Exhibition Requirements

CPSA holds two annual exhibitions: the International Exhibition and the Explore This! exhibition. While they vary in respect to what materials may be used for the artwork, a number of basic requirements apply to both.

SEE ALSO:
Products Allowed for CPSA Exhibitions
Exhibition Questions & Answers
Colored Pencil Defined
Prospectus PDFs

IDEATION AND EXECUTION SPECIFICATIONS
(for the CPSA International and Explore This! exhibitions)

• REQUIRED:
  • Artwork must be solely the original concept, design, and execution of the submitting artist.
  • Reference photos used in creating the artwork must be personally composed by the submitting artist. Photos from any other source may be used only for incidental details and not as the main focus of the artwork.
  • Artwork must have been completed within three years of the exhibition and not previously hung in either CPSA exhibition.
• ALLOWED: Artwork created as a pastiche (parody or imitation of another artwork), provided the artwork is sufficiently altered so as to make the parody obvious and the artwork parodied is not copyrighted.
• NOT ALLOWED:
  • Work copied directly from someone else’s photograph, even with permission.
  • Work copied from any copyrighted or published materials.
    
  • Work copied from an image downloaded from online photo sites.
  • AI-generated images as the concept and composition of the artwork.
  • Artwork produced by applying colored pencil over a printed or digitally produced image (with the exception noted below for Explore This!).
  • Reproductions such as prints or giclées of artwork.
  • Collaborative works executed by more than one artist, including classroom projects and exercises. You may, however, submit artwork of your own design which was worked on in a class or critiqued by others, as long as you are the primary creative force.
  • Artwork may not be altered after submission of entry.

ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS (for the CPSA International)

• Artwork must be 100% colored pencil (see links above). Use of any other additional media (watercolor, acrylic, oil, ink, markers, etc.) disqualifies entry.
  
• Artwork must be on a manufacturer-prepared surface (scratchboard not allowed). Use of artist-prepared surface (i.e., the application of grounds, washes, or other non-colored pencil materials which may alter the texture, color, or value of a manufacturer-prepared surface) disqualifies entry.
• Acceptable additions include colorless blenders and solvents (e.g., turpentine, odorless mineral spirits, light layers of workable fixative, final coat(s) of varnish) and graphite pencil used under/between colored pencil layers. No pure, exposed graphite is allowed.
• Artwork must be two-dimensional; no collage or montage. Matting with multiple windows (diptychs, triptychs) in a single-framed presentation is acceptable.
• Backing for artwork done on drafting film must be a solid color with no variation in value.