage I
might run it past for a critique before I enter, which might of course
put me off entering altogether .

Good heavens, don't let anything put you off entering! You have
nothing to lose and everything to gain!

I only meant from the point of perhaps making some 'glaring' mistakes that a
lay person may not pick up, but again that would be the point of getting a
critique in
the first place.

You might want to confer with the contest organizers about what
criteria they will use in judging entries.

Since I first posted here I have received the assessment criteria which is:
1. Botanical accuracy in the interpretation and portrayal of plant
character and diagnostic features
2. Technical merit
3. Artistic merit
4. Suitability for publication,
[which I understand from the instructions to artists to mean the drawing
must be able to reduce by one third without losing clarity of detail ]

The entry literature has also very helpfully given a judges comment on the
works entered last year and some of the reasons drawings were rejected.

And even if you don't
"win", you will have the opportunity for your work to be critiqued by
professionals, which can be invaluable.

This is basically my reason for wanting to enter - just to see if I am at
the standard for selection.
If selected then my next entry [2006] would be to aim for winning - the
first
prize is $5,000 which would always come in handy

Note also that there's interest in botanical illustrations for their
aesthetic as well as scientific value. Entering a contest like this
may put your work in front of potential purchasers and even invite
commissions from people who would like drawings of favourite plants.

It is certainly a select medium and not everyone's cup of tea.
Not everyone can appreciate the work that goes into Botanical art or
illustration and I think it would be love of the medium and subject rather
than the
gains that would start most people off.

You'll also have the opportunity to meet other illustrators and people
interested in botanical illustration, which is invaluable, even if it
doesn't lead to monetary gain.
snip

It was meeting a past entrant that has spurred me into getting the entry
details.
It is only the few outstanding artists who can gain the success of Celia
Rosser or Jenny Phillips, two of Australia's better known botanical artists,
well beyond my ability but I'm working on it..

To which end I had better keep practicing.
My thanks to you for interest

Gramma