Call Description

PROSPECTUS:

2026 West Texas Watercolor Society Signature Show

Hosted by the Buddy Holly Center

1801 Crickets Avenue, Lubbock, Texas 79401

The West Texas Watercolor Society (WTWS) has been producing art events for 60 years.  WTWS is a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to build community by bringing people together to experience, learn about, and enjoy the art of watercolor and other forms of water media.  WTWS was organized in 1962 and granted a Charter by the State of Texas on November 13, 1979.

The goals of Signature exhibits are to encourage more artists to search for excellence in painting, to enable the artists to evaluate their progress as they compete with their peers, and to enrich the community by showcasing water media art produced by artists of Texas and nationally. 

With acceptance into three Signature exhibits within a lifetime, and continuous paid membership in the West Texas Watercolor Society (WTWS), the artists may use the letters WTWS following their signature.

Eligibility

The exhibition is open to all members. Dues of $40 for 2026-2027 must be paid for eligibility.  Dues can be paid online at Membership Dues - West Texas Watercolor Society dues and must be received by the deadline of Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) when registration for the show closes.  

Entry Fees: $20 for the 1st entry and $15 per entry thereafter with a maximum of three entries.  Entry fees must be paid online from the Call for Entry (CaFÉ) website Callforentry.org.  Applying is a three-step process: 1) Upload your paintings to My Portfolio, 2) Apply to the 2026 WTWS Signature Show at Apply to Calls, 3) Pay your entry fee at Checkout.

Awards: Over $1,500 in cash awarded at the discretion of the Juror.

Exhibit Catalog: All artwork juried into the show will be part of a color catalog for the exhibit.  A copy of the catalog will be provided to each artist included in the exhibit.

Juror of Selection and Awards: Janet Rogers has been a working professional artist for over 45 years, and is a National Instructor, conducting workshops across the United States and Europe.  She is a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Florida Watercolor Society, as well as others, winning many awards for her paintings.  As well as being a popular National Instructor, she has demonstrated extensively for various groups and exhibitions. 
Four instructional DVDs have been filmed on Janet’s work (produced and available through Cheap Joes Art Stuff).  She is also featured in published articles, books and on YouTube. 
“I love the qualities of watercolor – its fluid nature.  To me, the interaction of artist with the medium is like a dance – full of motion, feeling and expression.  I love to watch the painting develop and to discover new color and composition.  As a teacher, i would like to enable students to find their connections with watercolor in a new and expressive way.”   Janet Rogers, AWS

Application Requirements

Images - Minimum: 1, Maximum: 3
Total Media - Minimum: 1, Maximum: 3

Entry Fee (Entry Fee): $20

Media Fee (per sample over minimum): $15

Show Guidelines and Restrictions – Please pay close attention.

1. Each artist may enter up to three paintings. There is no guarantee of acceptance.
2. All paintings must be done using 90% Water media (watercolor, gouache, acrylics, watercolor inks, acrylic inks, egg tempera, watercolor pencils, and watercolor crayons) on paper, yupo, Tyvek, water media board or canvas.  Also accepted are artworks on paper permanently adhered to a canvas or board, sealed, and protected with an archival varnish product.  Framed canvas/board, Water media board with side wood panels, and Gallery-wrapped canvas with sides finished to complement the painting are all acceptable.
3. Artwork on paper framed under glass: Media must be under clear glass, unscratched Plexiglass, acrylic glass, with a mat or floated, using artist’s choice of mat color.
4. All work must be original, completed within the last two years, without instructor supervision.  Class or workshop art, as well as artwork entered in a previous WTWS judged show are not eligible.
5. Collage paintings, created with totally white papers, hand-painted by the artist with water media are accepted.
6. No “found” / colored/preprinted commercial papers, and no “found” objects will be accepted.
7. No photo references that are derivatives of any other person’s photography, artwork, workshop sketches or demonstrations are accepted.  If you use a photo reference, it must have been taken by you unless you have permission to use the photo image.
8. NO oils, water-soluble oils, alcohol inks or computer-generated art, digital media or photography are accepted.
9. No Diptychs or triptychs are accepted.
10. No paintings of nudes are accepted.
11. The minimum accepted painted image size is 100 square inches. (e.g., 10” h x 10” w)
12. Maximum outside framed size is 40” in either direction.  Simple frames are encouraged.  Damaged frames will not be hung.
13. All artworks must be ready to hang with wire.  No saw-tooth hangers.  Please use D-rings instead of screw eyes.
14. Entries received after the designated hand-delivery or shipped art deadlines will not be judged.
15. Art must hang in the show for the duration of the show.  To do otherwise puts our show venues in a bind and ruins the integrity of the exhibit.
16. Works which do not meet these specifications or differ substantially from the image submitted will be disqualified.  WTWS reserves the right to refuse any entry.

