19th Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition 

May 12 – July 1, 2023

Aaron Schuerr, Juror and Awards Judge

Curtis Center for the Arts, 2349 E Orchard Road, Greenwood Village, CO 80121

JUROR AND AWARD JUDGE:

Aaron Schuerr, www.aaronschuerr.com

The PSC is proud to announce that the Juror and Awards Judge is Aaron Schuerr.

From remote villages in Morocco to the high mountains of Montana, Aaron has ranged far and wide to satisfy his artistic wanderlust. He has embarked on solo painting treks across the Grand Canyon and deep into the wilderness of his home state of Montana. In 2020 he was guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, interviewed about his plein air paintings. His work has been featured in publications as diverse as The Daily Telegraph, The Times of London, Bored Panda, My Modern Met, Southwest Art, and Plein Air Magazine. Schuerr is a frequent contributing writer to The Pastel Journal and The Artist Magazine and has penned a cover article for Plein Air Magazine. He is represented by Illume Gallery, Montana Trails Gallery, and Huse/Skelly Fine Art Gallery. Schuerr resides in Livingston, Montana with his wife and three sons. 

“The heart of my work is in the outdoors, absorbing the pattern of light on the landscape. Actors speak of ‘being in the moment’ immersing themselves so totally in story that everything else falls away. The open air is my stage, and in the best moments, I am lost in it. I have no desire to impress you with these paintings. Rather, I strive to share my experience with honesty and without fear.”

ELIGIBILITY:  

The 19th Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition 2023 juried show is open to any pastel artist 18 years of age or older. The PSC Exhibition Policy includes: 

       Work must be original and from your own reference, not copied from other artists or published materials. Any reference provided by an instructor is not eligible, including an instructor-provided photo, still life setup or model setup.

       Duplicate paintings are not accepted and will be rejected. 

       If used in your paintings, collage materials must be created by the artist.

       Artwork’s final surface must be predominantly (80%) traditional dry pastel.

       Work done under supervision in a class or workshop is not eligible.  

       Paintings must have been completed within the last two years and not previously shown in any Pastel Society of Colorado exhibitions. Any painting identified as shown previously in a PSC exhibition will be rejected OR, if discovered after jurying, will remain in the exhibition and the artist will be prohibited from entering future PSC sponsored shows for one year. The painting will also not be eligible for any awards.

       If artwork juried into the show is not delivered, then the artist will be prohibited from entering future PSC sponsored shows for one year. 

ENTRY FEE:  For PSC Members up to 3 paintings may be submitted at a fee of $45 plus an additional3 paintings for $10 each. For Non-Members up to 3 paintings may be submitted at a fee of $60 plus an additional 3 paintings for $15 each.  (Example:  Member enters 3 = $45; 6 = $75; Non-Member 3 = $60, 6 = $105.)  Entry fee is nonrefundable and must be paid at time of entry. Entry deadline is at midnight on the date listed above.  All entries must be made through OnlineJuriedShows.com. PSC membership fees are $40 annually. To become a member of PSC, please go to www.pastelsocietyofcolorado.org/membership.

AWARDS:  Extensive cash and merchandise awards will be presented at the opening reception on the date listed above. All awards are made at the discretion of our judge, including typically over $4,000 in cash awards as well as thousands more in merchandise. All awards will be final with no exchanges or substitutions. 

THIS ENTRY FORM IS CONSIDERED A CONTRACT and must be completely and accurately filled out by providing all requested information regarding the paintings and the artist. Only digital entries will be accepted. 

ONLINE ENTRY: When entering online for the first time, follow the instructions to open an account and create a password. Record your password, because you will reuse it for reviewing the status of your entries and for future entries with OJS. Then after you have logged in, go to “Current Shows” and scroll down to find and select the 19th Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition. If you already have an account, Log in on this page and click Enter This Show above. Follow the directions for entry (there is video on OJS about this, too). When filling out your artwork information for this show, please be sure all information is correct, including spelling of your name and the artwork’s title, as well as pricing of artwork. All information is entered by the artist and is used AS IS for labels and the catalogue. By providing the images and other information, the artist gives permission through this entry for the Pastel Society of Colorado to use the images of the accepted paintings for reference, printed materials, and online postings, as well as in future advertising. At the end of your entry process, payment can be made using a PayPal account or a valid credit card. No changes can be made after the entry deadline.  

