Topeka, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/09/2008 -- PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced the Call to Entries for the 2008 "Paint The Parks" National Artists' Competition. Paint The Parks will attract many of our nations' top artists, with a $10,000 purchase award for the Grand Prize. Many other cash prizes and purchase awards will also be available, making Paint The Parks one of the country's richest art competitions. Full details and entry forms are available at www.PaintAmerica.org

The 2008 Paint the Parks100 Competition and the Paint the Parks "Mini50" provide the country's top national venue for established and emerging representational artists to showcase their talents. The competition celebrates our country's national parks, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the National Parks Foundation (www.nationalparks.org) The competition also supports the PaintAmerica mission of providing scholarships for young artists and promoting the visual arts across America.

The Paint the Parks Competition format rewards artists with great potential for sales of their work. It also provides recognition, exposure and awareness through a national traveling exhibition and an online display. The exhibition will be shown in venues such as The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, MO; The RW Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA; and The CACEG Gallery; Estes Park, CO. Showcasing the beauty and qualities of America's National Park system as seen through the eyes of its artists is another benefit of the program.

The Second Annual Paint the Parks 100 carries on the tradition of the long-running Arts for the Parks competition. Last years grand prize winners were John Agnew of Cincinnati, OH for his painting "Looking for the Shore" and Ray Hunter of Santa Barbara, CA for his mini painting "Lesson on the Yellowstone".

Entries representing any of the 390 National Parks are submitted and judged within one of the three National Park Regions. The highest scoring painting from all entries is named the Grand Prize Purchase Award Winner and claims a $10,000 purchase award. It, and the top 33 paintings from each of the three regions advance to the Paint the Parks100. Other artists in the top 100 also have the chance to receive additional cash prizes and purchase awards. Recognition is also given to the "2nd 100" artists.

The "mini" competition is for works up to 180 square inches. The full-size competition accepts work up to 720 square inches. A discounted entry is available for meeting the early deadline of May 1, 2008. The final competition entry deadline is May 31, 2008. Galleries interested in exhibiting the Paint The Parks Top100 should contact PaintAmerica at mail@PaintAmerica.org

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Topeka, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/28/2007 -- PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced the Call to Entries for the 2007 PaintAmerica Top100 and the PaintAmerica MiniTop50 Art Competitions. In the second year of the PaintAmerica Top100, the competition is already among the richest in prize money and purchase awards. The Top 100 Grand Prize winner will earn a $7,500 purchase award. The MiniTop50 winner claims a $2,500 purchase award. Dozens of purchase awards, cash prizes and other awards are available, and more are still being secured. Full details and entry forms are available at http://www.PaintAmerica.org

PaintAmerica is a non-profit organization formed to support and promote the visual arts at the state and national levels. The PaintAmerica Top100 Art Competition and the PaintAmerica MiniTop50 provide a top-notch, national venue for local, regional and national artists, with proceeds providing scholarships for young artists and support for programs of the PaintAmerica Association. The competition allows artists to showcase their talent and encourages and rewards them with national recognition and sales opportunities for their work. Showcasing the beauty and qualities of every state of America as seen through the eyes of its artists is an additional benefit to the program.

The competition format begins at the individual state level. The top paintings representing each state are chosen. A nationally recognized panel of judges determines the Top 2 in each state. Collectively, the top two in each state attain the honor of being recognized as part of the Top100 in the nation. With this honor comes national exposure, through online and touring exhibitions, as well as the opportunity to become the overall winner.

The MiniTop50 competition for works under 180 square inches is also part of this call to entry. A discounted entry is available for meeting the early deadline of November 1, 2007. The final contest entry deadline is November 30, 2007. Galleries interested in exhibiting the Top100 or MiniTop50 should contact PaintAmerica at mail@PaintAmerica.org.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced the Call to Entries for the 2007 “Paint The Parks” Art Competition.

