Salem County Art League's Paint Woodstown Plein Air Call for Entry

About the Event

Artists, here is an opportunity to paint En Plein Air in Woodstown NJ! Nestled in rural Salem County south New Jersey along Route 40, approximately 10 miles from the Delaware Memorial Bridge is the beautiful Historic Borough of Woodstown. The Borough, a town completely surrounded by another town, like the hole of a doughnut, boasts buildings from colonial time, dozens of Victorian homes, picturesque old buildings, quaint small-town center, a Vintage 1915 style High School, turn of the century bank buildings, an opera house that originally opened in 1885, several lovely churches, lakes, and a steam railroad that runs through the town. Woodstown was once the home to Everett Shinn a member of the Ashcan School of painters and his house is still there on North Main Street.

The Salem County Art League, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, have teamed up with the Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio, Farmers and Bankers Brewery, and the Borough of Woodstown to bring you this event. Funding for Salem County Art League activities are assisted by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a division of the department of State, the Salem County Board of County Commissioners, and the Salem County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

Paint Woodstown is a one-day, Quick Draw style plein air painting event with general awards and an option to be juried into a chance to win a Special Award. The event begins with a sign-in at the “Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio” in the morning, a day of painting, a return to the Squirrel’s Nest to mat and frame your paintings, then following the judging, an awards celebration across the street at the Farmers and Bankers Brewery.

The event will be held rain or shine. In the event of extreme weather being forecast, such as hurricane, floods, tornados, hail storm, lightning storm, or other hazardous weather conditions, the SCAL will make every effort to proceed, but may be forced to cancel. ShowSubmit does not allow for refunds. In the event of cancellation please consider the entry fee a donation to the Salem County Art League, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Selected artworks painted during the event may be displayed at the Squirrel’s Nest on their gallery wall for Sale after the event until the 15th of August. Note that wet oil paintings cannot be displayed at the Squirrel’s Nest on the gallery wall after the event at this time. An alternate gallery space may be offered if arrangements can be made, but artists working in oils should plan to remove any unsold paintings on the 11th of July following the event.

Squirrels Nest Art Studio
9 North Main Str
Woodstown NJ 08098

8:00 to 10:00 – Arrive at Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio to Sign in and get your substrate stamped.
10:00 to 2:30 - Find your spot and paint the town within the designated limits.
2:30 to 3:00 – Return to Squirrel’s Nest to Frame (or mat and frame) your work suitable for hanging, and display work for Judging.
3:00 to 4:00 – Judging
4:00 – Awards Ceremony Farmers & Bankers Brewing Building

General Regulations

Artwork submitted for exhibit and awards must have been created en plein air, within the designated Woodstown community on July 11, 2026.
Substrate may be tinted, with a solid color, no image, prior to stamping.
All paintings must have the SCAL Logo stamp on the substrate.
Due to the Quick Draw time limitation, limited use of technology is allowed, such as cell phone photo use as a composition aid, or to capture fleeting images such as people or automobiles. Artists shall not rely too heavily on the cell phone or tablet image. Doodle Grid using cell phone or tablet is permitted, but again only to establish the composition. No projection. No tracing. All work must be freehand. Do not paint solely from the cell phone or tablet image.
Mediums of oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, ink, and pastel are all acceptable for this event.
Artists are responsible to provide a frame and if needed mats for framing all submitted artwork. A work station for framing will be provided in the Squirrel’s Nest. Frames must be in good condition, with D-rings and wired in the upper third of the frame and completely ready for hanging. No saw tooth hangers. All works on paper must be protected. White or off-white mats are recommended if using mats. One exception is gallery wrapped stretched canvas with finished and dry edges painted black or matching the art (Edges may be pre-painted and dry when submitted for stamping at sign-in) and hangable by D-ring and wire.
Artwork may be for sale the day of the event and through special agreement between the Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio and the artist, on display after the event through August 15, 2026.
Artists set their own prices.
All sales transactions are processed by Squirrel’s Nest Artist Studio.
A 30% commission on all sales is retained.
Payments for sales and awards may take up to 4 weeks after date of sale.
Unsold artwork is the responsibility of the artist.
SCAL reserves the right to decline artworks that do not fall within the defined scope of this competition or are deemed inappropriate. Entries that do not adhere to all guidelines will not be judged or be eligible for awards.
Refer to Salem County Art League website (Link) for additional information
Artists may not block sidewalks, driveways, roadways, or use private property (without obtaining permission from owner).
Artists shall bring water with them if needed for painting use, or water can be obtained at the Squirrel’s Nest (sign up location), but artists must supply their own container.
Artists are responsible for their safety in selecting their painting locations such as, but not limited to, awareness of traffic patterns near them, stable footing, appropriate caution in traveling to and from their painting location.
Woodstown NJ weather is generally hot and often humid in July, artists are recommended to plan accordingly, also to realize they could be in sunlight for several hours, so plan for creating needed shade, large brim hat, umbrella, long sleeve UV shirts, etc.
Artists need to bring their own painting supplies, materials, substrates, tools, and equipment.
Artists need to bring frames and any framing tools, mats, tape, hanging hardware needed. (A location for framing will be provided at the Squirrel’s Nest).
Artists need to bring their own trash bags for their use while painting, but there are receptacles throughout the town center.
Oil and solvent rags are to be disposed of properly.
Artists must be 18 or older to participate

Application Submissions

All applicants must submit 3 original images of artwork, preferably plein air work, as part of their entry.

