Watercolor Society of Alabama
Watercolor Society of Alabama

National Online Showcase ‘26

February 3 – April 3, 2026 | Online
Deadline is December 12th. Members Only.
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Once Upon A Time There Was A Boy Who Loved Trains by Stephen Edwards
Open Calls

Opens November 3, 2025.

Open for entry on November 3, 2025.
Deadline for entry: December 12, 2025
WSA is pleased to announce its Annual National Online Showcase. This online competition is a great opportunity to exhibit at reduced expenses and requirements. For example, no framing, no size limits, no shipping, or hand delivering of painting(s). All images juried into this National Online Showcase will be posted on the WSA website for one year under Exhibition Galleries.

Entry Fee

  • $45 for up to 2 entries per artist.
  • Non-members can enter by becoming members, paying the $45 entry fee plus yearly member dues of $45.
  • If you have not paid your current membership dues, or if you would like to join as a new member, select Enter as New Member under the Membership heading in your entry.
  • Payment may be made by credit card. Cards that are accepted - Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JBC, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. ShowSubmit does NOT ACCEPT PayPal.
Paying by check
You can set up your account in ShowSubmit and enter your images and information, then pay by check. IF YOU CHOOSE THIS OPTION-You will need to contact the WSA show Director. Your entry will not be marked complete until WSA has received your payment and notified ShowSubmit. This must happen BEFORE THE DEADLINE!

Eligibility

  • Open to WSA members (minimum age of 18) whose dues are current and who reside within the United States.

    See the Membership section below for more information.
  • Entries must be painted after JANUARY 1, 2023, and not previously juried into any WSA exhibition.
  • Only one painting will be selected from each artist. Note that paintings juried into this Exhibition will not be eligible for any other WSA Exhibition.
ALLOWED:
  • Only original composition and artwork by the artist is accepted. See FAQ: on how WSA defines the original art requirement for entries atwatercolorsocietyofal.org/faqs
  • Watercolor, acrylic, casein, gouache, egg tempera, metallic, watercolor ink, watercolor pencil, and watercolor crayon.
  • Watercolor paper, watercolor or illustration board, watercolor canvas (without added medium) and clay board (example, Aqua board), Yupo or other synthetic paper.
  • Collage items: original work by the artist on one or a combination of watercolor paper, white rice paper without inclusions, white tissue paper, Yupo or other synthetic papers.
NOT ALLOWED:
  • Textured medium, textured applications (e.g., with palette knife, applied textured papers).
  • Raised paint. Raised paint when applying any of the allowed media, e.g., acrylic, indicates the application is not aqueous enough.
  • Diptychs or triptychs.
  • Pastels.
  • Class or workshop paintings, copies, computer generated art, digital images, prints or reproductions.
  • Copies or likeness of another’s work (i.e., painting, drawing, photograph, digital image, or prints).
  • Original artwork derived from any published source or other artist’s work.
  • Canvas Supports, except Watercolor Canvas.
  • Varnished or waxed paintings. “Varnish” is interpreted to mean any covering that obstructs the viewer from telling that the painting is water media.
  • Alcohol Ink.
  • Any digital or Artificial Intelligence (AI) produced artwork.

Membership

The WSA 2025 fiscal year started October 1, 2025. All entrants must be current 2026 fiscal year members of the Watercolor Society of Alabama. Nonmembers may join WSA and enter the competition.

There are a few methods to join or renew membership:
  1. You may join or renew membership at any time online using PayPal: Join WSA. You will only be paying the membership fee.
  2. You can join/or renew when filling out the Exhibition Entry Form – select Enter as New Member under the Membership heading in your entry.

    Please note: payment by PayPal will not be accepted through ShowSubmit, only credit cards, and those listed for ShowSubmit.
  3. If you wish to join WSA by mail, the membership form may be downloaded, printed and filled out: Member Application Form

    Make check payable to WSA in the amount of $45 and mail with completed form to Membership Chair.

    Mail to:
    Heike Covell, Membership Chair,
    11012 Willingham Drive,
    Huntsville AL 35803-2073.

Juror of Selection and Awards

John Salminen

John Salminen earned his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in art from the University of Minnesota. He lives and works in Duluth, Minnesota. John teaches workshops, makes presentations and participates in painting events around the world.

