Call Detail
Call Overview
Days remaining to deadline: 56
Entry Fee (Entry Fee): $50.00
Work Sample Requirements
Images | Minimum:Min. 1, Maximum:Max. 3
Total Samples | Minimum:Min. 1, Maximum:Max. 3
Eligibility: National
State: Texas
Event Dates: 8/17/26 - 10/6/26
Jury Dates: 7/1/26 - 7/20/26
Call Description
PROSPECTUS
Southwestern Watercolor Society 63rd Annual Juried Membership Exhibition 2026
The Southwestern Watercolor Society (SWS) is a prestigious national organization
celebrating its 63rd anniversary, with over 400 members throughout the United States.
Information about SWS may be found on our website at SWSwatercolor.org, a monthly
E-newsletter, and on Facebook.
Click here to download Prospectus
Key Information:
| Venue | SP/N Gallery; University of Texas-Dallas campus 3020 Stewart Drive, Richardson TX 75080 https://bass.utdallas.edu/spn-gallery 972-883-2970 | |
| Qualified Entrants | SWS members only; new members are welcome | Section I below |
| Online Entry Fees | $50 for up to three artworks | Section II below |
| Juror | Stephen Zhang, AWS, NWS | Section III below |
| Awards | Over $6,500 in cash and merchandise credits | Section IV below |
| Exhibition Sales | Buyers may contact the Exhibition Chair to arrange a sale with the Artist: exhibitions@swswatercolor.org. Receipt of payment and delivery of the art to the Purchaser after the close of the exhibition will be the Artist's responsibility. The Artist will be responsible for paying a 30% commission to SWS on any painting that was displayed and sold as the result of the exhibition. The commission supports SWS and its programs. No commission will be collected by Exhibition venue. *Artists may choose to enter a $0.00 sales price in CaFÉ for paintings that are Not for Sale (NFS). Please Note: The Artist is responsible for any taxes. *Artwork must remain on display during the entire exhibit. | Section VIII below |
Important Dates:
Entries Accepted | May 1 - June 30
Entry Deadline | June 30, 11:59pm Central Time
Preview Party Sunday, July 19, 2026; 1:30p.m, - 3:30p.m.
Prichard Hall @ Bentwood Trail Presbyterian
Church; 6000 Bentwood Trail, Dallas TX 75252
Accepted Artists emailed | Email notification by Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Shipped Art Due | Ensure that art is
received Between
Monday, 08/17/26
and Friday,
08/21/26
Ship to I Attn: SP/N Gallery, ℅ Brian Scott
UTD Central Receiving
2860 Facilities Circle
Richardson TX 75080
Painting Drop-Off | Saturday, August 29, 2026; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Exhibition Dates | Friday, September 4, 2026, 11:00 a.m.-Saturday, October 3; 4:00 p.m.
Artwork Retrieval Saturday, October 3; 4:30-6:30pm
Shipped Art Mailed Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Questions Sheilagh Cooper, Exhibition Chair, Exhibitions@swswatercolor.org
Section I: Eligibility:
The SWS Annual Membership Exhibition is open to all SWS members in good standing. (Membership in
SWS also confers eligibility to enter the Western Federation of Watercolor Society’s (WFWS) Annual
Exhibition in 2027.) Current membership dues for 2026-2027 must be paid no later than the close of the exhibition call for entries, June 30, 2026.
● New Member Sign-Up: go to SWSwatercolor.org > JOIN
Membership dues may be paid Online by Credit Card, as the last step of Sign-Up
● Already a member: go to SWSwatercolor.org > MEMBER LOGIN
You can verify your membership or pay dues to renew your membership
Section II: Entry Fees and Registration:
The non-refundable entry fee is $50 for up to three entries.
The entry fee must be paid online through the call for entry (CaFÉ) website Callforentry.org. Applying is a three-stage process:
● Upload your paintings first at My Portfolio
● Apply to the SWS Annual Membership Exhibition at Apply to Calls
● Complete and pay the entry fee at Checkout
Image Requirements:
● Digital image submission should show the painted image only, not the mat or the frame.
● Only a JPEG or JPG format is permitted, with an image size of under 5 MB, and a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side.
● For complete specifications, tutorials and resources, please go to the CaFÉ Help/Uploading Media menu. For further technical support, please call CaFÉ support at 303-629-1166.
