2 UNIQUE CATEGORIES: EMERGING & ESTABLISHED

ENTRY FEES:

Each painting must be accompanied by an entry fee.
ESTABLISHED: The fee for each image submitted is $25.
EMERGING: The fee for each image submitted is $15.
All entry fees are non-refundable and must be paid via credit card at the time of entry.

ENTRY DETAILS:

This Soft Pastel Competition is created and sponsored by Dakota Art Pastels to promote the medium of Soft Pastels.

Entries will be original works not based on previously published artwork or copies of other artists work.

Artwork must be produced exclusively by the entering artist.

Artwork may have a mixed media component (underpainting, etc.) but predominantly (80%) featuring Soft Pastel.

Reference photos are permitted under the conditions: 
Photo must be taken by the artist, or used with permission or paid license.  Photo must not have originated from an instructor in a workshop/teaching setting.

Artwork must be produced without AI assistance, unless the sole source of training data is the artist's own artworks and/or photographs as used for reference purposes. AI-generated images may not be entered.

Dakota Art Pastels reserves the right to refuse any artwork if the origin, method or materials it was created with is questionable.

You may enter as many times as you wish in each quarterly competition.

Paintings not chosen by a juror for recognition in one quarterly competition, may be entered in another quarter (different juror!).

Any Dakota Pastel award winning painting, at any award level or in either category, may not be re-entered at a later time.

Year-End Grand Prize 1st Place winning artists in either Category are not eligible to win the
Grand Prize again within 12 months. Spreading the recognition and the wealth!

REQUIREMENTS:

Entrants must be at least 18 years of age.

Competition is open to residents of any state or country where acceptable by law.

Entries should be work produced within the last two years.

Select one of the two Categories to enter: Established or Emerging.

In the ESTABLISHED Category, the submitted artwork should NOT have previously received a MAJOR award in a National Competition.

Employees or associates of Dakota Art Store, Ltd. or their immediate families may not enter.

Jurors may not participate in the competition during the calendar year in which they are a juror.

DISCLAIMER: By entering the Dakota Art Pastel Competition, you agree that you are submitting images of your own original artwork and not that of other artists or material in which you do not hold the copyright. The original work does not have to currently be in your possession. You are also agreeing, in advance, to have your submitted artwork and your image published by Dakota Art on its website or in other printed material. This includes, but is not limited to, print and digital magazines, newsletters, websites, e-mails, social media pages, and promotional materials in perpetuity.

• Each quarterly competition ends at midnight Pacific Time on the published final day of that competition. Only electronic submissions through the competition’s official website will be accepted. Entries received by mail or physical delivery in the form of photographs, discs, or actual paintings will not be accepted.
• Dakota Art Pastels reserves the right to reject or not display any image that it feels is inappropriate, distasteful, has poor image resolution quality, is deemed a copy of another painting, or does not meet other criteria specified above.
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