The 2026
Competition
Early Bird Entries begin December 1st.General Admission begin January 1st.Contest closes on March 31st, 2026 at 11:59 PDT.
Prize Pool Status
60% of total funds raised, including all revenue from submissions, goes straight back to our artists, which will be divided evenly across all 10 categories.
A week at the newly renovated Hotel Forrest in Florida.
Days are structured but human: time with fellow finalists, focused sessions with the Master Jury, and quiet chances to refine what matters. Evenings open to gallery owners and collectors—conversations that can turn into next steps.
It’s not a parade; it’s a launch. The art stands, the room listens, and the right doors open.
More information coming soon.
Still Life
Composed objects—florals, vessels, fruit, tools—arranged for balance, light, and meaning. Technique and viewpoint turn the ordinary into quiet symbolism, inviting contemplation over detail, texture, and form.
Watercolor
Transparent pigment and water create luminous layers where the paper participates in the image. Edges bloom, light pools, and restraint becomes expression—ideal for atmosphere, gesture, and subtle transitions.
Drawing
Line, tone, and mark-making as the foundation of seeing. From graphite to charcoal and ink, drawing reveals structure and intention, capturing form, proportion, and movement with deliberate economy.
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Sacred Realism
Devotional subjects rendered with lifelike clarity. The spiritual is approached through the tangible—ritual objects, sacred narratives, and moments of reverence—grounded in anatomy, light, and believable space.
Portrait
The study of presence: a likeness shaped by light, gesture, and gaze. Beyond resemblance, portraiture seeks character and relationship, honoring sitter and story with sensitivity and craft.
Narrative
Images that carry a story within a single frame. Composition, symbolism, and sequence of cues guide the viewer through conflict, change, or revelation—leaving room for interpretation.
Landscape
Place, weather, and time distilled into color and atmosphere. From rugged coastlines to quiet fields, these works explore horizon, depth, and mood—how land and sea shape feeling.
Cityscape
Architecture and lived spaces expressed through light, perspective, and pattern. Windows, streets, and rooms become stages for human presence—seen or implied—capturing rhythm and design.
Wildlife
Animals observed in their element: behavior, motion, and habitat. Accurate anatomy meets expressive timing, honoring the vitality and dignity of the species portrayed.
Figurative
The human form as central subject, across styles and media. From classical realism to contemporary surrealism, figure works explore anatomy, gesture, and the narratives our bodies carry.
Application
Eligibility
Open to artists worldwide,
18 years or older
Work must be original and
created within the last 3 years
Maximum of 5 works
per category
All submitted images must
be high-resolution
Application Submission grants Art Ascend rights for promotional usefor finalists works.
Meet Our
Master Jury
Seven world-class masters join our jury—artists whose work has shaped galleries and movements worldwide.
They’ll look for disciplined craft, brave ideas and stories told with clarity and soul. Each juror will give an inciteful review of their top three picks of contestants in each of our ten categories.
Bring your best—this is your opportunity for world class masters to review your work.