III. Juror of Selection and Judge of Awards – Stephen Zhang, AWS, NWS
Juror for both the Selection of accepted paintings and the Selection of awards, Stephen Zhang, AWS, NWS, is a celebrated watercolor artist and Associate Professor of Communication Design at the
University of North Texas (MFA). Stephen is originally from China and trained at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts. Blending Eastern subtlety with Western expressiveness, he embraces watercolor’s dance of control and lets each piece evolve through intuition and unexpected discovery. His luminous paintings have earned prestigious awards from the American Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Watercolor USA, American Illustration, and the Chinese National Art Exhibition. Select works are currently exhibited at the U.S. Embassy in Equatorial Guinea, with features in Watercolor Artist, American Art Collector, International Artist, and more. To learn more about Stephen Zhang, AWS, NWS, go to stephenzhangart.com
SWS is offering a workshop with Stephen Zhang: Tuesday, July 28 - Thursday, July 30, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00
p.m. The workshop location will be in the Dallas area. Registration information and more can be found
on the SWS website: SWSwatercolor.org
Section IV. Awards:
Over $6,500.00 in cash and merchandise will be awarded at the discretion of the Juror, including:
● Naomi Brotherton Best of Show $1,500
● *Edgar A. Whitney Transparent Watercolor Award $1,000
● 1st Place Award $800
● 2nd Place Award $700
● 3rd Place Award $600
Additional cash and merchandise awards will be given.
*The Edward A. Whitney Transparent Award is reserved exclusively for a painting rendered in transparent
watercolor paint applied transparently. All paints sold as watercolor (gouache or another medium) are
considered to be transparent watercolor. No other water media are permitted, including, but not limited
to: acrylic, watercolor pencils, watercolor ground, casein, or collage elements.
Section V. Requirements and Restrictions - Please Pay Close Attention:
| Artwork | Artists may enter up to three paintings, but no more than one entry per artist may be accepted into the show. |
| Artwork must have been painted after January 1, 2024. | |
Original artwork only. (Definition of Originality: From concept to execution, this ‘original’ painting is strictly my own composition, and was not produced under direct instruction. Your source material must be by your own design or your own photograph. No copies or likenesses of another artist’s work will be accepted.) | |
Only paintings consistent with those selected by the Juror will be hung in the exhibition. Substitutions or paintings that deviate from the submitted image as determined by the Standards Committee will be disqualified. No AI (Artificial Intelligence) is allowed to create reference material or any portion of the artwork. | |
| No digital media, photography, prints or reproductions may be a physical part of the painting. | |
| No diptychs or triptychs will be accepted. | |
| No paintings of nudes will be accepted. | |
| Entries received after the drop-off or shipped-art deadlines will not be accepted. | |
| Works previously hung in an SWS or WFWS exhibition are not permitted. Works which have won an award in a National exhibition are not permitted. | |
| Once artwork has been submitted via CaFE, no additional changes can be made. | |
| Substrates | Only paper or Yupo are permitted. |
| Mediums | Watercolor and acrylic paints, inks, gouache, casein, egg tempera, watercolor pencils, and watercolor crayons are permitted. *Please Note: To be eligible for the Edgar A. Whitney Transparent Award, the painting must be rendered using watercolor transparently only; Label your painting medium as “Transparent Watercolor” when entering on Cafe’. |
| Collage | Collage materials must be painted with water media by the artist. Collage build-ups must not be greater than the thickness of the collage paper and must not exceed ¼-inch. |
| Minimum Image Size | The minimum image size permitted is 100 inches squared (h x w), without mat or frame. To figure this, multiply the height of your painting in inches by the width in inches; if the result is equal to or greater than 100, your painting is permissible. |
| Maximum Outside Framed Size | The maximum permitted outside framed size is 46 inches in either direction. |
Frames
| All paintings must be framed. No stretcher wraps without frames will be accepted. Simple frames are encouraged. Damaged frames will not be hung and the artwork will be disqualified from being shown. |
| Framed works must be wired, ready to hang, with backing. No saw-toothed hangers or screw eyes will be accepted. Please use D-rings only. |
| Unvarnished Artwork | Unvarnished artwork must be framed and matted and under clear, unscratched plexiglass. Glass will not be accepted or hung. |
| Mats | Only White single or double mats will be accepted. Colored or beige mats will not be accepted. Mats must be clean without blemishes or damage. |
Varnished Artwork
| Artwork may be sealed with varnish or cold wax in lieu of plexiglass. Sealed work must be free of lint, hair, debris, haziness, or visible brush strokes. |
| A mat is not required for sealed artwork. However, if a sealed painting is matted and not protected by plexiglass, the mat must also be sealed. |
Section VI. Delivery of Accepted Paintings:
Drop-Off - Local artists are responsible for arranging to drop off hand-delivered artwork to the SP/N
Gallery at the University of Texas - Dallas campus on Saturday, August 29, 2026 between 11:30 a.m.
and 1:30 p.m. only. An artist may arrange for another person to deliver the work if they are unable to
deliver it personally. Please ensure that all stipulations of the prospectus are met in advance.
