IWS ANNUAL EXHIBITION PROSPECTUS
iowa watercolor society
Annual Exhibition
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PROSPECTUS
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2023 Iowa Watercolor Society 46th Annual Juried Exhibition
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All registration entries must be compliant with the following Prospectus information.
The Registration Entry Form link is located at the end of the Prospectus.
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The 2023 Iowa Watercolor Society's 46th Annual Juried Exhibition runs from August 13 through September 24, 2023.
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Venue:
La Poste
1219 Warford Street
Perry, IA 50220
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Important Dates:
05/01/2023 Online registration opens.
06/20/2023 Online registration closes.
07/10/2023 Accept/decline notifications emailed to artists.
08/11/2023 Shipped art to be received by Linda Schanus (see shipping address below).
08/13/2023 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. - Art drop off at La Poste, Exhibition opens!
09/24/2023 Annual meeting, luncheon, awards presentation, and demonstration.
09/24/2023 Exhibition closes, art pick up for both 2022 Traveling Show and works not selected
for the 2023 Traveling Show.
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Review all Requirements Carefully
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ENTRY ELIGIBILLITY:
1. IWS Member Only (visit iowawatercolorsociety.org to become a member).
2. ORIGINAL ARTWORK ONLY: No supervision, no class work, no copies of other
artists’ work, and no work from photographs not created by the artist.
3. Paintings must have been completed within the last two years and not previously
exhibited in an IWS show.
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ELIGIBLE MATERIALS:
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Watercolor Soluble Pigments and Media: watercolor, gouache, egg tempera, casein and watercolor pencils.
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Only removable resists.
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Pencil used for preliminary sketching only-not used for shading of any kind.
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Papers and Supports: watercolor paper, yupo, and similar synthetic papers, illustration board, rice paper, canvas paper, and board (note: all art must be framed according to stated rules).
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INELIGIBLE MATERIALS:
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No water-soluble pastel, charcoal, ink, graphite, acrylic or oil paints.
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No gallery wrapped or stretched canvas, clayboard, Tyvek, metal or glass.
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No collage.
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HOW TO ENTER: Entry forms and photos of paintings (images) must be submitted on-line.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS – DIGITAL IMAGE PREPARATION:
1. Each artist may submit 1 or 2 paintings.
2. The photograph of your artwork must be of the unframed, un-matted image. Use filtered natural light, as flash
may be too harsh.
3. The painting’s photo orientation must be correct - i.e., the top of the painting must be up when the image is
opened (not upside down or laying on its side).
4. Make sure your image is it’s best. Your image will be used for initial jurying, and for publicity throughout the
following year.
5. Images of your artwork MUST be within the range of 1.5 MB (new minimum) to 20 MB (maximum)! IF YOUR
IMAGE FILE NEEDS RESIZING ASSISTANCE - SEND AN EMAIL REQUESTING SUPPORT TO:
iwsexhibit@gmail.com.
6. File must be in .jpg format (no other formats will be accepted).
7. File(s) submitted on the Annual Exhibit entry form must conform to the following IWS naming convention:
Title.jpg. Prior to submission, rename file, if necessary, in preparation for uploading the file image to IWS.
Example - If painting title is Walk In The Park before uploading your file - file name must already be named
and uploaded as: WalkInThePark.jpg
8. After your painting images are uploaded, the 'Success' screen should appear with a "Your form has been
successfully submitted. Thank you for your time." message. A link is provided to print a receipt (optional) with
all painting upload(s) details.
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Image files not conforming to the IWS naming convention will not be submitted for consideration. For any questions, please email the IWS Exhibition Chair at iwsexhibit@gmail.com
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EXHIBITION ENTRY FEES:
One of the benefits of IWS membership is that there is no entry fee for the annual exhibition. All members are encouraged to take advantage of this benefit and submit up to two paintings for the annual exhibition.
PRESENTATION:
The following requirements must be met for all accepted artwork to be exhibited.
1. Mat board must only be White or Off-White.
2. Thin color liner is acceptable.
3. Maximum frame size not to exceed 46” x 33.”
4. A sturdy wire hanger must be attached to the back of the frame and art must be ready to hang.
5. Paintings must be protected by non-breakable acrylic (i.e. plexiglas). Glass is not acceptable.
DELIVERY METHODS:
In Person - Paintings may be delivered in person on 08/13/2023 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. to:
La Poste
1219 Warford Street
Perry, IA 50220.
Shipped – Paintings may be shipped to be received by 08/11/2023 to:
Linda Schanus
Attn: IWS 46th Annual Juried Exhibition
1705 NE Sherman Ct.
Ankeny, IA 50021
Prior to shipping, be certain to attach a label to the back of your painting(s) listing: title, price (or NFS), artist name, address, phone and email. Also, send an email to iowawatercolorsociety@gmail.com and let us know you are shipping your art.
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AWARDS:
Cash, gift certificates, and additional awards. Award jurying will be from actual paintings. The Juror will select both cash and honorable mention awards. The judge’s decisions are final.
To qualify for the Transparent Watercolor Award the painting must display the qualities of the definition of transparent: No white paint is accepted. The whites are the paper left unpainted. Please reference the definition of transparent watercolor below for this award.
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The definition of 'transparent' from the Webster’s Dictionary: “having the property of transmitting light without appreciable scattering so that bodies lying beyond are seen clearly.” It is the white of the paper and the application of the layers of paint that produce transparency in watercolor paintings. All watercolor pigments applied in a transparent manner allow light to penetrate the layers of glazes and reflect light back through the pigments from the paper below. Use of cadmiums and others opaque pigments are acceptable when they are applied in a transparent manner.
All Transparent Watercolor Award paintings must be on watercolor paper. No Yupo, rice paper, or canvas allowed.
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SIGNATURE STATUS:
Signified by IWS, is awarded after acceptance into an IWS Annual Exhibition three times.
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SALES:
All sales will be handled by the artist. LaPoste, Inc. or the Iowa Watercolor Society will not take any commissions from the sale. Paintings are to be sold at the price stated by the artist on the entry form. If not for sale, check NFS on the entry. Traveling show sales are handled by the artist and the paintings sold must continue in the traveling show until the conclusion of the final exhibition of the traveling show.
INSURANCE:
Paintings are not insured by LaPoste, Inc. or the Iowa Watercolor Society. It is at the discretion of the artist to provide their own insurance.
AGREEMENT:
No substitutions are permitted after the selections have been made by the judge. Iowa Watercolor Society will assume the privilege of photographing, using any submission photos of paintings, or paintings entered in the exhibition for the purpose of publicity or reproduction in the exhibition catalog, the IWS website, the IWS Facebook page or other IWS social media pages.
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