American Impressionist Society
American Impressionist Society

6th Annual All Member Online Exhibition

November 6, 2025 – January 6, 2026 | Online
Deadline is October 15th. Members Only.
Morning at Napps Narrows by Kenn Backhaus AISM
Morning at Napps Narrows by Kenn Backhaus AISM
Open Calls

Opens September 15, 2025.

Open for entry on September 15, 2025.
Deadline for entry: October 15, 2025
AIS All Member Online Exhibition is open for entries from all of our members.

  • AIS Members may enter up to five artworks.
  • $20 entry fee for your first painting and $10 per painting up to a total of five paintings
  • Artists receive 100% of commission!
  • Artwork does not have to be for sale.
  • All accepted works will be posted in a special AIS online digital catalog, ShowSubmit gallery and AIS Facebook pages.
  • Artwork may be in a gallery or another non AIS exhibition.
  • No size limitations.
  • No shipping.
  • Acceptance in the AIS Online Exhibition does not count toward AIS Signature Membership.
  • Awards Judge: AIS Master Kenn Backhaus

Awards

$5,000 in cash prizes
  • Best Impressionist Work/Best of Show: $2,000
  • Award of Distinction Featured Artist in Fine Art Connoisseur ($1000 value)
  • Three Awards of Merit $750 for each
  • Ten Honorable Mentions: $75 for each

Exhibition Requirements

Membership
  • Must be a current (or new) paid member of AIS and must be a legal US resident to be eligible to enter the exhibition.
  • 2025 membership dues of $65 must be paid prior to entering. If dues are not paid prior to the entry deadline, entry will be disqualified.

Medium
  • Oil, Pastel, Acrylic, Watercolor, Casein, Egg Tempera, Oil Sticks, and Gouache.
  • No mixed media, photography, digital, AI or any other media.
  • No digitally manipulated work, painted giclee prints or any other type of reproductions, no manipulated or painted over photos.
  • No work that has been created with AI (artificial intelligence). Any artist whose work is determined to be in violation of this rule will be disqualified, will forfeit any awards received and will be banned from any and all AIS exhibitions for the following three years.
Work requirements
  • Work must be original in concept and execution, impressionistic in style, and must have been completed within the last three years.
  • Work done in ANY class and/or under the guidance of an instructor is not eligible for entry.
  • Work painted from reference photos must be created from the artist’s own photographs, not from any other photo source, copyrighted or not.
  • Entries must not violate any copyrights.
  • Diptychs, triptychs or multi surfaces not permitted.
  • Entries may not have been exhibited in any previous AIS show. Work that was entered but not accepted into previous AIS shows may be entered again as long as they meet the above requirements.
Size & Quantity
  • No Size limitation.
  • Up to five paintings may be submitted.
  • Maximum of one painting per artist may be accepted into the show.
Framing
  • NO FRAMING REQUIRED! We encourage you to frame your work if you sell your work.

Liability & Agreement

The artist retains copyright to his/her image(s), however, by submitting to this show, artist agrees to AIS's use of the images for publicity (including future AIS event promotion) and archival purposes. Artist agrees to abide by all rules in this prospectus. Submission of entries and entry fee, which is non-refundable, constitute agreement with all conditions set forth in this prospectus.

Sales Commission

  • AIS will direct buyers directly to artists. Artists' websites and contact information will be included in the online exhibit.
  • Artists retain 100% of sales price.
  • AIS will not process sales transactions or make shipping arrangements to buyers.
  • Work may be entered that is not for sale.
  • If your work is for sale it must be priced according to your standard pricing. Paintings that do not reflect the artist's current pricing structure may be disqualified.
  • No price changes, changes to NFS or for sale will be accepted once you have submitted your entry-please double check your entries for accuracy of information.
  • An artist who withdraws an entry after acceptance into the exhibition shall not be eligible to enter any AIS exhibition for the two succeeding years.

Entry Fee

  • $20 for one painting and $10 per additional entry up to five works.
  • If you enter a total of five your entry fee is $60.
  • Entry fees are nonrefundable whether your paintings are juried into the exhibition or not.
$20 One painting $30 Two paintings $40 Three Paintings $50 Four paintings $60 Five Paintings

Jury Process

Your work will be reviewed by a panel of five highly qualified, nationally recognized Master and/or Signature level artists. The jurors do not know who the other jurors are and they each work independently. We use a “blind jury” process where the juror does not know the identity of the artist whose work he/she is viewing. Scoring is based solely on the merit of the work, including technical merit and level of impressionistic style. The jurors view every painting that is entered and the five member panel is different for each exhibition.

Calendar

AIS 2025 All Members Online Exhibition Calendar

September 15 - October 15
Entries accepted at www. ShowSubmit.com

Wednesday, October 15
Deadline: Midnight Pacific time (PST). We highly recommend entering well before the final deadline to avoid possible last minute issues that can and do arise, especially if you are not familiar with using the digital entry system.

November 6
Jury results will be emailed to entrants and posted on AIS website. ShowSubmit online gallery opens.

November 24
Awards Announcement and Video Presentation

Judge of Awards

Kenn Backhaus AISM

Kenn, born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and spent much of his childhood on the family farm near Burnett, Wisconsin. His fondness for nature became the catalyst for his art. Kenn’s parents encouraged his artistic education and following High School, he attended Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a commercial designer and illustrator Kenn received many awards at both local and national levels, which included acceptance in the 30th Annual Society of Illustrators Show in New York City. Although Kenn took pride in his commercial successes, his heart always belonged to the fine art of outdoor painting.
With his developing interest in the historic traditions of plein air painting, Kenn decided in 1984, to devote more time to his passion for painting, instruction and the love of the outdoors. His works have been juried into many shows across the country and his paintings have been honored with numerous Best of Show awards and distinctions.
Kenn was part of a PBS series entitled, “Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape”. Kenn is now one of the host artists of a new high definition 13-part series, Passport & Palette™ represents the next generation of art education on public television.
Kenn is a Signature Artist Member of the California Art Club, a Master Signature Member of both the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society, a Signature member of the Plein-Air Painters of America. He also served as President of the Plein-Air Painters of America.

Questions

Contact Liz Ahrens, AIS Executive Director
231-881-7685
[email protected]
www.americanimpressionistsociety.org

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on November 6, 2025.

You may view the notification in your ShowSubmit account by logging in and tapping the Notifications at the top right of the screen, or in your Entry History.

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.

Note: Entries made prior to 2023 may not display the View Notification link.

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 (October 15, 2025.)
  • 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

For questions about AIS or this Prospectus, please contact Elizabeth Ahrens ([email protected]).

For technical support or entry questions, first check our Help Center or Entry Guide. If you still need help, email ShowSubmit Support ([email protected]). We’ll respond between 9am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.