25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition

The organisers of the 25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition is calling for entries. Deadline is March 14th, 2010. From what I gather, the competition is open to all artists worldwide. If you are interested, get more information
here A fee is charged as well.

Calling Young Artists

Are you a Malaysian artist aged between 18 to 40? A competition cum exhibition event is being organised by ArtGroup International, an web-based international artists network managed by Galeri Art Point.

The top 3 winners win a cash prize and a one-month artist-in-residence in a country outside Malaysia. ArtGroup International in collaboration with Clap & Tap (USA), Boxhill Community Art Center (Australia) and Art of Nature (Hongkong) provide sponsorship for the Artist-In- Residence Porgram.

Award/Exhibition is done online by a panel of International Judges. A webpage will be provided for online judging. The 500 selected best works for the semi-finalis will be published at official website at http://young-excellent-malaysia.artgrup.org

The Artist is Holding Competition

LEADING ART magazine The Artist is holding an all media online competition with a section for watercolourists.

The prizes are pretty good with the grand prize being $500 and 7 first place awards of $100 each. If you are interested, contest details are available here.

Grand Prize Award: $500
7 First Place Awards: $100 each

The Grand Prize winner and all 7 First Place Winners will receive complimentary subscriptions to The Artist's Magazine and $100 worth of North Light Books.
Honorable Mentions receive complimentary subscriptions to The Artist's Magazine and $50 worth of North Light Books.
Winners will be featured on The Artist's Magazine website along with a list of Honorable Mentions. All Winners and Honorable Mentions will receive a certificate suitable for framing.

Deadline: November 3, 2008

Editor's Note: This is one chance Malaysian artists can take advantage of in promoting their works. The prizes may not be much in terms of financial returns but the exposure is definitely something to ponder. Think about it, ya!

MRCB Art Awards Competition - If You Wish To Take Part

Malaysian artists take note. Here's your chance to show your skills and perhaps bag some cash and recognition. A total of RM100,000 are up for grabs and there are several categories offered by this conglomerate, including for schools and the handicapped. You may paint in the various medium, including watercolours.

The theme:
ALAM SEKITAR KITA, MASA DEPAN SEMUA
(Our Environment, Our Future)

Entries can be submitted from Sept 15 and competition closes Oct 15. To find out more, check out its website here

Editor's Note 1:
Unfortunately, there is no English translation for the competition listed on the website. You will have to get someone to translate the competition rules which are written in Malay for you if you decide to take part).

Editor's Note 2:
Watercolourists who want to take part will have to work on a much bigger paper than they used to - a minimum of 4ft by 4ft (48in square) or about 121cm x 121cm. As far as this amateur artist knows, there is no such paper being sold unless you buy by the roll. Sad to note here is that if you do not use that size, you will be disqualified as stated in the rules that I am producing here:

KATEGORI 1 : TERBUKA
Bahantara : Cat minyak/Akrilik/Cat air/Campuran atas kanvas atau kertas
Ukuran/Saiz : Minimum (4 kaki X 4 kaki)Hadiah : Hadiah tempat pertama - RM10,000.00 & Sijil
Hadiah tempat kedua - RM8,000.00 & Sijil
Hadiah tempat ketiga - RM6,000.00 & Sijil
5 hadiah saguhati - RM1,000.00 & Sijil
*10 karya lain yang terpilih akan menerima hadiah penghargaan bernilai RM500.00 & Sijil.
KATEGORI 2 : SEKOLAH MENENGAH RENDAH

and

Borang Penyertaan: Semua penyertaan mestilah disertakan dengan Borang Penyertaan dan Borang Pelepasan Hakmilik yang telah lengkap diisi. Pelajar-pelajar sekolah menengah tidak boleh menyertai Kategori Terbuka. Penyertaan yang tidak memenuhi syarat & peraturan pertandingan akan terbatal secara automatik. Salinan fotokopi borang penyertaan diterima.

It would look like from the last rule, if you want to take part, you will need at least a 4ft by 4ft paper or be automatically disqualified. And to do that, you would have to patch up two pieces of traditional 72cm x 56 cm standard sized paper. How would one paint in traditional watercolour, on such a paper, would be interesting. Perhaps the organisers can explain to artists here.

Editor's Note 3:
For those who expect to win but did not, also understand that your works may be auctioned and sold for charity without the organisers being obliged to inform you or give you any of the proceeds. This is as stated here in the regulations, in Malay:

Penjualan Hasil Karya: Pihak penganjur juga berhak untuk mempamerkan, melelong ataupun menjual hasil karya yang menang serta yang terpilih untuk tujuan kebajikan tanpa memberikan sebarang notis atau tuntutan bayaran kepada peserta.

And you also cannot ask for any royalty or payment, as stated here:

Hakmilik Karya: Dengan menyertai pertandingan ini, setiap peserta bersetuju untuk memberi hakmilik karya kepada pihak penganjur, tidak boleh menuntut atau mengenakan sebarang bayaran royalti terhadap sebarang penerbitan dan pihak penganjur berhak menggunakan hasil karya tersebut dalam apa jua cara sekalipun termasuk dalam mana-mana media di seluruh dunia.

Apart from the limitations above, for the Open Category, you are allowed up to send three pieces for judging, which increases your chances of winning - if you are good enough.

Oh, for school children taking part, you cannot participate in the Open caregory.

Putrajaya National Watercolour Competition 2007

Take note please if you are interested. The first prize is RM10,000, RM8,000 for the second and RM6,000 for the third. There are 10 Merit prizes offering RM1,000 and 10 consolation offering RM500.

Online entry forms are available here

This is the second organised by the Putrajaya Corporation and the Malaysian Watercolour Organisation. Last year, there was no top prize winner and two artists tied for the second place. Let's hope this year we will see a true winner and higher standards of selection.