Plans for the 2021 Juried Art Exhibition are underway.

The upcoming event will be held virtually this year, but rules and criteria for participation remain the same as in the past.

The Fountain Hills Art League and the Fountain Hills Community and Civic Association co-sponsor the event each year

The exhibition is open to all artists living in the greater Fountain Hills area, including the Verdes, Goldfield Ranch and Fort McDowell areas, as well as members of Fountain Hills Art League.

Submissions must be in by Dec. 11, 2020. Entries must be made online. Artists are limited to two submissions. Entry fees are $30 per submission (non-refundable). Payments should be sent to Bonnie Schweihs, 15615 E. Thistle Drive, Fountain Hills 85268.

Online registration forms are available at fountainhillsartleague.com/2021juried show. Entry forms should be submitted with photos of the entries.

Instructions on how to submit photos are included on the website. If an artist is unable to upload photos, he or she may email photos to Lloyd Tarr, lloyd@tarrs.com and reference the image file name, phone number and note “Juried Show Entry” in the subject of the email.

Categories are photography and digital imaging; paintings including oil, acrylics, watercolor and mixed (more than one medium); drawings including charcoal, pencil, ink and pastel; and other including sculpture, ceramics, fiber art, beaded art, jewelry and wood

Awards and ribbons will be given for Best of Show ($100), first, second and honorable mention ribbons for each category. Additional monetary awards also may be given, depending on the number of entries.

Criteria for judging are as follows: 1) Design/Composition based on principles and elements of design; 2) skill demonstrated; 3) visual impact; 4) emotional impact; and 5) photos will be judged using the same criteria as paintings, rather than technical aspects.

Art must be original. No reproductions will be accepted, and art must have been created within the last three years. Entries must be appropriate for this public venue (eg., no politics or nudity).

Julie Gilbert Pollard will judge the show online. Pollard paints in oil and watercolor in a fluid, painterly manner. Her painting style, while representational, is colored with her own personal concept of reality. She is the author of three North Light Books, Discover Oil Painting, Watercolor Unleashed and Brilliant Color, plus nine videos for North Light Shop and Artists Network and several articles in publications such as Splash 18 and AcrylicWorks 3.

A frequent award winner, Pollard has given instruction in watercolor and oil since 1985 across the United States, Canada, Portugal and Italy. She is a signature member of the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society, Arizona Watercolor Association, Arizona Plein Air Painters and San Diego Watercolor Society. Her oils and watercolors have hung in numerous juried and gallery exhibits.

Pollard is represented in Arizona by Esprit Decor Gallery in Phoenix, Raku Gallery in Jerome and Sedona Arts Center Gallery in Sedona.

Winners may be asked to deliver their art on Jan. 7 to the Community Center for viewing during January depending on COVID-19 restrictions. The awards presentation ceremony will be announced.

For general information contact Bonnie Schweihs at bonnieken65@gmail.com or call 480-467-9333.