Call Description

The Colored Pencil Society of America proudly presents Explore This! 22, the prestigious annual online juried international exhibition which celebrates the creativity achieved by combining colored pencil with other media or alternative drawing supports. 

Important Dates

• Deadline for entries: 11/15/2025
• Acceptance list posted at www.cpsa.org 1/15/2026
• Show opens online and awards announced 2/1/2026

Non-refundable Entry Fees

• CPSA members $20 (current member as of this entry)
• Non-members $25 (sorry no refund should you choose the non-member fee by mistake)

Awards

• $2,000 cash award for Best of Show and EXPY Award
• Up to 15 smaller cash amounts and product awards

Specifications

• Please review the Explore This! prospectus for details about specifications.
• Each artist may submit up to two (2) works of art. CPSA allows the juror to choose only one work per artist.

Application Requirements

Failure to comply with specifications stated in the prospectus is cause for disqualification, meaning the entry is not considered by the juror and/or is removed from the exhibition. Penalties for non-compliance may also apply.

Eligibility Criteria

• Explore This! is open to living artists worldwide age 18 or older.
• Entries must be predominantly colored pencil
• Work must include some other technique, surface, or element NOT allowed for the CPSA International Exhibition such as:
  • Another medium such as ink, watercolor, pastel, acrylics, etc.
  • Collage or montage
  • Artist-prepared surface
  • Three-dimensional surface
• Work must be completed on or after January 1, 2023.
• Artwork must be solely the original concept, design, and execution of the submitting artist.
• Reference photos used in creating the artwork must be taken personally by the submitting artist.
• Reference photos taken by anyone other than the submitting artist must be incidental to and not the main focus of the artwork.
• Artwork created as a pastiche (parody or imitation of another artwork) is allowed provided the work is sufficiently altered to make the parody obvious and the original is not copyrighted.

Not allowed

• Work done with 100% colored pencil on a single 2D surface, regardless of size.
• Work which has appeared in any previous CPSA Explore This! exhibition.
• Collaborative work executed by more than one artist, including classroom projects and exercises.
• Work based on or copied from AI-generated images.
• Work produced by applying colored pencil exactly over a printed or digital image, though you may create a completely different drawing over a printed digital image or photograph.
• Work constructed from actual colored pencils.
• Alteration of the artwork after submission of the entry.

For More Information

Before entering, read the full Explore This! 22 prospectus at 2026ETProspectus_Final.pdf