Since the 15th Century and the Renaissance Period, pastel sticks have been manufactured and used as a way of creating artworks. Fast forward 600 years and pastels are as popular as ever, especially for portraits! For our latest competition we would like to see your portraits captured in pastel. Entries can feature animals and/or people, from a sketched self portrait to a highly detailed portrayal of a bumblebee – we’d love to see them all.
Winners of our Pastel Portrait Competition from 2015
The Prizes
First Prize (selected by Jackson’s Judging Panel)
The overall winner will receive a Unison Soft Pastel Set of 72 Portraits in a Black Presentation Box worth £172!
Unison Pastels are made in Northumberland and contain only pure pigments in a cycle of related hues, instead of adding white or black to the colours. The result is intense, vibrant colour not muddied by the blending of colours. Unison’s pastels contain very little binder, making them truly soft and smooth. They are mixed to meticulous recipes and are based on traditional pigments such as cadmiums, cobalts and natural and synthetic earths.
People’s Choice Award
An additional three entries will be chosen by the public to win our People’s Choice Award. The top three entries with the most votes will each receive two sets of 14 Jackson’s Handmade Pastels of their choice.
Jackson’s Soft Pastels are handmade, giving them an incredible softness and a smooth ‘buttery’ consistency. Jackson’s hand-rolled pastels are formed with the lightest of touches, so as not to over compress the pastel ingredients. This gentle manufacturing process creates pastels that deposit brighter and more saturated hues.
The public vote will open once the shortlist has been announced on 26th August and will run until 1st September.
Eligibility
Artworks for this competition must be submitted by the artist who created it. The competition is open to all artists of any age. It is free to enter. Pastel must be the dominant media- soft pastel, hard pastel, pastel pencils. Artwork must feature a portrait. One entry per person. Please make sure the image you submit does not have a copyright sign or stamp on it. Please make sure the image does not include the frame. Your image should be a .jpg at least 800 pixels wide.
Important Dates
- Entries are accepted from the 11th – 25th August 2016.
- The shortlisted candidates will be announced on the 26th August 2016.
- The public vote begins on 26th August and closes on the 1st September 2016.
- Winners will be announced on the 2nd September 2016.
44 thoughts on “Pastel Portrait Competition”
Cool! Are we allowed to submit celebrity portraits at all?
Hi Charlene,
Thanks for your message! Providing it is a pastel portrait and it doesn’t contain inappropriate or offensive subject matter then feel free to enter it. Look forward to seeing your entry 🙂
Many thanks, Christine
Thank you! Are “profile side views” counted as portraits as well?
Hi Charlene,
You are welcome, side views are indeed counted as portraits! Many thanks, Christine
Thank you so much for your responses Christine! The entries look great so far!
Hi! Are oil pastel portraits eligible as well?
Hi Angie,
Yes they are absolutely! Can’t wait to see your entry 🙂
Many thanks, Christine
Is there a limit to when the pastel was completed? I didn’t see anything stating that they have to have been completed by a certain date.
Thanks.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for your question! There is no time-limit with regard to when the portraits were created. Hope this helps and look forward to seeing your entry, many thanks Christine 🙂
Thank you, Christine!
When I try to select my file by pressing the choose file button, no files come up. What do I do?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your message, is it when you are trying to upload an image and you click the ‘Choose file’ button? I’ve just tested it and it seems to be working fine, we’ve had about 40 entries come through so far. It might be that your browser or privacy settings on your computer are stopping you from opening any pop-ups. If that is the case, try allowing pop-ups temporarily and see if you can upload anything. Do let us know how you get on and if you have any more problems just give us a shout. Thanks, Christine
Hi Christine
I misspelled my name and pressed enter for the entry before I corrected it…. could you change it to Svenja Schrauder (instead of Schraduer)? Sorry for the inconveniences caused and best regards, Svenja
Hi Svenja, I can confirm I have edited your entry to the correct spelling of your name. Many thanks and best of luck in the competition. Many thanks, Christine
please send details of how I can submit a painting for the pastel competition I can’t see
how to upload from a tablet thank you
Hi Samantha,
I’ve just tried using the entry form on my ipad and it seems to be working fine, when you click on the ‘Choose File’ button to upload your image you need to make sure you have the artwork image you want to upload stored on your tablet. What tablet are you using? As it might be something to do with your privacy settings which is not allowing the form to have access to your images. Hope this helps, let me know if you are still having problems and I will do my best to help. Many thanks, Christine
Hi Christine,
How many entry are allowed per artist?