Art Retrieval - Local artists are responsible for promptly picking up hand-delivered artwork from the SP/
N Gallery at the University of Texas - Dallas on Saturday, October 3, 2026; between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
only. SWS and the SP/N Gallery at the University of Texas - Dallas are not responsible for the secure
storage of hand-delivered art not picked up during these times. Exhibited works may be picked up by
someone other than the artist, ONLY with written signed permission of the artist.
Shipped Art - Remote accepted artists must:
• Email Sheilagh Cooper at exhibitions@swswatercolor.org of their intention to ship their artwork,
enabling her to keep close track of arrivals.
• Ship their art via FedEx or UPS (or other preferred shipper) to arrive between Monday, August 17
and Friday, August 21, 2026.
Ship directly to:
Attn: SP/N Gallery, ℅ Brian Scott
UTD Central Receiving
2860 Facilities Circle
Richardson TX 75080
• Do NOT use packing peanuts or loose styrofoam bits to protect your art during transit.
• We recommend the use of AirFloat shipping boxes, as they are robust for shipping, straightforward
to pack and return, and reusable for many future events.
• Ensure that the art is received between Monday, August 17, 2026 and Friday, August 21, 2026. SP/N
Gallery will store the paintings until they are hung. Further shipping instructions will be sent with your
acceptance email.
● IMPORTANT: A pre-paid return shipping label must also be included with the shipped art. Please
make a copy of your shipping label before enclosing in the shipping box and email a copy to:
exhibitions@swswatercolor.org.
Liability - Although SWS will exercise due care in the handling of artwork submitted to this exhibition,
you are responsible to insure your art when shipping for your own protection. SWS, SP/N Gallery and the
University of Texas - Dallas will NOT be responsible for any loss or damage to your artwork. You are
responsible for insuring your artwork whether shipped or dropped-off.
Section VII. SP/N Gallery at the University of Texas - Dallas; Hours:
Sunday Closed
Monday Closed
Tuesday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Thursday 1:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Friday 1:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Parking Information: https://services.utdallas.edu/transit/park/
Section VIII: Art Sales and Pricing:
Artists may choose to enter a $0.00 sales price in CaFÉ for paintings that are Not for Sale (NFS). No
price changes are permissible after acceptance into the show. (Any price changes made after
acceptance will disqualify the painting and it will be removed from the show.) Receipt of payment and
delivery of the art to the purchaser is the responsibility of the Artist. Artwork must remain on display
until the exhibition closes.
Section IX: Accepted Paintings and Signature Membership:
Notification - Artists will receive email confirmation of works accepted or not accepted into the Exhibition
by Tuesday July 21, 2026.
Use of Images - Acceptance into the Annual Membership Exhibition gives SWS the right to use images
of your artwork for promotional purposes. Digital archives of accepted entries will be retained by SWS for
the exhibition catalog, printed materials, the website, and for our permanent collection.
Signature Membership - SWS Signature Membership is earned by having five different paintings
accepted into SWS- or WFWS-sponsored exhibitions.
Section X: Disqualifications and Rights of Refusal:
Artwork that does not meet the Prospectus specifications or differs at all from the CaFÉ image
submitted, as determined by the SWS Standards Committee, will be disqualified. SWS reserves the right
to refuse any entry. Accepted artworks must be presented for hanging and judging, and hang in the
show for the duration of the show.
Failure to meet ANY of the Prospectus specifications will result in the disqualification of your
entry and the ineligibility to enter future SWS exhibitions for two (2) years and the forfeiture of any
awards.
Section XI: If You Need Assistance:
Questions regarding the Exhibition and entry may be emailed to Sheilagh Cooper, Exhibition Chair, exhibitions@swswatercolor.org
For technical support with the on-line entry process, call CaFÉ support at 303-629-1166 or go online at
Callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/.
Section XII. AGREEMENT:
Entering this exhibition shall constitute an agreement on the part of the artist to accept all rules and conditions as set forth in this Prospectus.
Application Requirements
Please review artwork requirements and restrictions in Section V.
Eligibility Criteria
The SWS Annual Membership Exhibition is open to all SWS members in good standing. See Section I.