After only five full days of voting, and with another 16 still to go, it is clear that most of The Art Awards Team’s worries had been needless.
· Would enough people visit the site to vote?
· Would three weeks be long enough to allow people time to vote?
· Would the voting system work smoothly?
· Would enough constructive comments be posted to encourage the artists whose work is displayed there?

We now have the answers. So far, 992 votes have been cast, and 222 comments posted on the site. Only 3 people have reported meeting any problems in voting, and they were later sorted. Each and every comment posted, (and all are moderated before being uploaded onto the artist’s page) has been positive. What a wonderful response!
There are also some clear front-runners for the EAC People’s Choice Award, which will be awarded on the 1st December at the Bankside Gallery.

So, what do we do in the next two weeks, till voting closes on 30th November?

We have a few suggestions.
· In the first rush of enthusiasm, a surprising number of people have only cast one vote for their first choice. It may be someone they know, and we all like to support friends, family, residents and so on. However, now there is more time, those with unallocated 2nd and 3rd choice votes, might take the time to browse the excellent works of art displayed on the website, and select two more artists to receive their votes.
· Many of the artists whose work has been selected for exhibition are not on the internet and may not have seen their work celebrated online. If you know of anyone in this position, or indeed know older people who would enjoy viewing the online gallery, please invite them in!
· Out of the 222 comments received, nearly half of them are about the current Top 10. But that means that another 91 works are sharing only just over 100 comments between them. It’s early days yet, so again, there’s time to browse the gallery and compliment the many talented artists whose work is on display there. You can comment on as many works as you wish. You are not limited to three, as you are with voting.

Lots to do and still 16 days to do it in.
Happy Voting and Commenting!

PS. How could I have forgotten? How wonderful to have received comments from France, Canada, USA, and Australia. Please do identify in your comments where you come from. It adds to the interest. Also many thanks also to finalists who have been very generous in their comments about other people's work. Your feedback must be doubly valuable to other artists.

Well, we hope that all the artists who got good news about their entry into the 2009  Art Awards have now calmed down, and started to plan an early Christmas trip to London! Congratulations to all of you, both those accepted into the exhibition and those awarded a Highly Commended by the judges. It really was a stiff round of judging, and very intense, narrowing down over 2150 entries into an exhibition of only 101 works of art.

If, on the other hand, you were one of the entrants who got a disappointing result, then you have our sympathy. If you have any ideas for the future; how to include more people at all stages of the competition, and how to better celebrate the undoubted talent that flourishes among artists from (this year) 60 to 96 years of age, then we’d love to hear from you.

On another note, a great deal of hard work is going on behind the scenes to bring you the Online Voting by Monday 9th November. We are testing the site to try to keep gremlins at bay, and look forward to inviting you all back online to view the 2009 Finalists Gallery, and cast your votes for your three favourite artworks among the 101 selected for exhibition in December. If all goes well, then the Online Voting should go live tomorrow evening - Monday 9th November. Watch this space!

"King George V Graving Dock" - an entry from one of this years's older artists: Joan Aubry, aged 95.

and "All That Gas", an entry from a youngster at 61, Hannah Kent