Artists To Watch Art Competition

✓Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through - enter an art competition today!

Artists To Watch Art Competition

Now Open

4th Annual Artists to Watch (2025)

Call for entries! Whether you are a student, a recent graduate or an older artist newly focused on your art-making, this art competition is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on your work!

*Must be at least 16 years of age at the time of final deadline.

Members Enter

Non Members

Super Early Bird Deadline – Jan 7, 2025

Artists Network Members: $15 Non-Members: $25

Early Bird Deadline – Mar 4, 2025

Artists Network Members: $25 Non-Members: $35

Final Deadline – May 6, 2025

Artists Network Members: $30 Non-Members: $40

Entry fees are due with entries. Your record of the credit card or PayPal charge will be your receipt.

Click here to view our official Rules + Regulations.

To enter, visit our online entry portal to log in or register for a free account.
You can save your progress as you go and return anytime to make edits to your entries.
This art contest is open to all artists around the world age 16 years or older.
If you are a member, you will be asked to provide the email address associated with your Artists Network membership.
Upload your entry details and image(s). There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit. You are able to edit your entries until the final deadline.

5 CATEGORIES

Prizes will be awarded in five categories. During the entry process you will be asked to select the category that best describes your work:

• Abstract/Non-Objective

• Animal/Wildlife

• Landscape/Cityscape

• Portrait/Figure

• Still Life/Floral/Interior

PRIZES & AWARDS

Top 15 Winners

Publication in Artists Magazine

The competition includes a First, Second and Third Place winner in each of the five categories. All 15 winners will have their winning artwork and a write-up in the November/December 2025 issue of Artists Magazine and on ArtistsNetwork.com. All 15 winners will also receive an Artists Network Membership for 1-year ($99.99 value) plus a digital award-winner badge.

First Place Category Winners

$50 Gift Card ArtistsNetwork.com

The First Place Award winner in each category will also receive a $50 ArtistsNetwork.com gift card.

PAST WINNERS

First Place | Abstract/Non-Objective

A Second

By Tang Xinyi

First Place | Animal/Wildlife

Dusky Buglar

By Elise Mehaffie

First Place | Landscape/Cityscape

Woodman East

By Aaron Lade

First Place | Portrait/Figure

Serene

By Sarah Goldfinch

First Place | Still Life/Floral/Interior

Preserve

By Mark McDermott

FAQs

QImportant notice about our NEW online entry system:

As of March 2024, we have transitioned to a new online entry system for all Artists Network competitions. We will no longer be using Submittable to manage our contests.

If you’ve previously entered an Artists Network competition via Submittable, you will still have access to your account and entry records when you log in to the Submittable platform.

If you have any questions or concerns about this switch, please contact us at [email protected].

QWhy is my entry still “In Progress”?

In order to officially enter your image into the jurying pool, you must hit “Submit Entry” during the entry process. This will place your image in the cart so that you may pay and complete your entry.

QWhy didn’t I receive a notification when I entered my artwork?

You must have your Award Force notifications enabled in Settings in order to receive updates about your entry. Please make sure that our emails (anything ending in @goldenpeakmedia.com) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc.

QWhat do I do if I make a mistake in my entry?

You may edit your entries up until the closing deadline of a contest. When logged into Award Force, click on “Enter” at the top of the screen. This will show your entries that are in progress or completed.

QWhat types of artwork are acceptable?

The contest is open to artists working in a variety of traditional art media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, casein, gouache, egg tempera, soft pastel, oil pastel, charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, pen and ink, marker, scratchboard, mixed media and mixed-media collage, silver or other metal point, and printmaking (etching, mezzotint, lithography, woodcut, monotype, mono print, and aquatint).

Photography, except for minor elements incorporated in a collage, will NOT be considered. Sculpture will NOT be considered. Digital art will NOT be considered. Entries are limited to two-dimensional artwork. Two-dimensional means that a mixed media cannot exceed one inch in depth.

QOriginal artwork and Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidelines:

All works must be original. “Original” means that the work must be from the hand of a single artist; pieces that originate from a workshop or a class under the direction of a teacher are not eligible. For works based on reference photographs, eligibility requires that the artist must have taken the photographs or have obtained written permission from the photographer to create the work and to enter it in the Contest. Compositions based on published material or other artists’ work are NOT considered original and are not eligible.

Artwork or reference imagery generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) will NOT be considered.