Members’ Encouragement Awards [MEAs]

Our MEAs run monthly in most months of the year (except January & December) and serve as an opportunity for members to submit artworks for voting by their peers in the Society.

Points are accumulated for each entry (1 point) as well as additional ones for those who win 1st (3 points total) and 2nd place (2 points total) each month. These points are tallied for prizes to be given at the last members’ meeting of the year in December.

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We encourage our members to enter – we really want to acknowledge your artwork and be part of your art journey. Even if you think yours is not as good as everyone else’s – it doesn’t matter. We are all here to learn and be encouraged by our fellow artists. This is what our Society is all about – to give advice & encouragement to artists to develop their pastel painting skills and hopefully the opportunity to learn from seeing others’ work and, of course, from the demonstrations and talks given at the meetings.

Further Information

1. Each member is allowed to enter one painting only.
   Members are asked to submit via email, two (2) photos :
   a) a hi-resolution image of your painting prior to framing
   b) an image of you next to your painting (your painting can be framed for this 2nd image) Email both to mea@vicpastel.com.au.
   For the second photograph we suggest you asking a member of your household to take the photo for you, or use the ‘time-lapse’ function on your camera, tablet or smartphone, or take a ‘selfie’.  If you find this too onerous, email us the image of your painting (unframed) and a separate image of just yourself.
2. VERY IMPORTANT : include which Category you are entering in ie. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Professional. For more information on these Categories, see Further Information below.
3. If we receive any enquiries about your painting eg. to purchase, we will put them in touch with the artist
4. Every time a painting is entered online, that person receives one point. From the tallying of the votes, the first choice in each section receives three points, and the second choice receives two points. So at the end of the year, when the points are tallied, if you have entered a painting every month, your points might add up to more than a person who has entered a painting only 2 or 3 times and has won the MEA Award for those months. A prize is given to the winners of each section.

You can find all the web links for our MEA Awards under the Awards heading in our menu at the top of our website.

Categories

There are four sections for entering and voting by financial members : Emerging. Intermediate, Advanced and Professional.

The first section is Emerging, (for those artists who have never won any award anywhere and/or who are new to the medium). If an artist wins this section two years in a row, they automatically advance to the Intermediate Section.

The second section is Intermediate,  (for those artists who have won minor awards – internally or in external shows, such as ‘commended’ or ‘highly commended’, but have never won a major prize). If an artist wins this section two years in a row, they automatically advance to the Advanced Section.

The third section is Advanced, in which the members have won the Intermediate Section two years in a row; or are winners of categories in the PSVA Exhibitions; or are proficient artists on entry to the Pastel Society and have won prizes in external shows, but are new to the medum.

The Professional Section is for Professional/Career artists who have won the Advanced section two years in a row.