$20 Early Bird Registration fee (non-refundable). Qualifies artist to compete for general awards.
$30 Regular Registration fee (non-refundable). Qualifies artist to compete for general awards.
$30 Early Bird Registration + Jury Fee (non-refundable). Qualifies artist to compete for general awards and to be considered by jury for the special award.
$40 Regular Registration + Jury Fee (non-refundable). Qualifies artist to compete for general awards and to be considered by jury for the special award.

Application Process

All registered artists are invited to participate in the event and compete for the general awards
Artists who pay the Jury Registration fee are eligible for consideration to be included in up to 20 qualifying artists selected for the chance to compete for the special award. The SCAL Committee, through ShowSubmit, will select by jury up to 20 participants based on their submitted images.
Early Bird Registration will be via ShowSubmit from Monday, May 11, 2026 through Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Print your receipt for your records.
Regular Registration will be via ShowSubmit from Tuesday, June 24, 2026 through Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Print your receipt for your records.
Application Deadline: 11:59 PM PT, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. There will be no extensions.
Jury applicants will be informed of their status via email through ShowSubmit by Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Geographic Area

Borough of Woodstown, Surrounded by Township of Pilesgrove, Salem County, New Jersey.

Woodstown lies directly on Route 40 (it crosses the main street in the center of the town) between the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Atlantic City, approximately 10 miles from the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Lodging

Some Motel options are available within approximately 10 miles from town in Pennsville (to the west), or in Beckett in Woolwich Township (to the North). There are camp grounds near Woodstown.

Awards

Special Award: Open to all applicants who pay the Jury Registration fee. Up to 20 applicants will be selected by jury based on their submitted images to compete for this award.

$500 Minimum/Maximum TBD Special Award. The maximum amount of the award above $500 will be determined based on whether the income from registrations exceeds the expenses. We are non-profit so the difference above expenses will be added to the award. So, invite as many of your friends as possible to sign up!

General Awards: All applicants, including those applying to compete for the special award (whether selected or not), qualify to compete for general awards:

$300 First Place
$200 Second Place
$100 Third Place
$50 Honorable Mention

Judges

David Dorrell, SCAL VP, Plein air Committee Chairperson
Loren Dann
Maureen Peters

Disclaimer/Legal

Submission of work to this event and exhibition constitutes an agreement on the part of the artist to all terms and conditions of this entire prospectus, which includes, but is not limited to, the right of The Salem County Art League to use entry images for publicity purposes.

Artists will be asked to sign an accident waiver and release of liability form at the time of sign in. This also requires they certify that there are no health-related reasons or problems which preclude their participation in this activity.

Insurance and Liability

Artist and Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio agree that in the event of loss or damage to Artist’s work while it is in Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio’s possession, Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio is liable for such loss or damage if it is caused by Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio’s failure to use the highest degree of care. In the event of loss or damage for which Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio is liable, Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio will submit a claim to Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio’s insurer. Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio and Artist agree that in the event of loss or damage to Artist’s work due to failure of Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio to use highest degree of care, the value of the work is seventy percent (70%) of the fair-market value of the work. Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio and Artist further agree it shall be the responsibility of Artist to establish fair market value of the work using prior sales of similar work by Artist, or using other objective criteria, and the retail price for the work listed in the Inventory Record does not establish fair market value.

All unsold artworks must be retrieved from the reception venue by the artist or representative after the judging on July 11th 2026, if not selected for display at the Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio through August 15, 2026. Artwork left for display at the Squirrel’s Nest Art Studio can be removed after the 15th of August, but must be removed by no later than August 19, 2026. Artists are responsible for the return of their unsold work, including the cost of shipping.

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on July 8, 2026.

If you do not receive your email, login and view the notification in your account. We cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of notifications.

Image and Filename Specifications

File Format: Submit original, high-quality JPEG image files. Other formats (e.g., PNG, TIFF) are not accepted.
Crop Your Image: Ensure only the artwork itself is visible in the image. Do not show any visible matting, frames, or background distractions.
Orientation: Make sure your image is oriented correctly (right side up) so that the artwork appears in its intended viewing direction.
Image Size: You do not need to resize your image files before uploading. The system will automatically resize them. Smaller images cannot be enlarged to meet the requirements, so ensure your images are high resolution before uploading.
File Names: You do not need to rename your files before uploading them. The system will handle any file naming requirements.
File Size: There is a 30mb maximum file size limit. Larger image files will take longer to upload and process.

Additional Entry Information

You will pay for your entry by credit or debit card using our secure checkout system.
After your entry is submitted and paid for, you may log back in to review your entry, edit artist and image information, and add or substitute images up until the entry deadline (July 1, 2026.)
Entry fees are not refundable and must be submitted and paid by the entry deadline.
Entries cannot be accepted or changed after the deadline. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Support

Questions about this exhibition?
Contact David Dorrell ([email protected]) for questions about the Prospectus, SCAL, eligibility, artwork requirements, drop-off, pick-up, sales, etc.

Need help with ShowSubmit?
Visit our Help Center or Entry Guide for guidance on image uploads, payments, and managing your entry. If you still need help, email ShowSubmit Support ([email protected]). We respond Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm Eastern.