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29^th Annual National Juried
Exhibition of Traditional Oils

Oil Painters of America's is pleased to announce that the Twenty-Ninth National Exhibition and Convention will be hosted by RS Hanna Gallery, located in Fredericksburg, Texas, from May 15 through June 13, 2020. Convention activities begin on May 12, with a Wet Paint Competition in both studio and plein air divisions. Cash and merchandise awards for the Wet Paint competition will be a minimum of $15,000. The opening reception for artists, collectors, the public and the press will be held on Friday, May 15, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with the awards presentation taking place at 8:30 p.m. at the Admiral Nimitz Museum. Various informative and educational demonstrations, talks and seminars are being planned for the convention, preceding the opening of the exhibition.

Our goal is to assemble the finest display of representational oil paintings. The focus in the jurying process will be to select paintings that show the highest quality in draftsmanship, color, and composition, emphasizing a diversity in representational style and subject matter.

The total national awards will be approximately $100,000, including a $25,000 Best In Show.

The awarding juror will be nationally acclaimed artist Rose Frantzen.

Artists eligible to compete are citizens - both natural born or otherwise - of the United States, Canada, or Mexico who are 2020 OPA members. Nonresident aliens who currently live in the United States, Canada, or Mexico are eligible to participate provided that they have been physically present at the address provided to OPA for eight of the last twelve months and that the residency is considered to be their permanent domicile and that they are 2020 OPA members. Nonresident aliens whose North American residency is in question will be asked to provide proof of residency including, but not limited to, employment history, references, and utility bills in the individual's name. The decision of the Board is final.

Entry Guidelines

SUBMISSIONS DUE: Friday, January 24, 2020

• Canvas size: Maximum size not to exceed 1,200 square inches (unframed). Example: 30" height x 40" width = 1,200 sq. in.
• Maximum entries three (3). However only one (1) painting may be accepted.
• Paintings must be created on one singular flat substrate and framed and wired for hanging. Multiples are unacceptable - i.e., diptychs, triptychs.
• The substrate must not exceed the maximum size set forth in the prospectus. Be sure to read each prospectus carefully, as the acceptable size of the substrate changes depending on the gallery/museum.
• Copyright infringement of any kind is unacceptable. It is unethical and against OPA policy for artists to submit work created from another person's drawing/painting/photo or other artwork that is not solely the artist's copyright.
• Digital apps and programs may be used for cropping your reference photos, etc., but no digital, mechanical, photo, or other transferring to the substrate of any kind is acceptable. You must draw and/or paint the image on your substrate yourself.
• Your submission must be originally conceived: your own reference, your own drawing, your own concept and must have been self-painted.
• No direct copies of stock images, historic photos, or of any reference to which you do not hold total copyright are allowed. You must be able to provide signed documentation of total copyright should OPA request.
• Paintings created in an instructional setting, including but not limited to workshops and art classes are not considered original artwork. A painting created from a group photo shoot set-up by another artist is not considered original artwork. Paintings created in an open studio where artists share the model are acceptable provided there was no instruction being given of any kind.
• Painting must have been created within the last 3 years.
• An artist may submit a painting for a National Exhibition that has previously been accepted into an OPA Regional Exhibition, Salon Show or entered in OPA's Online Showcase.
• An artist may not submit a painting for a National Exhibition if it has previously been accepted into another OPA National Exhibition.
• An artist may not submit a painting for a Regional Exhibition that has previously been accepted into a Regional Exhibition, Salon Show or an OPA National Exhibition.
• The artist retains copyright to his/her image(s). However, accepted images do become part of OPA archives and may be used for future OPA event promotion.
• All work must be for sale. No NFS. Paintings that do not reflect the artist's current pricing structure may be disqualified from the competition.
• An artist who withdraws an entry after acceptance into the exhibition shall not be eligible to enter any OPA exhibitions for the next two years.

Substrate and Framing Guidelines

ACCEPTABLE SUBSTRATES: Any primed, smooth, flat substrates including: primed canvas or linen, stretched or on a panel, wood, gesso board, acrylic gessoed dibond, aluminum, aluminum composite panel. Acrylic primer is acceptable. Oil primed paper is acceptable if adhered with archival adhesive to a proper archival substrate. Paintings should NOT require being placed under glass.

UNACCEPTABLE SUBSTRATES: Any textured surface including decorative copper, tooled aluminum, natural stone, barn wood or three-dimensional objects. A substrate containing any printed image or photograph is prohibited regardless of whether it is your own or someone else's image/photograph. Paintings should NOT require being placed under glass.