CaFÉ Online Entry Process: Follow directions to first upload your image(s) under the My Portfolio tab of the CaFÉ website, Callforentry.org.  Click on Apply to Calls and follow directions to submit your work(s) to the 2026 WTWS Signature Show.  

Digital Image Submissions to CaFÉ: Digital image submissions should show the painted image only, not the mat or the frame.  Only a JPEG or JPG format is permitted, with an image size under 5MB, and a minimum of 1,200 pixels on the longest side.  For complete specifications, tutorials, and resources, please go to the CaFÉ Help/Uploading Media menu.

Hand-delivered vs. Shipped Art: The local accepted artists are responsible for delivery of their artwork to Buddy Holly Center (BHC) for installation and for picking up at the conclusion of the exhibition, per the specific dates and times noted in the Calendar of Events.  WTWS and BHC cannot receive hand-delivered art before the drop-off window of Tuesday, July 28th between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and are not responsible for the secure storage of art not picked up during the pick-up window of Sunday, September 20th at 4 p.m. or Monday, September 21st between 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Please check in with Buddy Holly Staff before retrieving artwork. Shipped work will be shipped back to artists on Friday, September 25, 2026.

Remote accepted artists need to ship their art via Fed Ex or UPS (or their preferred shipper) directly to Buddy Holly Center, 1801 Crickets Avenue, Lubbock, Texas 79401, to be received by the deadline of Tuesday, July 28th, 2026.  All shipping costs, including providing the return shipping label with artwork are the sole responsibility of the artist.  You are encouraged to insure your art when shipping.  WTWS and BHC will not be responsible for damage incurred prior to reaching Buddy Holly Center.  Your artwork will be repackaged and returned -shipped as received, employing the same shipping materials provided by the artist. 

Sales/Commission: Artists are welcome to sell their artwork but are not required to sell.  If selling, the artist must additionally present the W9 Form and City Vendor Form by uploading and completing these forms from pDwX6TJjaBatzfH4ECa0iNxfXqmzAfMUHZTcVAdm.pdf (lubbock.tx.us) and providing a copy of your Texas Sales Tax ID Certificate. You can apply for a sales tax permit using our Texas Online Sales Tax Registration Application System, or print AP-201, Texas Application for Sales and Use Tax Permit (PDF) from the Texas Sales and Use Tax Forms webpage and mail it to the Comptroller’s office at:

Comptroller of Public Accounts
111 E. 17th St.
Austin, TX 78774-0100

The Buddy Holly Center will receive 30% commission on all paintings sold.  The BHC will declare the sales tax.   No price changes will be admissible after acceptance into the show.  

Liability: West Texas Watercolor Society and Buddy Holly Center will exercise due care in handling of artwork submitted to this exhibition, West Texas Watercolor Society and Buddy Holly Center will not be responsible for any loss or damage to your artwork.  You are responsible for insuring your painting.

Use of Images: Acceptance into the WTWS Signature Fall Show gives WTWS and BC the right to use images of your artwork for promotional purposes.  Digital archives of accepted entries will be retained by WTWS to be used for the exhibition printed materials, social media, and website.

Acceptance: WTWS has the right to refuse any painting that does not meet the Prospectus Guidelines and Restrictions or is not accurately represented by the image submitted.  Artwork must hang in the show for the duration of the show.

Notification: Artists will receive an email notification of works accepted or not accepted into the Exhibition.

General Questions: Questions regarding the Exhibition and entry may be emailed to: Exhibit Vice President Martha Hunnicutt or Nancy Neill, at wtws@wtws.org

For technical support with the online entry process at https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/

Agreement: Entering this exhibition shall constitute an agreement on the part of the artist to accept all terms and conditions presented herein, as well as the mutual requirements as to the artwork presented and sold. 

My Agreement: I certify that I am a member in good standing.  I have read and understand the Guidelines and Restrictions, and my painting(s) is(are) eligible for entry.  I will not hold Buddy Holly Center (BHC) or the West Texas Watercolor Society (WTWS) responsible for damage or loss of my artwork.  I understand that I must assume liability and it is my responsibility to purchase insurance for my own artwork. By submitting my work, I agree to these terms.  (Please keep a copy of this Prospectus for your records.)

Eligibility Criteria

The 2026 WTWS Signature Show is open to all WTWS members in good standing. Membership Dues of $40 for 2026-2027 must be paid for eligibility. Dues can be paid online Membership Dues - West Texas Watercolor Society (wtws.org).

Membership dues must be received before 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Saturday, June 20, 2026, when registration for the show closes.  Before submitting entries, make sure you have paid your membership dues at Membership Dues - West Texas Watercolor Society (wtws.org).