Topeka, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/08/2007 -- PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced the Call to Entries for the 2007 "Paint The Parks" Art Competition. The competition was developed to fill the void created when the Arts for the Parks program was recently discontinued. Paint The Parks will attract many of our nations' top artists, with a $10,000 purchase award for the Grand Prize. In addition, The Grand Canyon Association and the Jack Dudley Memorial Fund Purchase Award has been established. This $3,500 Purchase Award will recognize the top choice of all entries depicting the Grand Canyon. Many other cash prizes and purchase awards will also be available, making Paint The Parks one of the country's richest art competitions. Full details and entry forms are available at www.PaintAmerica.org

PaintAmerica was established to support and promote the arts, with a goal of providing scholarship opportunities for young artists, while providing a premiere, national showcase for the country's most notable artists, as well as upcoming emerging artists. "We are delighted to have the support of the Grand Canyon Association and the Jack Dudley Memorial Fund," stated Rod Seel, Executive Director of PaintAmerica. "We couldn't ask for a better supporting partner than the Grand Canyon Association. Thanks to the Jack Dudley Memorial Fund, over two million visitors a year will see the Grand Canyon Purchase Award Winner when it goes on display at the Kolb Studio on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon."

The Paint the Parks Competition format rewards artists with great potential for sales of their work. It also provides recognition, exposure and awareness through a national traveling exhibition and an online display. Showcasing the beauty and qualities of America's National Park system as seen through the eyes of its artists is another benefit of the program.

Artists who previously took part in the Arts for the Parks will find many similarities with the Paint The Parks competition. The format of the competition asks artists to create artworks that depict any of the country's 390 National Parks. Artists may enter as many paintings as they wish, with a final judging by a nationally recognized juror panel to choose the Top100 winners – 33 from each of the three National Park regions, plus one Grand Prize winner.

A "mini" competition for works between 80 and 165 square inches is also part of this call to entry. A discounted entry is available for meeting the early deadline of May 1, 2007. The final contest entry deadline is May 31, 2007. Galleries interested in exhibiting the Paint The Parks Top100 should contact PaintAmerica at mail@PaintAmerica.org

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support artists and promote the visual arts, has announced that Deborah Chapin’s “Indian Summer” is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2006 PaintAmerica Top100 Art Competition. Chapin’s work, a 16” x 34” oil painting, depicts the Chesapeake wetlands and grasses in late summer. Chapin is a Chesapeake area resident, living in Seabrook, Maryland.

Topeka, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/04/2006 -- PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support artists and promote the visual arts, has announced that Deborah Chapin's "Indian Summer" is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2006 PaintAmerica Top100 Art Competition. Chapin's work, a 16" x 34" oil painting, depicts the Chesapeake wetlands and grasses in late summer. Chapin is a Chesapeake area resident, living in Seabrook, Maryland.

Chapin's painting was chosen from hundreds of entries submitted nationwide, by a jury panel of three nationally recognized artists. As Grand Prize Winner, she is the recipient of PaintAmerica's $5,000 Grand Prize Purchase Award. "This is part of my series of wetlands and grasses that were painted on the Chesapeake Bay," Chapin said. "Indian Summer is a plein air painting of the tall Miscanthus Grasses, Lobbloly pines and other vegetation common to the area. I've lived in the West, Midwest and the Eastern seaboard, and have found that each area has a remarkable beauty. I think it's a terrific idea that PaintAmerica has a developed an art competition that represents the beauty of all 50 states."

PaintAmerica is one of the nation's leading art competitions in cash prizes and purchase awards. PaintAmerica was established to support and promote the arts, with a goal of providing scholarship opportunities for young artists, as well as providing a premiere, national venue for local, regional and national artists to showcase their talent. "The Top100 Competition format not only rewards artists with great potential for sales of their work, it also encourages them with recognition and national awareness through gallery exhibits," stated Rod Seel, Executive Director of PaintAmerica. "Showcasing the beauty and qualities of every state of America as seen through the eyes of its artists is another great benefit of the program."

Juror's Choice Cash Award winners were: Frank LaLumia, for his painting, "World Cup Fever"; Jon Gerik, for his painting, "Mission San Xavier Del Bac"; and Eva Van Rijn, for her painting, "Gunnison in Low Light." The Director's Choice Cash Award went to Murrell Butler for his painting "Tranquil Bayou"; and an Award of Distinction was presented to Sherrie Mayotte for her pastel painting "Distant Thunder."

