14th annual Pastel 100 Competition (2012)

Considered one of the most relevant art competitions for pastel artists all over the world, offering them the chance of having their work recognized and seen by the public and fellow artists from several countries, the annual Pastel 100 competition is again open for submissions.

 Following what has been usual in previous ones, the 2012 edition allows participants to enter in as many categories as they wish. Each category will be juried and the best works will be awarded with cash prizes and art materials.

 The Pastel Journal prizes will be awarded as follows:

$5000 cash for the Pastel Journal Grand Prize Award
$2500 cash for the Pastel Journal Gold Medal Award
$1500 cash for the Pastel Journal Silver Medal Award
$1000 cash for the Pastel Journal Bronze Medal Award

 The Ruth Richeson/Unison Pastels special award will be attributed to an artist, who will take home a set of Unison pastels (324 pieces, value $1,800) + $750 worth of Richeson Co. products.

 As mentioned before, artists are able to enter as many categories as they wish.
The 14th annual Pastel 100 Competition offers five categories, each one juried by a renowned pastel artist: Landscape & Interior—Liz Haywood-Sullivan; Portrait/Figure—Alain Picard; Still Life/Floral—Anne McGrory; Animal/Wildlife—Sandy Byers;Abstract/Non-objective—Jennifer Gardner



The Jack Richeson/Unison Pastels Category Awards:


■5 First Place Awards—valued at $500 72 piece Unison Pastel set, plus pastel surfaces

■5 Second Place Awards—valued at $250 36 piece Unison Pastel set, plus pastel surfaces

■5 Third Place Awards—valued at $150 18 piece Unison Pastel set, plus pastel surfaces

■5 Fourth Place Awards—valued at $100 36 piece Richeson soft pastel set, plus pastel surfaces

■5 Fifth Place Awards—valued at $50 18 piece Richeson pastel set, plus pastel surfaces


 All top prize winners and place winners will receive features in Pastel Journal (April 2013 issue).

70 honourable mentions will be awarded and an image and information about each painting will be published in Pastel Journal.

 The 14th annual Pastel 100 Competition is open to all artists worldwide, with 16 years of age or older.
Submited work must be at least 80% soft pastel; no oil pastels. Hard pastels are eligible.
All works must be original in concept and cannot be based on published material or other artists’ work. Paintings executed in a workshop under another artist‘s supervision or paintings based on another person’s photograph (even if it’s copyright-free) are NOT eligible.
Employees or associates of F+W Media, Inc., Jack Richeson & Co. Inc., or their immediate families may not enter.
Work previously published in a national publication or receiving an award at a national-level exhibition at the time of submission to this contest is not eligible.

 Entries can be made online or via regular mail. All digital files submitted via regular mail must be accompanied by an Official entry form. Participants that choose to enter in more than one category must include a separate sheet that gives the title and dimensions of each image and titles of the images on the CD must match the titles on that sheet. One CD can be used for all entries. CDs will not be returned.
The file format must be JPEG and slides are not accepted.
Artists selected for the Top 100 will be contacted about sending a high-res replacement.

 Each entry must be accompanied by $20 per image, payable through credit card number and signature, check or money order (in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank). A single check can be used to cover all entries. There will be a $10 charge for returned checks or declined credit cards. Credit cards will be charged within 90 days of contest deadline. Charge will appear as “F+W Contests.”

 Entries must be postmarked or submitted online no later than 11:59 pm EST August 15, 2012.

 Winners will be notified by October 31, 2012. The results will not otherwise be made public until they are published in Pastel Journal (April 2013 issue).

 As usual, The Art Inquirer advises you to carefully read all the submission rules before submiting your work in order to avoid disapointment due to a single rule that you missed.