I'm an artiste darling - my nerves can't take it.
You know what, I can totally empathise. I spent weeks doing a little Marquis of Montrose vignette for a Warlord/WaMP contest a couple of years back and managed to win - £50 of vouchers!
Then there were some snide comments posted on Warlord that 'some people' were entering the contest just to promote their own business, which wasn't fair on the other competitors. I had checked beforehand that it was open to all painters, not just amateurs (whatever that may be).
I decided that losing a couple of weeks of work for £50 in vouchers, plus the emotional rollercoaster of nail-chewing whilst votes were coming in, plus the bitterness of some sad individuals (and a lot of very nice encouragement from others, it must fairly be said) just wasn't worth it. Now I try to compete against myself. I usually get at least a draw.