The unique format of the PaintAmerica competition asks artists to create artworks that depict a particular state of their choosing. Art can be landscape, cityscape, nature, wildlife, or anything topical to that state. The artist enters their paintings at the state level. Then, top winners from each state are chosen by a national jury panel to progress to the National Top100. The winning paintings from the competition are available for purchase, and can be viewed at www.PaintAmerica.org Future competition information and other programs of PaintAmerica are also available at this site.

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PaintAmerica, (www.PaintAmerica.org), a non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced a panel of nationally recognized jurors for their PaintAmerica Top100 Art Competition. In its inaugural year, the PaintAmerica Top100 is rapidly becoming one of the nations leading artists’ competitions.

Topeka, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/26/2006 -- PaintAmerica, (www.PaintAmerica.org), a non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts, has announced a panel of nationally recognized jurors for their PaintAmerica Top100 Art Competition. In its inaugural year, the PaintAmerica Top100 is rapidly becoming one of the nations leading artists' competitions.

Executive Director Rod Seel announced the panel on Friday, June 23rd. "We are extremely pleased to have assembled a jury panel with such incredible credentials. We have three signature artists, representing various parts of the country, and virtually every artists' medium." The panel consists of Catherine Anderson AWS of Maine, Russ Tanner OPA from Colorado, and Ernst Ulmer MFA of Kansas.

Catherine Anderson, AWS (www.catherineanderson.net?) has been a painter for over 35 years. Anderson attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, University of Cincinnati and Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She has received numerous awards from top art organizations in the United States. She is a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, California Watercolor Association, Knickerbocker Artists, Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society, Midwest Watercolor Society and Watercolor West.

Russ Tanner, OPA (www.russtannerstudio.com?) is one of the premiere landscape artists of the West. Tanner has a degree from The American Academy of Art in Chicago, and studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. He has been voted a signature member of OPA. He was juried a Top 100 finalist for the 2002 Art for the Parks Painting Competition and his paintings have been acclaimed by both collectors and art critics. He exhibits in national and regional shows, and his work can be seen in major galleries in New Mexico, Wyoming, Texas and Utah and in national and international corporate and private collections.

Ernst Ulmer, MFA (www.ernstulmer.com?) earned his M.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute, worked as a commercial illustrator until the late 70's, and finally surrendered to full-time painting. Highly versatile, Ulmer is comfortable in the use of oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, and graphite pencil. His paintings and murals are prized by private and corporate collectors worldwide. He has received many awards for his work, including the prestigious first place award, American in Paris, for pastel, presented to him by the Salon International du Pastel, Compeigne, France. He is a founder and president of the Heartland Pastel Society and a signature member of the Degas Pastel Society of New Orleans, Louisana and the Kansas Watercolor Society. Ulmer most recently was awarded the Kansas Governor's Arts Award.

PaintAmerica was established to support and promote the arts, with a goal of providing scholarship and education opportunities for young artists, as well as providing a premiere, national venue for local and regional artists to showcase their talent beside some of the nation's best established artists. "The Top100 Competition format not only rewards artists with great potential for sales of their work, it also encourages them with recognition and awareness through state level gallery exhibits," stated Seel. "Showcasing the beauty and qualities of every state of America as seen through the eyes of its artists is another benefit of the program."

The unique format of the competition asks artists to create artworks that depict a particular state of their choosing. Art can be landscape, cityscape, nature, wildlife, or anything topical to that state. The artist enters their paintings at the state level, with 50 winners chosen within each state. Then, two winners from each state are chosen by a national jury panel to automatically progress to the National Top100. Along the way, the Top50 in each state are included in gallery and online exhibits, with excellent chances of earning a purchase award or other prizes. The Grand Prize winner will earn a $5,000 purchase award, plus a cash prize. Dozens of purchase awards, cash prizes and other awards are available, and more are still being secured. Full details and entry forms are available at www.PaintAmerica.org The final contest entry deadline is August 1, 2006. Galleries interested in exhibiting the Top50 in each state, or the National Top100 should contact PaintAmerica at mail@PaintAmerica.org

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm