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Art is highly personal and subjective, so submitting your work for publication can be hard. It’s easy to get discouraged by rejections, which I often would when my writing or art was rejected. Unless the publication sends feedback, you may never know exactly why a piece is rejected. But through my time with Calliope, I’ve noticed a few trends in the board meetings that I think all submitters should know about. A disclaimer though, not all of these tips will fit every work. As stated earlier, art is personal and subjective, and there is no formula for “good” art. Not every piece needs to have a meaning, perfect perspective, or a textbook understanding of composition and color theory. In art, rules are made to be broken and guidelines overlooked. These are just a few tips I’ve compiled that may help you to see what goes on behind the scenes for art and literary publications.
Attention to Composition:
I think composition is one of the most overlooked aspects of artwork. So many times I’ve sketched something and realized halfway through painting that the placement is weird. Sometimes when a work strikes the right chord—or the wrong one—but you can’t quite figure out why, it might be due to the composition. Pay attention to the elements of your painting, illustration, photograph, et cetera. Are they in harmony with each other? Do they clash? Would it look better if they clashed?
White space, or blank space, is another important aspect of composition. Not every part of the canvas needs to be filled, but sometimes too much blank space may take away from the subject. In that case, cropping the canvas or adding more to it can elevate the work.
Editing:
If you’ve ever had a painting class with Whitney Bedford here at Chapman, you’re probably familiar with the phrase “editing, editing, editing!” This concept sometimes overlaps with composition, but it’s important enough that I wanted to give it its own space. Editing might seem like something that can only be done in Photoshop or Google Docs, but the process of cutting and refining elements can be applied to anything. For art, editing might refer to changing a color palette or making the subject larger to narrow focus. It might be more conceptual by examining which elements of an artwork are or aren’t working to achieve the original concept. Editing takes what an artwork already has and highlights it.
Thesis:
Yes, a thesis is the sentence in your introductory paragraph that explains what your essay is going to be about. However, I’m co-opting thesis for the purposes of this article to refer to the “intent” or “meaning” of the work. Heavy quotes on those two words, because art does not need to have a meaning or intent. However, one could say that a meaningless artwork exists to prove that art doesn’t need a meaning (therefore giving it a meaning). Paradoxical art critique aside, try to think about the intent behind your work. Why are you drawing a mother and child? Is it a commentary on Madonna and Child? What about the beach makes you want to photograph it? Simple questions asked during the developmental process can create artwork that is punchy both in form and concept.
Originality:
I have to be honest, I hate when the word original is thrown around in workshops because originality is dead. There is nothing new under the sun; every idea you have is born out of something another person has already done. That being said, I have found that many publications look for artwork that “does something new.” Everyone has taken a photo of the beach, so what about your beach photo makes it stand out? Maybe there is something strange in the foreground, or the angle the photo was taken gives the viewer a new perspective.
Another example is submitting a recreation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Perhaps you’ve copied his brush strokes almost perfectly, creating a visually appealing and technically proficient work of art. An art magazine probably won’t publish that for fear of copyright issues, but also because the painting has been done many, many times before. Perhaps you paint Starry Night but change the colors of the sky to look like a sunset or flip the composition. This would technically be doing something different than the original, but that doesn’t mean that it will be selected for publication. It might be technically proficient, but if it’s not saying anything or doing anything innovative with the original material, then a board might not select it for publication.
There’s nothing wrong with creating work that breaks these conventions. It’s good to break the rules because it challenges both the artist and the viewer. There’s also nothing wrong with being rejected. A rejection doesn’t mean that the publication thinks your work is “bad” or that people don’t like it, but for one reason or another, they may feel that it is not ready for publication, or doesn’t fit in their magazine, or too similar to something published in their last issue. Hopefully, these tips have opened a window into the behind-the-scenes process of selection, as well as given you more peace of mind next time you submit your work.
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