November 2026

Fees

• Early Bird Entry Fee (November 1st-15th): First entry is $29, all additional entries are $12.
• Regular Entry Fee (November 16th-month-end): First entry is $40, all additional entries are $16.

Rules

• Original Artwork: All entries must be original compositions and cannot be based on anything published elsewhere. Copies of other artists’ work are not eligible.
• Reference Photos: Paintings based on another person’s photograph (even if copyright-free) are not eligible. Reference photos must belong to the artist entering.
• One Artist Only: All entries must be 100% painted by the artist entering. Artwork painted partially by an instructor, or by a deceased artist, or created as part of a group workshop where multiple artists painted the same image are not eligible.
• Paintings/Drawings ONLY: Photography, AI, digital, printed or painted over photographs are prohibited. The Salon Art Prize reserves the right to refuse any artwork if the method with which it was created is questionable.
• Winning Paintings: A painting can win only once. If entered in multiple categories, it can only win in one. Paintings that have not previously won a category award can be re-entered in subsequent competitions. All monthly winners are included in the judging of the Annual Competition, so there is no need to enter a winning painting multiple times.
• Inappropriate Images: PleinAir magazine reserves the right to reject or not display any image that it feels is inappropriate or distasteful, if the image’s resolution quality is poor, if we believe the image is a copy of another painting, or it does not meet the above criteria.

Entry Details

• ShowSubmit Account: Create a profile when first entering.
• Categories: 19 categories available. Read criteria clearly as some have restrictions; paintings not meeting criteria will be disqualified.
• Plein Air Categories: Paintings entered must have been completed 100% in plein air, over multiple sessions if needed, but not finished in the studio.
• Image Sizes: Images must be at least 1920 pixels on the longest side, in JPEG format, sRGB color space.
• Online Only: Older and sold paintings are accepted as this is an online competition.
• Entry Limits: Limit of 25 entries per artist in each monthly competition.

Judging

Guest judges include prominent artists, gallery owners, and museum curators and directors. In the event a promoted judge is unable to judge, an alternate will be appointed. If one cannot be found, judging will be done by an editor or publisher of either Fine Art Connoisseur or PleinAir magazine. After the close of each monthly competition, the judge scores the entries.