I've spent countless hours over the last two years researching about papers, printers and the whole art of printmaking for competitions. I've had pretty good luck so far, sent in 4 prints and had 3 hang on the wall at WPPI on my first year, and similarly had 4 more wins last year. Went from member to Associate and I was pretty happy. But its time to step up the game. The difference between a good print and a great print really comes down to the finer details. This is what I've learned from research and watching the judging for the last two years.
I wanted to put together everything I've learned in a blog post, including but not limited to:
1. Choosing the right images for print competition, especially WPPI 16x20 print competition.
2. Should you outsource to the "Master Printmakers"?
3. The printing process as I know it.
4. So many paper choices, how do I pick the best paper for my print competition print? Does it even matter?
5. Expert advice -- I had the privilege of speaking with some of the judges and Masters of WPPI, and what they had to say about the competition.
6. Overall observations...
That's quite a lot of stuff, and I've been writing this entry for a while now, but I am a master procrastinator so I am obviously going to finish it 2 days before the deadline to submit your prints so it may or may not be useful to you. I hope it is. Stay tuned!