Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

This is the Prospectus for Open Water 2026.  Planning your entry? Please read carefully the strict entry criteria listed below. Every year otherwise eligible paintings are disqualified before the jurying process because the artist submitting did not attend to the entry criteria. Do not let this happen to you. Read the rules.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY FOR OPEN WATER 2026

Open Water is open to all artists age 18 and over. 

Allowable media: Transparent watercolour only. 

The Society’s definition of transparent watercolour is the use of artist’s quality resoluble watercolour paint with minimal use of body colour so that the white of the watercolour paper reflects through the paint. 

Not Permissible: Gouache, egg tempera, casein, acrylic, water-based oils and archival felt pens. 

Painting Surface: Archival fiber paper, which includes watercolour paper, watercolour paper glued to wood/composite panel, watercolour paper glued to canvas, canvas prepared for watercolour and watercolour board. Yupo is NOT accepted.

Only media listed above are permitted.  

Application must be by hand, brush or any tool by the artist without digital or mechanical assistance. 

Protection:

  • All paintings 15"x 22" and larger on any side must be protected by plexiglass. 
  • Paintings smaller than 14"x 21" and delivered & picked up by the artist themselves are recommended to be protected by plexiglass, but may be be protected by glass. 
  • The use of varnish or wax is not permitted. 
  • Paintings must be protected by either plexiglass or glass as required by the rules above. 

Not allowed (media and surfaces)

  • Egg tempera, casein, acrylic paints or mediums, water based oils or archival felt pens
  • Yupo is not accepted as a painting surface.
  • Airbrush is not permitted

Size of work:

  • Maximum allowed painting size is 22 inches x 30 inches (55.88 cm x 76.2 cm).
  • Minimum allowed painting size is 10 inches by 14 inches (25.4 cm x 35.56 cm).
  • Areas - length x width that fall within those limits are acceptable.  eg.: 9 x 21"
  • Painting sizes within the allowed minimum and maximum dimensions are acceptable.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

You are required to agree to the following terms and conditions. Failure to do so may eliminate your eligibility for this exhibition and may have further consequences within the CSPWC at the discretion of the Board.  

Original Work 

  • Your work must be your own. If based on photographs, they must be your own photographs.  
  •  All paintings must be solely conceived and created by the submitting Artist.  
  • The use of AI generated images to create a painting composition is not allowed.
  • Work completed during a workshop and/or under the tutelage of an instructor is ineligible. This includes live instruction, as well as tutorials in either book or video format. 
  • Work may be based on photograph(s) only if the original photograph(s) was/were taken by the submitting Artist. The submitting Artist must be the sole holder of copyright and trademark interest in the submitted paintings. 
  • Digital post-processing or retouching of artist-taken reference materials is permitted.
  • Using stock imagery or photos taken by professional photographers even in the case of permission granted or paid licensing from the photographer IS NOT permitted. Images captured from a virtual meeting, Zoom or any other tech process are not permitted.
  • Use of computer-generated art and AI are not permitted.
  • Infractions may have further consequences as determined by the Jury, the Chair and the Board. 
  • Paintings must have been created within the last 3 / three years. 2024, 2025, 2026
  • Paintings may not have been exhibited in a previous Open Water International Juried Exhibition.
  • Paintings must be entirely an original work, created by the artist who is submitting.
  • Paintings must not be derivative or based on the work of others or in any way an infringement of copyright.
  • AI (artificial intelligence) and/or computer generated artwork in full or in any portion is not permitted.
  • Mechanically printed images are not permitted.

CONDITIONS OF EXHIBITION:

Sales:

  • Work that is submitted may be for sale.
  • Work that is not for sale will be marked NFS with no value marked by the artist
  • Artists will receive 60% of sale price with the other 40% going to Neilson Park Creative Centre and CSPWC. Please take this into consideration when setting your price. Prices cannot be changed once accepted to the exhibition
  • Artists will be notified if buyers are interested in their work. 
  • When a painting sells, the shipping costs are the responsibility of the purchaser.
  • Accepted entries will remain on display until the end of the exhibition on September 19, 2026.

Framing:

  • Paintings must be framed in a professional manner, using archival materials. They must be wired for hanging. No sawtooth, loop hangers or similar permitted.
  • Paintings must be protected with plexiglass or glass - as explained above. Glass is not permitted on large paintings or any painting that is shipped.
  • If mats are used, they must be white or off-white. Maximum mat border width of 4 inches (10.16 cm). Mats, backing and tape must be archival. 
  • Shipping instructions will be sent promptly to accepted artists upon acceptance.
  • Artists must carry their own insurance.
  • The Exhibition Chair and Jury reserve the right to not exhibit any painting which does not conform to all the rules and conditions of the exhibition.
  • If an accepted artist withdraws their work after adjudication they will not be eligible to enter Open Water exhibitions for three years.
  • Accepted paintings will persist in an online exhibition on the CSPWC website, www.cspwc.ca. The CSPWC reserves the right to remove any posted painting at any time for any reason.

Entry Fee: (for up to two images)

Non-members: $55 
CSPWC Elected Members and Associates: $40
CSPWC Membership fees must be up to date prior to entry.
Entry fees are in Canadian Dollars and are non-refundable. 

Image Requirements:
• Minimum of 960 pixels on longest side.
• Maximum of 4800 pixels on the longest side.
• Maximum file size of 4 MB.
• Image to show only the painting, show no mats, frames or background.
• Images that are incorrectly formatted may be excluded from jurying.

Submission Details:
Submissions open on May 15, 2026
Deadline for submission of entries is June 30, 2026 at 2:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (Toronto, Ontario
Canada time zone).

Shipping Information:

  • Shipping instructions will be sent promptly to accepted artists upon acceptance.  You will have the choice of:
    • shipping your painting to the CSPWC office, to arrive between August 11 and 28, or 
    • delivering your painting personally to the gallery between August 27- 28, by appointment.  
    • Please note that a handling fee of $35 will be charged on all shipped paintings.
  • Shipping of paintings to and from the exhibition is the responsibility of the artist. This includes shipping costs, brokerage fees and any taxes or duties payable. 
  • Although the utmost care will be taken in handling works of art, CSPWC and/or CSPWC’s representatives and Neilson Park Creative Centre will not be responsible for damage or loss, whatever the cause. Accepted artists release CSPWC, CSPWC’s representatives, and/or Neilson Park Creative Centre from all liability with respect to loss or damage to the artist’s works of art.
  • Artists must carry their own insurance.

Note:
By submission of entry, the artist agrees to comply with all the terms and conditions of entry as per this Call to Entry and grants the CSPWC the following:
• the right to use the image of accepted for publicity, education and reference purposes
• the right to archive their work on the CSPWC’s website

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