2025 Marks of Distinction National Exhibition

Fivesparks, Harvard, MA

Paintings will be judged for awards in person by Joachim Homann, PhD, Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings, Harvard University Art Museums

SHOW DATES: 8/26-9/26

Jurors of Selection: Robins Frisella and Charles Peer

Judge of Awards: Joaquim Homann, PhD, Harvard University Art Museums

18 cash awards plus materials, including:

1^st Place: $1200+

2^nd Place: $800+

3^rd Place: $600+

4^th Place: $400+

11 more awards ranging from $100-&200+

2 Juror Awards: $75+

More than $7600 in awards. All awards include cash plus materials.

And People’s Choice of $150

Calendar

Judge of Awards

Joaquim Homann, PhD. Dr. Homann is Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings in the Division of European and American Art at the Harvard Art Museums, consisting of the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler museums at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. He completed his MA and PhD at the University of Heidelberg before coming to the United States, where he has held curatorial positions at University of Texas, El Paso; Colgate University; and Bowdoin College, where he organized numerous exhibitions on European and American art with a special emphasis on works on paper. Now overseeing Harvard’s collection of drawings and watercolors, he recently co-curated American Watercolors, 1880–1990: Into the Light, and is currently working on an exhibition of 19^th century European landscapes.

Selection Jurors

Both jurors will offer a demo in association with the show!

Robin Frisella. Robin Frisella, Pastel Society of America Master Pastelist, IAPS-Master Circle artist, and Juried Member of the Guild of Boston Artists, is an award-winning still life painter in the style of traditional realism. She owns Frisella Fine Art Gallery in Candia, NH, and shows her work throughout the country in juried national exhibitions and fine art festivals.

Charles Peer. Charles Peer is an award-winning landscape painter from Arkansas whose work reflects his love of color. He owns a gallery in his home town and teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at John Brown University, where he is also the Fine Arts Gallery Director. Charles is a Signature Member of Pastel Society of America and Ozark Pastel Society.

Who Can Submit

Open to all artists over the age of 18 in the US and Canada working in soft pastel.

Submission Process and Fee

·         Submissions must be made online on OnlineJuriedShows. Log in and click Enter This Show to begin your submissions.

·         You do not need to resize your images as long as each is a minimum of 800 pixels on the longest side, and does not exceed 4 MB. All files must be jpg/jpeg format. Images should be in sRGB colorspace.

·         For help with your submissions, contact onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com or 888-666-1351.

·         The submission fee for members is $40 for 1-3 pieces, plus $5 for each additional piece up to 5.  Membership must be fully paid before entering the show. The submission fee for nonmembers is $45 for 1-3 pieces, plus $10 for each additional up to 5.

·         A maximum of 1 piece per artist may be accepted to the show.

Submission Requirements

·         Work must be at least 80% soft pastel, with soft pastel as the final layer.

·         Work must be less than 3 years old.

·         Work cannot exceed 48” in any direction, including frame. There is no minimum size.

·         Work must be based exclusively on the artist’s own photo reference, life set-up or plein air experience, concept, and composition.

·         Work must be directly and individually drawn or painted by the artist, not traced or otherwise created over a base photo.

·         Work must be exclusively the product of the artist. Work done in a class or workshop, online venue, or otherwise under the guidance or advice of an instructor, is not permitted.

·         Work that has previously been in a CMPS national show, or that has received a top award (Best, 1,2,3) in any national/international or CMPS members show by the submission deadline, is not permitted.

·         Work that duplicates or is a near-copy of work that has been awarded in or sold from any national/international show is not permitted.

Delivery and Shipping of Accepted Work

An email will be sent to all artists once the results are available in their OnlineJuriedShows artist profiles. Artists accepted into the exhibition will receive detailed instructions with their acceptance notification for either hand-delivering or shipping work to the venue according to the dates in the above calendar.  CMPS will send an email list to accepted artists for coordinating hand delivery as desired. The address for both hand delivery and shipping is:  Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank St, Harvard, MA 01451.

There will be no handling fee for work shipped in an Airfloat Strong Box, Masterpak Titan Strongbox, or Uline Deluxe Art Shipper box. Work shipped in other packaging will carry a $50 handling fee payable at the time of shipping; no crates or packages with loose packing material will be accepted. Work must be shipped by commercial carrier (UPS, FedEx, DHL). Shipped work will be returned promptly after show close.

All work must be clean, securely framed, and wired for hanging in a non-metal frame. We advise against shadow-box frames or others that cast a shadow on the work. We recommend the use of a framer’s grade plexiglass for shipping large paintings to minimize shipping cost and risk.

Pricing and Sales

·         All work must be for sale exclusively through CMPS for the duration of the show. Prices should reflect market value for similar work by the artist; this means that artists should have a track record of sales at prices similar to the price of their submitted work. Work must remain hung until the show closes.

·         CMPS and Fivesparks will process sales at the show venue during gallery hours, and CMPS will process sales through the show store on its website. CMPS will receive a 35% commission on all sold work, which will be split 25% to CMPS and 10% to the venue. Artist proceeds will be remitted within 30 days of show close.

·         Unless a buyer is authorized to pick up purchased work on show closing, artists are responsible for delivery or shipping sold work to buyers.

Notices

·         CMPS and Fivesparks will use all reasonable care in receiving, hanging, showing, and returning work. Neither CMPS nor Fivesparks is responsible for any damage or loss to work incurred during shipping, hanging, or showing the work. It is recommended that artists insure their own work.

·         CMPS reserves the right not to hang work that arrives damaged or dirty; is not properly wired for hanging; that is not equivalent to the image submitted for selection; or that otherwise does not conform to Submission Requirements. Damaged work will be reported to the artist and, if needed, returned at the artist’s expense.

·         Work shipped in an Airfloat Strongbox, Masterpak Titan Strongbox, or Uline Deluxe Art Shipper will not be charged a handling fee. There will be a $50 fee for shipping with other containers and materials. Crates will not be accepted; Styrofoam peanuts and similar loose packing materials are not allowed.  Boxes that arrive unusable for return shipping must be replaced by the artist.

·         Submission fees are nonrefundable. Entry does not guarantee acceptance.

·        Failure to deliver an accepted painting will result in disqualification for entering any CMPS show for two years.

·        No early drop-offs or pick-ups, no exceptions. No drop-off or pick-up without checking in/out the work by a CMPS representative. All hand-delivered work must be picked up on 9/27 by either artist or buyer with receipt. Art cannot be stored and hand-delivered work cannot be return-shipped.

·        By entering the show, artists grant CMPS and Fivesparks the limited right to use images of the artist’s work, labeled with artist name and painting title, for promotional and news purposes related to the show.

For questions about this prospectus: president@cmpastels.org

Show Staff

Co-chairs: Jane Robbins, Shuk Susan Lee

MOD on the Web:  Alexia Rosoff Wilber