ACCEPTABLE FRAMING: All paintings must be framed and wired for hanging. When framing deep-edged paintings (museum/gallery wrap canvas or deep board), the frame must be of adequate depth that the substrate does not extend more than half an inch beyond the back of the frame. Floater frames are acceptable for paintings on museum/gallery wrap canvas or deep board panels.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE PAINTING CRITERIA, PLEASE VISIT THE OPA WEBSITE. Questions should be emailed to: mail@oilpaintersofamerica.com, or call 815-356-5987.

Entry Information

Online Submissions - Deadline: Friday, January 24, 2020

Electronic applications will be accepted beginning Monday, November 11, 2019 and extend through Friday, January 24, 2020. Maximum canvas size may not exceed 1,200 square inches ((unframed). Images should be between 1400 and 4000 pixels at the largest dimension. Specific details on how to prepare your image properly
can be found here.

To submit your electronic application and images, please go directly to this link.

Jurying Fees
The jurying fee for electronic entries is as follows: one painting is $30, two paintings are $45 or three paintings are $60. Only one painting can be accepted. Electronic payment may be made by credit card or through PayPal. No echecks will be accepted. Jurying fees for online submissions may also be paid by check mailed to OPA if received by Friday, January 24, 2020.

Membership You must be a paid member through December 31, 2020 at a cost of $70.00. If you are currently not a member or have not paid your 2020 membership dues, OPA will accept your entry provided that 1.) an electronic membership fee is paid by Friday, January 24 or 2.) a mailed membership application and your annual dues are postmarked no later than Friday, January 10, 2020. More membership information may be found on the OPA website, under the Member Services tab.

Sales Commission Sales commission of 40% is required by the gallery for all paintings sold. Please take this into consideration when setting your price. All work that is submitted must be for sale. No NFS. Paintings must be priced in accordance with the artist's current pricing structure.

Delivery and Return of Accepted Work

Delivery for Local Artists: Deliver uncrated paintings to Fredericksburg Shipping, 603 FM 2093, Suite 1502 (Tivydale Business Park), Fredericksburg, TX from April 20 to April 24, 2020. Hand delivered work must be picked up between June 15 and June 19, 2020.

Out of Town Artists:

Fredericksburg Shipping
603 FM 2093, Suite 1502
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

to be received April 20 and April 24, 2020.

Handling Fee: Out of Town Artists must pay a $25.00 fee online prior to their painting being hung. This fee covers the expense of uncrating, storage of crates, re-crating and contacting your shipper for return. Artist may elect to include a return shipping label with their painting OR may email the label directly to RS Hanna Gallery. OPA will waive the uncrating fee for artists who use a commercially manufactured artist's/strong box such as a StrongBox™ by Airfloat Systems, or similar brand, like Masterpak or Uline, or a FedEx Premium Art Box (not a FedEx Large Frame Box). Home Depot boxes are NOT included in the list of boxes for which the fee will be waived. Artists who do not use one of these special boxes will be required to pay the $25 fee prior to the exhibition opening. Paintings will be removed as a result of non-payment. Strong boxes will be returned to the artists at the conclusion of the show at the artist's expense. Shipments from OUTSIDE the US must be shipped "FREE DOMICILE" or will not be accepted.

Notification posted on OPA website: Jury results posted on OPA website February 21, 2020.

Events

Deadline for submissions

Acceptance notification posted on the OPA website

Both shipped and hand delivered artwork to arrive at:

Fredericksburg Shipping
603 FM 2093, Suite 1502
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

Convention begins

Opening Reception: for collectors, press, exhibiting artists and the public from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Awards Presentation: announcement of recipients of National awards, Wet Paint winners and introduction of newest Signature and Master Signature conferees at 8:30 p.m.

Length of time show will be open for viewing. See below for gallery hours

Local Artists: removal of paintings during this period. If not removed a storage fee will be charged. RS Hanna Gallery thanks you for your cooperation.

Liabilities and Responsibilities

Oil Painters of America and RS Hanna Gallery will not be responsible for loss or damage of any artwork, no matter what the cause. By submitting artwork to this exhibition, each artist will be deemed to have concurred with this agreement. Artists pay for shipping both ways. We suggest that you provide insurance to cover the full value of the artwork while in transit.

Good Luck and Good Painting!