ENTERING YOUR IMAGES:

       Entry must be filled out in its entirety. List sizes up to the nearest inch. Submitted images must not include matting or frame. Crop the photos to include only the artwork. Be sure your images are right-side-up. It is recommended to take photos of your artwork prior to signing them.

       Before uploading your images, make sure they are smaller than 4MB, but at least 1920 pixels on the longest side at 72 dpi. Images should be in JPEG format, RGB color space. Help in photographing your work and properly sizing your images can be found at: https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com, click on “Image Help”. If you need help entering your images or are unable to, please click on “Contact Us” on their website. You can also email OnlineJuriedShows@gmail.com, or call 888-666-1351.

       Please add Services@OnlineJuriedShows.com and Manager@OnlineJuriedShows.com to your safe senders list to ensure notifications are received.

NOTIFICATION:  One email, sent through Constant Contact, will be sent with instructions on how you can log into your own account on OnlineJuriedShows.com to obtain your jury status and read your letters. Those instructions can also be found on your payment receipt and at the bottom of this prospectus. This email will be sent no later than Monday, April 3, 2023. 

FRAMING & PRESENTATION:  All works must be delivered framed, glazed, and ready to hang to gallery quality standards, i.e., frames must be suitable for the work and undamaged, with D-ring hangers and wire installed on the frame. Paintings can be with or without mats. White or neutral-hued mats are preferred. Artwork can be floated on black or white mats. Liners or fillets should be ¼ inch and may be colored. Artwork not meeting the above criteria will be returned at the artist’s expense and will not be hung in the show. 

SIZE AND REQUIREMENTS:  Artwork submitted cannot be smaller than 8 inches or larger than 40 inches in any dimension (not including mat and frames). Accepted paintings must be identical to the digital entry. No substitutions or copies are allowed. All work displayed must remain for the duration of the exhibition as listed above.  

SALES:  All work submitted must be for sale. There will be a 40% commission and sales tax will be added to sales (20% commission to the venue, 20% to PSC, and Artists receive 60% of the sale!). Curtis will handle all sales. No work will be released before the close of the exhibit. Artists will be paid for awards and/or sales within 30 days of end of show. 

LIABILITY:  Utmost care will be taken in the handling of entries and paintings. However, neither the Pastel Society of Colorado nor the venue as listed above or their agents will be responsible for loss or damage to any entries or paintings in transit when submitted for this exhibition. Shipping insurance is the responsibility of the submitting artist. Artists must fill out a separate artist agreement/insurance form with Curtis (this will be provided along with the acceptance notification) in order for their artwork to be insured while on display at Curtis.

DELIVERY OF ACCEPTED WORK:  

Paintings must be shipped via FedEx or UPS to the following agent and be received betweenWednesday, May 3 – Friday, May 5 (NO LATER THAN 5/5):

Curtis Center for the Arts

2349 E Orchard Road

Greenwood Village, CO 80121

Attention: Chris Stevens

Include name of artist, address, phone number, e-mail, title of painting, price, on the back of your painting. Also, include a bar-coded, pre-paid return shipping label. Please pack work carefully and insure adequately.  It is recommended to use Airfloat or Masterpak boxes. Artists will be contacted if work arrives damaged so arrangements can be made to repair or reframe as needed by a local framing company. Artists will be responsible for cost of repair/reframe and will be billed directly by the framer. For any questions on shipping and handling, please contact Curtis Center for the Arts.

Note, before shipping your painting take photos of all the steps you took to pack your paintings including the final label. If anything would happen to the paintings, you would have good backup documentation for your insurance claim with the courier.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: REGARDING JURY NOTIFICATIONS - A Note from OnlineJuriedShows.

Please note: Notifications are sent through ConstantContact. On the day of notification, you can do the following, but you will also receive an email notification, sent from ConstantContact, that will state the same.

1.     Go to OnlineJuriedShows.com and log in using your email address and password.

2.     Right above where you just logged in, click “Your Artist Profile.” You are now in Your account! 

3.     Click the show name and you will see your first image. The jury results will be under the thumbnail view.

4.     As you will see, it will say either “This Image has been Accepted or Declined into the show.” Under that sentence, you can click “Read Acceptance (or Declined) Letter.” The letter will then be displayed below.

5.     If you submitted more than one piece in the show, go to the next entered piece in the show by clicking the page number, displayed below the thumbnail image.

NOTE: Please be sure to read your letters in their entirety. Most acceptance letters will ask you to RSVP or will have special instructions you must follow. While you are in your account on OnlineJuriedShows.com, click “Personal Info” and make sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are up-to-date.