Tucson Pastel Society
Tucson Pastel Society

The Power of Pastel

Juried Webshow March 9 – July 1, 2026 | Online
Deadline is February 20th. Open to all artists.
2025 First Place, By The Midway by Jeff Slemons
2025 First Place, By The Midway by Jeff Slemons
Open Calls

Opens November 15, 2025.

Open for entry on November 15, 2025.
Deadline for entry: February 20, 2026
The 2026 TPS Juried Exhibition will be displayed on the TPS Website,
tucsonpastelsociety.org. This is an online exhibition only and no work will be
shipped.

Awards

Total of $4000 cash awards.

Eligibility

Open to all artists.

Eligible Work

Please read carefully to make sure your work meets the following entry requirements.
  • All work must be original pastel paintings completed since January 1, 2023.
  • Works must be in dry pastel. No oil pastels. The top layer of the painting should be at least 80% dry application of pastel.
  • Work cannot have won any award in a national or international open juried pastel show by the time of the submission deadline for TPS Power of Pastels.
  • Work cannot be exhibited in any other national or international open juried pastel show concurrently, whether online or in person.
  • Work that has been accepted into TPS, without winning an award, or work that has won an award in a member-only show other than TPS, is still eligible for entry.
  • Artists are strongly discouraged from submitting works that appear to duplicate, or be closely derivative of a painting previously accepted into any TPS, national, or international juried show.
  • No portion of the artwork or source material may be created or referenced using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  • Work must be original, not copied from other artists or published materials, and from your own reference. Any reference provided by an instructor is not eligible, including an instructor-provided photo, still life setup or model setup.
  • Accepted paintings must be identical to the image submitted for entry. No substitutions, copies, adjustments, repairs, or any other modification to the painting is allowed after the entry image is submitted.
  • The artist must provide his/her original source material upon request. Any work that cannot be verified will be removed from the show.
  • Paintings of nudes will be considered for acceptance.
  • Work may be for sale. NFS is acceptable.
  • Failure to meet any of the requirements for eligibility may result in the artwork not being juried.
  • TPS reserves the right to exclude from exhibitions any artwork deemed offensive, or any artwork that violates the laws of the United States, or of state or local governments.

Entry Fee

  • Members: $45.00 for the first 3 images and $10.00 for each additional image for members.
  • Non-Members: $55.00 for the first 3 images and $10.00 for each additional image for non-members.
  • Up to 5 images may be submitted by an individual artist.
  • Entry fees are not refundable and must be paid by the entry deadline.
You may join the Tucson Pastel Society at this link: Join - Tucson Pastel Society.

Notification

  • A maximum of ONE (1) painting per artist will be accepted into the exhibit.
  • All Artists will receive notification by email and through their ShowSubmit account when the jurying and judging are complete. Please add [email protected] to your safe senders list to ensure email delivery.
  • The artist retains copyright to their image(s), however permission to reproduce the artist's work for TPS for marketing and publicity purposes prior, during the show, and for future TPS event promotions are deemed given by the artist with the acceptance of their work.
  • By entering the exhibition, you agree that you have read and will abide by all rules outlined in this prospectus.
Please see the Additional Notification Information section below for more information.

Notice of Payment of Awards

All award recipients will be paid by PayPal transfer. If you are unable to accept payment by this method, you should consider the award a donation to TPS.

Entry Procedures for Artists Outside the United States

Use the same entry procedures listed above. All payments are in USD. Shipping of sold paintings will be the financial and logistical responsibility of the artist.

Sales

Sales are the responsibility of the artist. A 10% donation to TPS will be accepted on all sales through the Website.

Juror of Entries

Dawn Emerson, dawnemerson.com

Dawn is an accomplished pastelist, mixed media painter, printer, juror, and teacher. Passionate about drawing and mark making, she is always in pursuit of innovative ways to express and teach interpretations of mood and energy. Her classes are focused on exploration rather than specific techniques, and her presentation of material makes learning fun, engaging, and powerful. Dawn comes from a background of graphic design and has been teaching for 25 years. She is a signature member in good standing of the Pastel Society of America and the West Coast Pastel Society. She is also a member and part-time instructor for Central Oregon Community College and the Atelier 6000 Printmaking studio in Bend, Oregon. Her studio is located in Terrebonne, Oregon.

Judge of Awards

Painter and California Native, Kim Lordier received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco and University of San Francisco. Lordier’ s art examines the patterns of nature, and how light transforms the mood of an environment. Known for utilizing rich colors and a tapestry-like effect in her mark making, Kim weaves her spiritual relationship with the outdoors into her work. After two decades of painting the Western landscape, from life and in the studio, Lordier brings her lifelong passion for the horse into her compositions. Fascinated with the strength and grace of the horse, she conveys their power and gentility by painting them in their surroundings. Whether portraying working stock, performance horses or wild mustangs, Lordier reflects on the kindred spirit of these beautiful creatures and their relationship to man. Kim is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, the Pastel Society of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and a Distinguished Pastelist of the Pastel Society of the West Coast. A coveted workshop instructor, Kim leads workshops across the country.

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on March 9, 2026.

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 (February 20, 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

For questions about TPS or this Prospectus, please contact Becky Neideffer ([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.