Being awarded 'Gold' at the Dorset Arts and Crafts Association Showcase 2025

I won 'Gold' at the Dorset Arts and Crafts Association Showcase 2025

This August, I was awarded the 'Work of Outstanding Merit' award at the Dorset Arts and Crafts Association Showcase 2025. I started creating my piece, 'Sunset Pride,' in June with the hopes that I would improve in the ranking from last year, when I received the Blue 'Highly Commended' award (two rankings lower) for my painting 'Hare in Flowers'. With that being said, I was over the moon when I walked into the competition hall at this year's Showcase and saw that my painting had a gold sticker next to it, indicating that it had been awarded a 'Work of Outstanding Merit' award (just one ranking below the winner's trophy).

It is always quite nerve-wracking to put your work out there for people to see, and particularly for people to judge, as, as a new artist, the world of art and what qualifies as 'good' or even 'great' art can be a difficult world of vision and acclaim to navigate. However, the fact that I have improved two rankings from last year gives me great confidence that with even more hard work, practice and patience, I can see myself as the artist I believe I can be. I heard some very encouraging comments about 'Sunset Pride,' and was even informed that one member of the public wanted to purchase it - alas, competition pieces were not available for sale!

I myself, can see a noticeable improvement in the quality of my work. Others have also mentioned it to me in passing. To improve I have been practicing, watching YouTube videos, studying paintings, exploring techniques and reading about art and artists through the ages. I believe that all of these things combined have helped tremendously in the advancement of my abilities. So, basically, I need to keep it up!

This year I missed out on the trophy. Next year, I hope to have improved my skills to such an extent that I can be in the running for the cup.

If you would like to follow my journey then give me a follow on Instagram at @ashlea_james_art_studio to see more of my painting process and what new pieces I am working on.