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Philadelphia Water Color Society
Philadelphia Water Color Society

123rd International Exhibition of Works on Paper

October 16 – November 22, 2023 | Online
Deadline was August 21st. Open to Members and Non-Members.
Aroma by Denny Bond
Aroma by Denny Bond

Deadline for entry has passed.
View open calls for entry

Deadline for entry was August 21, 2023
2023 Exhibition will be online only 

Awards

Over $10,000 in Awards including:

  • $2,000 PWCS Award for Best in Show
  • $1,500 Elizabeth Shober Hooper Award for Excellence in Presentation & Technique
  • $1,000 PWCS Founders Award

Juror of Selection

Susan Montague
Susan Montague is a native of Colorado and currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. She received her BFA at Colorado State University in 1981. After retiring from many years in the Interior Design Industry, she is now pursuing her love of watercolor painting and drawing. Since she started painting she has been in numerous juried exhibits and has received many awards. Susan is a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, the  Western Federation of Watercolor Societies, and the Colorado Watercolor Society.

Susan was also a docent at the Denver Art Museum for several years. She currently enjoys hiking, biking and gardening and continues to be an Independent Design Consultant.

Her website is montaguearts.com

Judge of Awards

Ryan Fox 
Ryan Fox is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society as well as six state and regional societies. He has won awards in the American Watercolor Society, Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, Missouri Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, and the Watercolor Society of North Carolina juried shows. His work has been featured in Watercolor Artists Magazine, Art of Watercolour, Splash 15, 16, 19, and 20 hardcover books published by F+W Media. His instructional DVDs are marketed by Creative Catalyst Productions.

Ryan enjoys creating watercolors on a variety of surfaces (traditional watercolor paper, YUPO, and Japanese rice paper. His styles range from loose and fast to highly detailed and technical painting. As a teacher, he constantly pushes himself to learn new things about watercolor. Every painting gives you an opportunity to grow as an artist!

His website is rfoxphoto.com

Entry Fee

  • PWCS Members: $40
  • Non-Members: $50
Member dues must be paid in full prior to entering the PWCS 2022 International Works on Paper Exhibit. “Paid in Full” means that your dues are paid until December 31, 2022. If you are not already a member, consider joining as there are several new membership benefits which include discounted rates for workshops, demonstrations, and talks. pwcsociety.org/membership

Viewing your membership status, payment of any dues, and updating your contact information can be done by logging into your profile at pwcs.wildapricot.org/sys/profile

The entry fee entitles entrants to submit two paintings for consideration by the Juror of Selection for inclusion in the exhibition. No more than one painting per entrant may be selected for this exhibition. 

There will be no refunds once your entry is submitted, regardless of the status of your entry. Entries may be disqualified for not following entry guidelines including digital image preparation.

Conditions and Rules for Acceptance

Submissions and artwork that do not comply with the following conditions and rules will not be accepted and will be returned at the artist’s expense. The artist may be excluded from future exhibitions sponsored by the PWCS for a period of two years. 

  • Artists must be 18 or older.
  • Work previously exhibited in any PWCS juried exhibition or at any Community Art Center exhibition will not be accepted.
  • Artwork cannot be exhibited concurrently in other shows, particularly virtual shows.
  • All entries must be for sale. Prices cannot be changed once submitted.
  • Artists may not substitute another work for an accepted work.
  • Artists notified of acceptance may not withhold their work for any reason.
  • Entries must have been created within the last 3 years. Artwork produced prior to June 2020 will not be accepted.
  • All accepted artwork must be for sale. Any queries regarding the artwork will be forwarded by PWCS to the artist. There will be no commission taken since this show is online. 

For additional criteria, please download the prospectus.

Eligible Work

  1. Media: In addition to watercolor; soft pastels, charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, pen & ink, gouache, acrylic, and hand-pulled prints are also accepted. All work must be original and on or of paper. Clay prints on Reemay using water soluble mediums are acceptable. Collage elements must be of paper and cannot be mounted on canvas. Any image or color on collage papers must be of water media and the work of the artist – no cutouts from digital work will be accepted.
  2. Oils, oil pastels, photographic, digital, electronic processes or computer art will not be accepted.
  3. Artwork must be original and not completed under teacher supervision, either in a class/workshop (online or in person), from a DVD, or a book. Photo reference must have been taken by the entrant. 
  4. No side of the image visible within the mat can be less than 10” unless the length multiplied by the width exceeds 100 square inches (i.e., 9” x 12” = 108 sq. in.). Note that the measurement is of the painting within the border of the mat and not the size of paper used before matting. 

Sales

Work must be for sale; NFS is not allowed.

All accepted artwork must be for sale. Any queries regarding the artwork will be forwarded by PWCS to the artist. There will be no commission taken since this show is online.

Notifications 

Notifications will be made by email on or about Thursday, September 14, 2023. If your work is accepted, you will receive one email with the accepted painting(s) listed. If your work is not accepted, you will receive one email with no paintings listed. 

Conditions for Accepted Work 

All artwork must have a clean image without mat showing since this will be an online show. PWCS reserves the right to review all entries, for conformance to the specifications outlined herein and reserves the right to reject any work which does not conform to entry requirements and/or does not match the accepted digital entry. 

Withholding 

Once accepted, works cannot be withheld from the exhibition. “Failure To Deliver” will result in a two-year exclusion from all juried PWCS exhibitions. 

Exhibition Catalog 

The 2023 International Exhibition will once again feature a printed catalog of accepted artwork and award winners. The catalog is a wonderful addition to our 123rd exhibition and will be sent to all participants following the close of the exhibition (note: International exhibitors will receive a pdf version). 

In the past we had a grant to help us pay for the catalog; however, that came to an end in 2019. If you can, a small donation towards catalog production will be appreciated. To make your donation please follow this link pwcs.wildapricot.org/exhibitions/123rd-International-Exhibition

Signature Membership 

An Associate Member in good standing of the Philadelphia Water Color Society will become a Signature Member after exhibiting in two International Exhibitions. An Associate Member cannot have an interruption in membership between the first and second acceptance to validate Signature Membership. Signature Members in good standing may use the initials “PWCS” after their name. 

Questions? 

If you have any questions, you can use the online form on the 123rd International Exhibition webpage. You can also visit the Philadelphia Water Color Society website to learn about Digital Entry Preparations and check your membership status. 

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on September 14, 2023.

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 (August 21, 2023.)
  • 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 PWCS or this Prospectus, please contact Dennis Murphy ([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.