What are the Members’ Encouragement Awards [MEAs]

Our MEAs are presented 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.

We encourage all our members to enter – we really want to acknowledge your artwork and be part of your art journey.  Even if you think your artwork 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 and 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.

You can find the web link for our MEAs Competition under the Events heading in our menu at the top of the website.

All feedback, questions and suggestions are welcome at mea@vicpastel.com.au. 

MEA Winners in Category 2024

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Our MEAs Sponsor – Atelier Art Supplies

We very much appreciate the generous support of Atelier Art Supplies who are the Sponsors of our Members’ Encouragement Awards. We encourage our members to visit them and support their business… let them know you are a member of the PSVA when purchasing goods from their store.

They are located at 8/199 Champion Road, Williamstown, VIC 3016. Phone 03 9397 4928. Their online store can be found on their website at https://shop.atelierart.com.au/

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We’ve been receiving feedback from members during the 2024 year and with the Committee’s approval, we’re making some exciting new changes which will make the MEAs even more inclusive and encouraging in 2025!

1.

We are adding & expanding the Categories so that all artists are represented more fairly and all have a chance of success in their Category. This is especially relevant for our members new to Soft Pastels and our less experienced artists.

The new Categories are now dependent on :

• clear time criteria
• award status
• number of years winning a Category

and allow a clear progression for all artists between Categories. The new Categories are listed below.

2. 

We are providing Guidelines on what is considered a Minor or Major Award and these are also listed below.

If you have won an Award that is not listed and you’re not sure which Category it falls into, we can provide assistance – just send us an email at mea@vicpastel.com.au

3.

We will only be accepting a change of Category for artists after the final Winners for the Year MEA Award announcements in December, and prior to the first email for the Enter the MEAs for the following year. This is regardless of any change in status during the year eg. Awards won.

However, as it may take time for everyone to become familiar with the changes & new Categories and a couple of tries to be comfortable choosing your Category, you’ll be able to change Category in the first couple of months next year – up until April 2025.

As this is a brand new thing in 2025, I’m more than happy to help you determine which Category you’re in.

Drop Michelle an email at mea@vicpastel.com.au any time and she will assist either via email or can give you a call to talk through the options.

The MEA Webpage is now updated & Facebook and the VicPastel Magazine will be also publish information you need to know. This will happen over the New Year – please be patient with us while we get this up and running.

There are some ‘Worked’ examples at the end of the New Categories for 2025 list (at right) to help you understand the changes, but we encourage all your questions, as this will make sure we have more ‘Worked’ examples on the MEA Webpage.

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Questions

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Which Category am I in?

There are now six (6) Categories for entering and voting by financial members of the PSVA : Emerging, Developing, Intermediate, Established, Advanced and Expert.

1. Emerging 

   0-2 years experience in any medium(for those artists who have never won any award anywhere and/or who are new to the medium). You will move to Developing  Category when you have three (3) years experience or have been the yearly winner of the Emerging Category once.

2. Developing

   3-5 years experience in Soft Pastels
   OR
   3 years or more experience in any medium and less than 3 years experience in Soft Pastels
   OR
   Have been the yearly winner in the previous Category once

3. Intermediate
   

   6-10 years experience in Soft Pastels
   OR
   Have been the yearly winner in the previous Category once or come second twice (not necessarily in consecutive years)

4. Established

   11-15 years experience in Soft Pastels
   OR
   Have won at least two minor awards but less than two major awards in soft pastels
   OR
   Have been either the yearly winner in the previous Category twice, come second in the previous Category twice, or come first once and second once (not necessarily in consecutive years)

5. Advanced

   More than 15 years experience in Soft Pastels
   OR
   Have won at least two major awards in Soft Pastels
   OR
   Have been the yearly winner in the previous Category twice (not necessarily in consecutive years)

6. Expert

   Artists who teach, demonstrate or earn their living from showing and selling Soft Pastel works
   OR
   Signature Members and Master Pastellists
   OR
   Have have been the yearly winner in the previous Category twice (not necessarily in consecutive years)

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How do I vote in the MEAs

After the date that the entries for paintings closes and before the next monthly meeting an email from mea@vicpastel.com.au with MEAs [month] [year] Time to Vote | sponsored by Atelier Art Supplies in the subject line. This email displays all paintings entered & will prompt you to vote in the MEAs.

You are allowed one vote in each category per month per member.

Around the end of the month voting entries close.

The exact dates for each month are provided in the Time to Vote email.

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How are the awards decided?

Points are accumulated every month for each entry.  Every painting entered is automatically awarded one point.

The painting that has the most votes for each category for the month is awarded an additional two points for the month for a total of three points.

The painting that has the second most votes for each category for the month is awards an additional point for the month for a total of two points.

These points are tallied over the year with first and second awarded in each category.

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How do I know if I have won?

Monthly winners of the first and second place in each Category will be announced:

• at the next monthly meeting
• in the PSVA Facebook Group and on our official Facebook Page
• in our VicPastel Magazine which is posted out to members quarterly
• in the next month’s MEA Competition |[month] [year] | sponsored by Atelier Art Supplies email

Certificates will be emailed to the winners of first and second place.

Yearly first and second place winners in each category will be presented at the final PSVA meeting for the year in December. We also list our annual winners on this webpage.

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Guidelines for submitting paintings

1. Each member is allowed to enter one painting only per month.
2. Members are asked to submit via email to mea@vicpastel.com.au
3. Two photos :
   1. a hi-resolution image of your painting (preferably prior to framing), 800KB to 2MB is ideal (definitely less than 10MB).
   2. an image of you next to your painting (your painting can be framed for this 2nd image).
      Email both to mea@vicpastel.com.au when you receive the MEA Competition |[month] [year] | sponsored by Atelier Art Supplies for the month.

3. 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, we will use the image of your painting that you have entered in the competition.

4. Please submit your photographs in jpeg format if possible.

6. There is no upper size limit for your painting, however if you provide us with a photo that has too small a resolution, it will look ‘small’ in our call to vote email to members and disadvantage your entry. If this happens, our MEA Coordinator will likely email you for a better pic.
7. If your painting has been signed by the time you take your photo, please stick a bit of paper over the signature or digitally manipulate the photo so that the signature is obscured.  All paintings must be anonymous to ensure fairness in the competition.
8. Please provide the title of your painting when you email us the pic of your painting. This is so we can ‘attribute’ your painting correctly if it is used after that month’s competition in our Magazine, our website or in Social Media.
9. If you need help with any of this please don’t hesitate to contact mea@vicpastel.com.au. We’d rather you ask for help than not submit.

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Further Resources

How do I take Photos of my Artwork

How to digitally Remove your Signature from your Painting