Hi TaiMeng Lim,
It states in the eligibility section that you are allowed to enter one artwork. Hope this helps, look forward to seeing your entry! Many thanks, Christine
Thank you very much for your prompt
reply, Christine. It’s really written
there, I think need to see eye
specialist. Thanks again 🙂
You are welcome, not to worry, it’s always best to check! Many thanks, Christine 🙂
How do we enter?
Hi there,
The entry form is at the bottom of this blog post where you can upload an image of the artwork you would like to submit along with your contact details and a space to enter a description of the artwork. Hope this helps, do let us know if you experience any difficulties when uploading your entry. Many thanks, Christine
Hi Christine,
What would you like to have in the description, please?
Hi Petra,
When an artist uploads their work, normally in the description they would put why they created the artwork/what inspired them, the medium they used to create it (in this instance it would be pastel) the date and size of the artwork. And then anything else you think is relevant to help describe the piece. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions. Many thanks, Christine
Hi Christine,
I just submitted it before seeing your response, so I hope everything is OK?
Many thanks, Petra
Hi Petra,
I’ve just spotted your entry and everything looks absolutely fine. Thank you for your entry, I will email you a confirmation email now. Many thanks, Christine
hi christine , I’ve just submitted my entry and i submitted the
wrong image , sorry ! so i submitted the right one under a
different email address i hope its still ok to enter!
Hi Sharon, I can see both entries and will remove the one which was first submitted. Many thanks for entering and best of luck in the competition, Christine
I’m struggling to get the full form to upload from my tablet. Please can you
advise me on what I can do. Thanks
Hi Kathryn,
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble in getting the form to upload. You can send all the information and the image to me in an email and I can upload it for you. Please send the image and info to [email protected]. Many thanks, Christine 🙂
Hi Kathryn,
I’ve just noticed when loading the entry form on my ipad that if you turn it landscape the full form appears but if you use it portrait the form is cut off. We are looking at fixing it now 🙂
Hi christine. I too am struggling to upload the entry
form. It only shows name and email and nothing else.
Please could you advise of what i can do.
Thankyou.
Hi Mickey,
May I ask what device you are using? As I’ve just looked at the form on my ipad and if you turn your tablet landscape the full entry form appears, if you use it portrait then it does cut the form off. We have just updated our blog to a new theme and so that may be why the formatting has gone slightly off kilter. We are going to look into fixing now, but if you wanted to enter immediately then do try turning your device landscape. Hope this helps and look forward to seeing your entry. Many thanks, Christine
Hi again Christine. I have just managed to submit
my piece. I have forgotten to put a date on it
though. I finished this in July 2016.
Thankyou.
Hi Mickey,
That’s great thank you for letting me know. I will add the date onto your entry. Best of luck in the competition, Christine
Hi Christine
I just realised I forgot to put the date I created my
portrait it was March 6th 2016 and the exact size is
24x32cm. Thank you. Sorry for my forgetfulness. Lisa.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for the added information, I have added it to your entry. Many thanks and best of luck in the competition! Christine
Hi! I forgot to put the date I created my
portrait. It was just today August
25th 2016. Thank you. Sorry
Hi Irina, not to worry, I have added it onto your entry for you! Thanks, Christine
Thank you Christine
Hi again christine. How do you find out if youve been
shortlisted? This is my first contest, so please forgive
my naivety!
Thankyou.
Hi Mickey, not at all! We are announcing the shortlist later on today so keep an eye on the blog. Many thanks, Christine
I have been on the phone for over 20 minutes trying to put an order in doesn’t
anyone answer your phone? Fed up with the music!
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for your message. Our customer service team work from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and so if you tried to ring any time after that then that might be why you were not getting a response. Here is a link to our opening times etc which might come in handy for future: https://www.jacksonsart.com/contacts I hope you have managed to place your order and if you need any help with anything then just let us know. Many thanks 🙂
Comments are closed.