Signature Status Guidelines
Signature Status Guidelines
Adopted by the PPS Board of Directors April 25, 2022
- A Philadelphia Pastel Society member may be considered for Signature membership after one year of membership in our organization.
- There are2 possible paths to Signature membership:
- Earned Signature status: Achieved by acceptance into 3 juried national pastel exhibitions.
- One of these shows must be a PPS national exhibition.
- Paintings accepted in these exhibitions must be three different pieces.
- Artist members who feel that they are ready for Signature status based on their acceptance into 3 national exhibitions may submit their application at any time. Their application will be evaluated by the Signature Status Committee and presented at the next scheduled Board meeting.
- Juried Signature status: Achieved when a candidate is accepted by a jury that examines a body of work submitted by an artist member.
- Beginning in March 2023, PPS will conduct a jury process once a year in March for candidates who wish to apply for Signature status based upon their body of work. Applications should be submitted by March 1 of the year in which an artist wishes to be considered. The Signature Status Committee will evaluate any applications submitted and present them to the Board of Directors by March 31
- Jurors will consider the following factors as they evaluate artwork submitted by applicants:
- Composition
- Drawing
- Competent use of color and value
- Originality of subject matter
- Mastery of Medium
- and overall Creativity.”
- Beginning in March 2023, the jury will be composed of 2 nationally recognized external jurors and one PPS member who holds Signature status in a national society. External Jury members will receive an honorarium of $250 for each service.
- Beginning in March 2026, we will form a committee of PPS Signature members to evaluate new Signature candidates.
- When applying to be evaluated by the jury, candidates must submit a representative body of their work along with their application and resume.
- Artists should submit their work according to the following guidelines:
- Paintings must be in traditional dry pastel, not oil pastel. If you use an underpainting, the surface must be 80% pastel.
- Photograph only the paintings, without frame or background.
- Copy your original high quality .jpg image, and name the file with artist name and the title of the painting. (Example: Jane_Smith_FlowersInSpring.jpg)
- Size the image to 300 dpi and at least 1200 pixels on the longest side.
- Size the file to no larger than 2 mb.
- Send your images as attachments to your online application.
- Include the title and the unframed size of each piece on your application.
- Your artwork should be original and not copied from other artists, published materials, or photographs not taken by yourself.
- Paintings should be completed within the last three years.
- All styles and subjects will be accepted by the jury, but there should be a consistency of artistry among the five images.
- Artwork may not be worked on in a school, workshop, or in the presence of an instructor.
Artist members who wish to apply for Signature membership should keep track of achievements that may affect their qualification for Signature status.
Regardless of which method a candidate uses to approach Signature status, he/she should submit a formal request accompanied by a one-page resume of their art-related experience. The application can be sent via email to the Signature Status Committee at PhiladelphiaPastelSociety@gmail.com
A $20 fee will be required with the formal application.
The resume should include information about exhibitions, awards, professional memberships, and art-related education and training. The chairperson of the Signature Status Committee will present committee recommendations to the PPS Board of Directors for review and approval.
- A Signature status artist must maintain membership in PPS in order to continue as a Signature member. At the discretion of the Board of Directors a grace period of up to one year may be granted when dues are late