Thank you for considering entry into the 30th Annual National Juried Watermedia Exhibition hosted by the Red River Watercolor Society. The exhibition runs June 1 through June 30, 2023, at West Acres in Fargo, ND.  The Exhibition Juror and Workshop Instructor will be Ron Thurston.  http://www.ronthurston.net/bio.html  

Open to all artists 18-years of age and older, working in two-dimensional water media on a single piece of watercolor paper, Yupo, or other synthetic paper.

ENTRY DEADLINE:  March 9, 2023

March 9: Deadline for Entry

April 3: Notification of Acceptance or Rejection

May 18- May 25: Shipped and hand delivered paintings (location to be determined)

May 27:  Hand Delivery of paintings at West Acres

June 1: Exhibition opens

June 5-8: Workshop with Juror Ron Thurston

June 6: Opening Reception (6:00—8PM)

○     Awards presentation 7 PM

○     The Opening Reception is free and open to all

June 30: Last day of exhibition

July 1: Hand delivered paintings can be picked up at West Acres

July 3: Shipped Paintings returned

EXHIBITION AWARDS

Gold: $1,300

Silver: $1,000

Bronze: $800  

30th Anniversary: $750                                

Excellence: $500

High Water: $500

Red River Regional: $500

Distinction: $300

Merit (5): $100

Merchandise Awards

People’s Choice: Future Advertising Image

A free catalog will be provided to all entrants to the exhibition.

Application Requirements

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

●     Must be 18-years of age and older, working in two-dimensional water media on a single piece of watercolor paper, Yupo, or other synthetic paper.

●     ORIGINAL WORK ONLY. No supervision, no class work, no copies of other artists’ work, and no work from photographs not created by the artist.

●     Paintings must have been completed within the last two years and not previously exhibited in RRWS National Exhibitions.

●     Minimum painting size, excluding mat: 108 square inches (e.g., 9 x 12, 8 x 14, etc.).

EXHIBITION ENTRY FEES 

$40 up to two paintings for non-members

$30 up to two paintings for RRWS members (need paid membership in advance to enter at member rate)

$25 up to two paintings for Signature Status recipients

$10 each additional entry (maximum 2 additional entries)

If an artist only wants to submit one image, submit the same image twice or a blank image for the second entry.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Materials:

●     Acceptable materials: water-soluble media only, to include transparent or opaque watercolor, varnished watercolor, gouache, casein, egg tempera, water based ink, water soluble graphite, and acrylic.

●     All entries must be on a single piece of watercolor paper, Yupo or synthetic paper.

○     Entries must be able to be matted and framed. Matting and framing details are provided in “Requirements for Accepted Work”. 

Ineligible Materials:      

●     No pastels, oil pastels, water-based oils, collage, print images, digital images, or reproductions.

●     No works on canvas.

●     No collage.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTED WORK:

Image Resolution:

Artist will provide a 300 ppi/dpi resolution image of accepted painting via email as directed in the Artist Acceptance Letter.

○     Image must be in pdf or jpeg file format only.

All images must be labeled as follows:

■     LastName, FirstName_TitleofWork

The image will be used for the catalog and publicity purposes.

Matting:

Mat is required. Use only clean white mats.

■     Beige, cream, or off-white will not be accepted.

Thin colored liners no wider than ¼” are acceptable. 

Floating and unhinged matting is not acceptable. 

Framing:

Artwork must be framed and follow RRWS frame requirements. Entries that do not comply with framing criteria will be returned at artist’s expense and disqualified from the exhibition. 

• Frames must be: BLACK WOOD OR METAL ONLY.
• To properly showcase the artwork and provide a more cohesive exhibition, ONLY BLACK FRAMES are allowed. Silver, gold, or wood-tone frames will not be accepted.
• The face of the frame must be 7/8” inch to 2” inches wide.
• Frame measurements cannot exceed 60 inches in any direction.
• PLAIN, SIMPLE, FLAT non-ornate surface
• Curved frames will not be accepted.
• Frames must have square corners
• Frames must be made of sturdy materials that will withstand shipping and hanging.
• Frame must be wired for hanging.
• All wooden frames must use "D" rings (or equivilant) to attach the wire on the back of the painting.
• Sawtooth hangers are not permitted.
• All work must be under plexiglass. Glass is not permitted. Frame must be sturdy enough to support the artwork without buckling the plexiglass.
• Minimum IMAGE size excluding mat: 108 square inches (e.g., 9 x 12, 8 x 14, etc.)

Shipping:

The artist is responsible for the cost of shipping or mailing artwork to and from the designated shipping location. A return shipping label and return postage must be included with the artwork. Artwork may also be hand-delivered to and picked up on the appropriate dates during the scheduled times.

Instructions for shipping will be sent via Artist Acceptance Letter.

Handling Fees:

●     $35/ shipped paintings handling fee.

Fee payable by check, or money order, payable to the Red River Watercolor Society.  Must be included with the shipped painting. Include the check and return shipping label in an envelope attached to the back of the painting on the hanging wire. 

If any damage occurs in shipping, you will be contacted immediately.

●     $15/ hand-delivery fee. 

Check, or money order is due at time of hand delivery of painting.

All fees must be paid in full prior to acceptance into the following year's exhibition.

Sales:

A 30% donation to RRWS is suggested on sales. 

Once an image is submitted for entry in RRWS Exhibition, purchase price or not for sale (NFS) designation may not be altered or the artist is banned from entering RRWS Exhibitions for two years.

Painting withdrawal/removal:

Accepted paintings must not be changed from the submitted digital entry, nor may paintings be withdrawn once accepted, or the artist is banned from entering RRWS Exhibitions for two years.

Work may not be removed from the gallery until the close of the exhibition.