WELCOME TO THE HOT 100 WATERMEDIA ARTISTS

Watercolor magazine is presenting a unique online contest to identify the best watermedia artists in four categories:

• Emerging Talents

We want to recognize artists who have made significant progress with their art in a relatively short period of time. The artists nominated in this category should have been creating art for less than five years, resumed their art activities after a significant period of time, or recently had the opportunity to increase their art activities.

• Informative Teachers

Watercolor believes that the quality of art instruction is more important than the level of instruction, numbers of students, or venue for the classes. For that reason, the magazine wants to recognize teachers who provide instruction to a few artists in their studios or to thousands of artists through their DVD's, workshops, television programs, or university classes.

• Professional Artists

The artists nominated in this category should have received significant recognition through juried exhibitions, gallery shows, museum presentations, art magazines, or books. They might also be artists who have received major commissions, sold work into important collections, or received grants and prizes because of their professional accomplishments. The term "professional" is not meant to indicate that the artists have sold a specific dollar value of their art or that they are able to support themselves through the sale of their artwork.

• Innovative Painters

This is an open-ended category in which we hope to recognize artists who are breaking new ground with the way they use of art materials, pursue new styles of expression, or create thought-provoking images. The artwork could be representational, abstract, three-dimensional, or formed with several integrated units so long as it presents evidence of innovation.

PRIZES

The winner's artwork will be showcased in the gallery section of the American Artist website and reproduced in the summer issue of Watercolor magazine.

Prizes in Four Categories:

• $250 for the Top Voted Emerging Artist
• $250 for the Top Voted Informative Teacher
• $250 for the Top Voted Professional Artist
• $250 for the Top Voted Innovative Painter

HOW TO BE NOMINATED

You can nominate any watermedia artist: yourself, your teachers, your friends, or your heroes-by filling out an online entry form, paying a $50 fee for each nomination, and uploading a digital photograph of the nominee's painting.

HOW TO VOTE

Voting for yourself or your favorite nominee is FREE and easy. All you need to do is register and vote online. You can only vote for one nominee in each category, but you can encourage all your friends to support your favorite artist.

DEADLINES

The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2009.
Nominations can be made through March 31, 2009

The deadline for voting is March 31, 2009.
Votes can be cast through April 15, 2009

ENTRY FEE

$50 per nomination

Winners will be announced on the website after April 15, 2009.