Pastel Society of Maine
Pastel Society of Maine

Pastels Only

25th Annual Open Juried Exhibition April 27 – May 30, 2025 | Online
Deadline is April 7th. 11 weeks left to enter. Open to Members and Non-Members.
Autumn Leaves in the Nubanusit River by Joelle Feldman
Autumn Leaves in the Nubanusit River by Joelle Feldman
Open Calls

or to submit.

Deadline for entry: April 7, 2025
Virtual Exhibit open to PSME Members and all soft pastel artists of the United States & Canada.

Entry Fee

  • PSME Members
    3 works: $35
    PSME membership dues must be current.
  • Non-members
    3 works: $45
  • Each artist may submit up to 3 entries. A maximum of 2 pieces per artist may be juried into the show.
  • 100 paintings will be juried into the exhibit.
  • Notifications of accepted and non-accepted work will be emailed.
  • Entry fees are not refundable and must be paid by the entry deadline. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Awards

1st, $1000, 2nd, $750, 3rd, $500., and other awards (see below)

Juror of Selection and Awards

Aline Ordman
Aline Ordman is an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies, a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, a Signature Member of The American Impressionist Society, and a Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America. Her work has appeared in various publications, receiving Awards in the Pastel Journal’s including the Founders Award. In 2017 she received the Prix de Pastel in the International Association of Pastel Society’s National Juried Exhibition.

Aline currently lives in Vermont and teaches workshops throughout the country and Europe. Her studio is in Quechee, Vermont and her work can be seen in Camden Falls Gallery in Camden, Maine and The Blue Heron Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, The Little Gallery in Mackinac, MI and Winfield Gallery in Carmel by the Sea, CA.

Eligible Works

  • Open to PSME Members and all soft pastel artists of the United States & Canada.
  • Artists DO NOT NEED to have an active membership with the Pastel Society of Maine, but it is always encouraged.

    You may join PSME at pastelsocietyofmaine.org/join
  • All subjects and styles are acceptable, except for erotic and overtly political works.
  • Paintings must be artist’s original design and composition, not copied from any other artist’s work, not painted in a class or workshop under instructor supervision, and using only artist’s photographs and sketches.
  • There is no size limit.
  • Submitted images that are not in focus or cropped to show only the painting image will be disqualified. The committee reserves the right to refuse paintings for any reason.
  • Work must be completed in the past 2 years and the surface must be comprised of 80% soft pastels. No oil pastel.
  • NFS is allowed. (see other info in “Sales” below)
  • If an accepted work is discovered to be in another concurrent juried exhibit, it becomes disqualified from the competition and artist is banned from PSME juried exhibitions for two years.
  • Paintings that have won top awards (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in any National or International juried pastel competition may NOT be submitted.
  • Paintings previously shown in Pastel Society of Maine juried competitions may NOT be submitted. Do NOT submit a painting which is simultaneously being shown in another national or international juried art competition.
  • Upon submitting, the artist grants permission for PSME to use the image for promotion.
  • Submitting artists must have access to a US mailing address.

Sales

  • All entries must either have a sale price or be marked not for sale (NFS). No works marked POR will be accepted.
  • Painting price may not be changed after submission.
  • PSME President will notify artist of any interest in the purchase of a painting. A 10% donation to PSME is requested on all sales during the show.
  • It is the artist’s responsibility to handle payment and delivery of artwork. PSME accepts NO liability in the sales or shipping of the artwork.

Payment of Awards

Award recipients will be paid by check (US artists only) or by PayPal transfer (non-US artists).

Awards

  • 1st, $1000
  • 2nd, $750.
  • 3rd, $500.
  • President’s Award, $200.
  • Memorial Award, $150.
  • Pastel Society of America, $100.
  • Connecticut Pastel Society, $100.
  • Pastel Society of New Hampshire, $100.
  • Central Massachusetts Pastel Society, $100.
  • Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod, $100
Total, $3100

Note: The President’s Award and Memorials are funds donated by PSME Members.

Terms and Agreement

By submitting images to this juried opportunity, you understand and agree that accepted images can be displayed on the PSME and Sponsors websites, Facebook page, and other social and/or print media.

Disqualifications may occur if:

  • You fail to provide accurate information about yourself or your paintings.
  • You fail to follow the prospectus guidelines.
  • Your ShowSubmit entry is incomplete.
  • Disqualification means you will be dropped from the 24th Pastel Society of Maine Open Juried Exhibition and will be ineligible to submit until the 2026 PSME exhibition.

Questions

For questions about PSME or this prospectus, please send email to:

Exhibition Committee Lead
Terrilynn Dubreuil
[email protected]

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on April 16, 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 (Accepted works will be notated by a green check.)

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 7, 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

Need Assistance? For questions about the entry process or using this website, please check our Help Center or Entry Guide first for detailed guides and troubleshooting tips. Most answers can be found there quickly.

If you still need help, feel free to email ShowSubmit Support at [email protected], and we’ll respond between 9am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.