John is a signature member of numerous art societies in the United States, including: the American Watercolor Society – Dolphin Fellowship; the National Watercolor Society; and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America – Distinguished Master. He has served on the board of the TWSA and is a current board member of the American Watercolor Society. John has won more than 250 awards in national and international exhibitions, including the AWS Gold Medal two times, the Silver Star First Place Award in the National Watercolor Society Exhibition two times, the Gold and Silver Medal in Allied Artists of America and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America first place award three times. He has had 34 one-person exhibitions in the United States, as well as several small group shows.

John is the President of the International Masters of Watercolour Association centered in Shanghai China and is a member of top organizations in China and Australia. He is an honorary member of the Jiangsu Watercolor Research Institute in China and the first American ever to be awarded membership in the Australian Watercolour Institute. Among other awards, John has received the Shanghai Biennial Award, The Pakistan Lifetime Achievement Award and the Thailand Ministry of Culture and the Arts award. He has participated in fifty-seven invitational international exhibitions in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Mexico, Pakistan, Canada, Italy, England, Belgium, Equador and Australia.

John’s work is included in permanent collections in Asia and Europe as well as in numerous private and corporate collections around the world.

John has served as juror and/or judge of over 90 national and international exhibitions. His work has been featured in many articles in eight major national and international magazines and in forty-two books in the United States, Europe, Australia, Russia and Asia. A retrospective book of his paintings, John Salminen Master of the Urban Landscape was published by North Light Books. Creative Catalyst has published two teaching DVD’s, Abstraction Through Design and Realism Through Design. He is currently working on a new DVD with Streamline and Creative Catalyst, combining both abstraction and realism.

Awards

The Juror of Awards will make the following awards from the selected images displayed in the exhibition: Recognition of Excellence: First Place $500; Second Place $300; Third Place $100; plus, five Merit Awards of $50 each. Each artist with a painting selected for this Exhibition will receive a digital Certificate of Recognition.

How to enter

Follow all instructions carefully. Print and retain this prospectus for future reference. Begin by preparing the digital images. Keep in mind that these images are what the Juror views for acceptance into the exhibition. For more information on the entry process, please see the Entry Guide.
  • All entries must be submitted online. NO email/postal mail entries accepted. Successful completion of your online entry will be acknowledged with an automated notification of your entry data from the website.
  • If you have a problem submitting your entry online, contact Nancy Paden at [email protected]

Digital Image Requirements

  • Artists must submit digital JPEG files.
  • One image per artwork may be submitted (up to 2 artworks per artist).
  • Color must be accurate for website Showcase Gallery.
  • Images must be cropped to exclude frames, mats & background and must be correctly oriented (vertical or horizontal).

    (See How to Photograph Art and How to Prepare Images and other tips at Resources/Tips on watercolorsocietyofal.org)
  • Prepare your digital images before filling out the entry form. Save these files on your computer where you can locate the image(s) to upload when completing the entry form online.
  • Changes/substitutions to entries can be made by you at your account of ShowSubmit up until the deadline. No changes after the deadline.
For more information, please see the Image and Filename Specifications section below.

Sales

Paintings may be priced for sale or not for sale (NFS). Changes in price or NFS status are not permitted following acceptance. We will forward any inquiries to the contact email address you provided with your entry. The artist will handle all aspects of the sale of their painting.

Agreement

Submission of this (these) image(s) of the painting(s), if accepted by the Juror of Selection, shall constitute an Agreement on the part of the artist to comply with the conditions set forth in this Prospectus, including the following:
  1. Copyright: The artist retains all copyrights to their artwork without exception
  2. No work accepted may be withdrawn prior to the close of the exhibition.
  3. Permission to reproduce the painting for educational or publicity purposes is granted.
  4. I realize if my work is selected and I withdraw, or it does not meet eligibility requirements set forth in the prospectus including that it has not been exhibited in another WSA show, I will be disqualified immediately. Awards or certificates will be rescinded, and I will not be allowed to enter WSA online exhibitions for up to two years.

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on January 12, 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 (December 12, 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 WSA or this Prospectus, please contact Walt Costilow ([email protected]) or Rick Robertson ([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.