That sounds like a great idea! I think it would really allow all of us to step outside that proverbial comfort zone and try something new. It would also provide us with new, fresh ideas. A little friendly competition never hurt either šŸ˜‰

    Lovely idea!
    perhaps entries could be classed according to the number of pictures previously uploaded, that would encourage less experienced painters to enter.
    I love the challenge of being given something new to paint, I often feel inspired by one of Bobs classes to reinterpret the picture in a different way.
    Bob would love this!

    Hello,That's super cool.I'm looking forward to it.Love the challenge.Cheers,P

      I like it, I find myself looking to try a non Bob Ross painting lately, theyā€™re great and all, however they can be redundant. Knife challenge, fan brush only, recreate a classic, abstract, 3 color challenge are off the top of my head, Iā€™m 100% amateur so I donā€™t know all the possibilities you could say. Prizes/voting, Iā€™m indifferent on how thatā€™s done or if it is even done. Perhaps put out list of the challenges ahead of time, months out even, so people can work at theyā€™re pace; some weeks I do 3, sometimes I go weeks without doing any. Whatever happens or doesnā€™t happen itā€™s nice to have an outlet to share our work with some anonymity.

        I love this idea! I wouldnā€™t stress over getting sponsors/prizes. You already built this awesome site - Thats prize enough for me. I think most of us are just excited about having challenges and try new paintings/techniques. Maybe the top 3 could get a badge like when we complete regular challenges?

        Maybe a new challenge every month? And encouraging folks to wait until the last week to vote so that those who post first donā€™t get all the votes before everyone submits their painting. Very excited to see how it turns out šŸ˜Š

        I love this! I also wouldnā€™t stress over getting sponsors, I think the pride of winning one would be enough for most people. I think that your time periods and everything are perfectly laid out, and you seem to have a good grip of what you want to do. Iā€™m excited to be involved!

          I will say, if you do find a couple of sponsors willing to work it out, maybe do a World Series championship on here or something, we are the winners of previous challenges go head to head for an attempt to win the prize. I would also be happy to donate to a Venmo fund if you start collecting money to get a prize, but prices are definitely not necessary. Youā€™ve done such a great job on this website, I think we are all just happy to have it! Personally, itā€™s a great way to catalog my journey and Iā€™m thrilled to be on here.

          Felix,
          I really like your ideas. Contests would be fun and as you noted would push some of us outside of our comfort zones. The idea of a portrait for instance is terrifying, but if I never try Iā€™ll never know what is possible. The knife painting is another Iā€™ve avoided but would certainly try.
          I think 4 weeks would be a good time frame to complete the contest, and I like the idea of only participating members being allowed to vote after the upload period. Prizes arenā€™t necessary, yet they can be a motivator to get the contest paintings posted in a timely manner.
          Iā€™ve really enjoyed participating on this site, and receiving helpful feedback from others is valuable to me. Above all I think this would foster more connection and communication between artists making it even more enjoyable. Iā€™m all in!

            Felix it's nice that you are adding more interest to the site but beware of making the site too competitive Felix, you don't want all the novices (and there are a lot of us) feeling out of the loop. Don't forget the reasons we come here, one important reason is that we are not judged. Its what makes twoinchbrush a great platform. A place we can get help, advice, encouragement, constructive criticism and discussion. I can only speak for myself, not being judged is the main reason I'm still here.

              Thank you all for your input!

              We'll probably start with 3 weeks to upload paintings, 1 week to vote on them.

              TheLandscapePainter Keeping it open and non-judgemental is my main concerns with this project. I want everyone to be able to enter in these events without fear of 'losing a contest' or any other negative feelings. After all this is a place of positivity.
              What do you think of keeping all votes secret and only showing the top 3 entries, without any order? So you'd only know if you uploaded one of the three most liked entries, but not your exact position or the number of votes you received?

              I'll leave this topic open for a while longer. Unless we get some longer period of bad weather here in Austria it will probably take until fall to add this to the site anyways.
              (It's hard to stay inside to code on the weekends during summer after spending all week doing the same for my day job šŸ˜‰)

                Without question a great idea. Thanks for continuing to evolve this site- Great Job!!!

                  Felix However you decide to do it Felix I am sure it will be just fine. I would be happy to take part and I see a lot of members are excited about it. I haven't done a seascape yet so that would take me right out of my comfort zone so I do understand where you are coming from and I'm looking forward to it. I haven't painted for 9 months for health reasons and it's time I got back into it. One of your projects is most welcome at this time.

                      I donā€™t know how difficult it would be to code but is there any chance that we can choose 2 or 3 paintings to vote? I can just see myself agonizing over picking the ā€œtechnically perfectā€ painting or the one that just speaks to me artistically. That could be a way to make sure the novices get some love.

                      I do love the random oddball ones the most šŸ˜„

                      Lilikins Great idea! I think I'll just allow to vote for as many paintings as one would like

                          Felix
                          lol you may want to limit it. I know I would probably just start giving everyone a vote because I would feel bad. But maybe everyone else will behave. I have no self control.

                              This sounds like a really fun idea. As @Sunnylady mentioned in her reply, I am not particularly competitive (except with myself) but I think this type of event could be really rewarding and allow us all to interact a bit more, which would be great, because the community here is the best of the internet, in my opinion.

                              I think secret voting is a nice idea, also perhaps different prize categories, if applicable, that could recognize various aspects of painting. I'm thinking things like: great brush work, adventurous spirit, breakthrough work, etc. Just thinking out loud.

                              • [deleted]

                              • Post #23

                              Honestly Iā€™m not a fan of contests. I do this just for fun. But what I really think would be a good idea, that itā€™s possible to have a like option for every painting. Sometimes I just want to say in an easy way that I like a painting without writing. As a non native English speaker it is sometimes hard for me to find the right words and I have to think about them for a long time. If I had a like button it would be easier... just an idea.

                                Felix dude I had no idea youā€™re in Austria! Once I work through all my donors for my project do you mind if I send you a couple of paintings? You can keep one and set one out, or hide both! (Side note: if you know any kitchens who are just dying for an American chef, hit me up, I want off President Trumpā€™s wild ride)