Streamline Publishing
Streamline Publishing

April 2025

15th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition May 22, 2025 | Online
Deadline is April 30th. Open to all artists.
Black Mesa, New Mexico by Daved English, Oil, 20x30 in. Best Nocturne April 2024
Black Mesa, New Mexico by Daved English, Oil, 20x30 in. Best Nocturne April 2024
Open Calls

Opens April 1, 2025.

Open for entry on April 1, 2025.
Deadline for entry: April 30, 2025
The 15th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition consists of 12 monthly online competitions, where the winners will then be automatically entered into the annual competition. There is over $50,000 awarded every year.

Because this competition was created by PleinAir magazine, which features not only plein air paintings, but also studio paintings, entries do not need to be completed in plein air unless entering a plein air specific category. As we know, many plein air painters finish paintings in the studio or work in entirely different subject matters. Our interest is in rewarding great paintings.

Judge

Ben Whiteside, The Red Piano Gallery

Awards

Over $2,000 in all cash prizes each month.
  • First Place - $600
  • Second Place - $400
  • Third Place - $200
  • Category awards - $50 each
    Total of 19 awards
  • Category Honorable Mention awards
    Total of 19 awards

Annual Awards

All of the monthly winners are automatically included in the judging for the Annual Competition held in May 2026.
  • Grand Prize - $15,000 + your painting featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine
  • Second Place - $3,000
  • Third Place - $2,000
  • Three Honorable Mention Awards - $700 each
  • Six Best Medium Awards - $450 each
  • Artist’s Choice Award - $200
More details about awards can be found at PleinAirSalon.com.

Eligibility Requirements

  • All individuals entering must be at least 18 years of age.
  • Competition is open to residents of any state or country where acceptable by law.

Fees

  • Early Bird Entry Fee: From the 1st-15th each month. First entry is $29, all additional entries are $12.*
  • Regular Entry Fee: From the 16th-month-end. First entry is $40, all additional entries are $16.*
*Paintings entered in multiple categories are considered separate entries, and will require a fee for each category entered.

Non-refundable: All entry fees are non-refundable and must be paid via credit or debit card by the entry deadline.

Rules

  • Original Artwork: All entries must be original compositions and cannot be based on anything that has been published elsewhere. Copies of other artists’ work are NOT considered original and are not eligible.
  • Reference Photos: Paintings based on another person’s photograph (even if copyright-free) are NOT eligible. Reference photos must belong to the artist entering.
  • One Artist Only: All entries must be 100% painted by the artist entering and cannot have been painted partially by an instructor. Nor can someone enter the artwork of an artist who is now deceased. Paintings that were created as part of a group workshop where multiple artists painted the same image are NOT eligible.
  • Paintings/Drawings ONLY: Photography, AI, digital, printed or painted over photographs are prohibited.
  • The PleinAir Salon reserves the right to refuse any artwork if the method with which it was created is questionable. And any artist who enters digitally altered images will be banned for future competitions.
  • Employees or associates of Streamline Publishing, Inc., or their immediate families may not enter.
  • Grand Prize: An artist can only win the Grand Prize once. Grand Prize winners can continue to enter the PleinAir Salon, but with the understanding they are no longer eligible to win the Grand Prize.

Entry Details

  • ShowSubmit Account: When first entering the PleinAir Salon Art Competition, you’ll be asked to create a profile. If you do not have an account at ShowSubmit, click here. This is FREE, and takes just a few minutes.
  • Categories: There are 19 categories to enter. Please read the criteria for each category clearly, as some have restrictions. If a painting does not meet the criteria for the category it was entered into, it will be disqualified.

    Click here to view all the Categories.
  • Plein Air Categories: Paintings entered into any of the plein air categories must have been completed 100% in plein air. This can take place over multiple sessions, but it CANNOT have been finished in the studio.
  • Please review our extensive Faq for additional questions.
  • Online Only: Paintings do not need to be new or fresh, or even in your possession. Since this is an online competition, older, and sold, paintings are accepted.
  • Entry Limits: There is a limit of 25 entries you can enter in each monthly competition. Because there are multiple categories you might increase your odds by entering multiple categories.
  • Winning Paintings: A painting can win only once. If the painting has been entered in multiple categories, it can only win in ONE category. Additionally any painting that has not previously won a category award, can be re-entered in subsequent competitions. For example, a painting that receives an honorable mention award can be re-entered the next month.
  • Note: All monthly winners are included in the judging of the Annual Competition, so there is no need to enter a winning painting multiple times.
  • Inappropriate images: PleinAir magazine reserves the right to reject or not display any image that it feels is inappropriate or distasteful, if the image’s resolution quality is poor, if we believe the image is a copy of another painting, or it does not meet the above criteria.

Judging

  • Judges: Guest judges include prominent artists, gallery owners, and museum curators and directors.
  • In the event a judge, who has been promoted, is unable to judge, an alternate judge will be appointed. If one cannot be found, judging will be done by an editor or publisher of either Fine Art Connoisseur or PleinAir magazine.
  • Click here to view our judges.
  • Judging Timeframe: After the close of each monthly competition, the judge scores ALL the paintings based on a blind judging system. This means that the judge only sees the painting, title and medium. At no point during the judging process is the judge given the artist’s information.
  • Top 100: The paintings with the highest scores will become the Top 100 finalists for that month. (There could be more depending on scores.) The Top 100 Finalists are announced 1 week before the awards announcement.
  • Awards: The winners will be announced on the last day of the month following the competition. This allows our judges ample time to review all the paintings that were entered, and then select the winners.
  • There will be one Winner and one Honorable Mention selected in each category of each monthly competition, and three overall awards.
  • Winners of each monthly competition, including each category winner, will be entered into the judging for the Annual PleinAir Salon Competition. Honorable Mention recipients are not entered into the annual competition and can therefore re-enter their paintings into subsequent competitions.
  • Awards Announcement: An email will be sent with a link to watch the live Awards Announcement which takes place on the last day of the month. If the last day falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the awards will be held on the last Thursday of the month. Artists will be notified via email following the announcement. All winners can be viewed on the Winners Page.

Annual Competition Entry Deadline

The Annual Competition runs from April 1, 2025 to March 15, 2026. The 22 winners from each monthly cycle during this time automatically become the Semi-Finalists in the Annual Competition.

Top 25 Finalists

In April 2026, a panel of jurors will review and score all 276 entries. The 25 paintings with the highest scores will become the Top 25 Finalists for the year.

Plein Air Convention & Expo

The Top 25 Finalists are all invited to attend the 2026 Plein Air Convention where the PleinAir Salon Awards will be announced live on stage.

Terms

By entering the PleinAir Salon, you agree that you are submitting images of your own original artwork and not that of other artists or material in which you do not hold the copyright. The original work does not have to currently be in your possession. You are also agreeing, in advance, to have your submitted artwork and your image published to any print or digital/electronic property of Streamline Publishing, Inc. This includes, but is not limited to, print and digital magazines, newsletters, websites, e-mails, social media pages, and promotional materials in perpetuity.

At times, Streamline Publishing, Inc. may request a higher-resolution image than was submitted through the PleinAir Salon. When entering, you agree to fulfill this request in a timely manner in order for Streamline Publishing, Inc. to promote the competition winners.

Customer Support

Customer support is available Monday-Friday. Customer support is not available on the weekends, even for those competitions that have a weekend deadline. For more information see the Support section below.

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on May 22, 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 (April 30, 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 PSAC or this Prospectus, please contact ([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.