A huge thank you to all the artists who entered our WASA No More Than 4 Competition, and congratulations to those who received awards and recognition. It was lovely to see a number of Mauritian artists entering, and Zimbabwe being represented too, both countries having an artist in the Honorable Mentions List. We hope to see more artists from our regional neighboring countries participating next time.
RESULTS.
1st Place; Naseema Barday: WAGASA
2nd Place:-Kerry Carter: HERE
3rd Place; Chrysoula Argyros: ALL LOCKED UP
4th Place; Martli Heyns : ECHOES OF THE LOWVELD 1
5th Place: Bronwen Schalkwyk: MARBLE MEDLEY
HONORABLE MENTIONS
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Kerry Carter, Zanne Small, Elsa-Marie Everts, Johanri janse van Rensburg, Chrysoula Argyros, Megan Moore, Grant Wood, Ros Brown, Veetasha Jhumman, Nyasha Bandama, Louis de Jager.
TO VIEW ALL WINNERS : https://watercolorartsa.com/no-more-than-4-awards/
TO VIEW THE WHOLE EXHIBITION;- https://watercolorartsa.com/wasa-members-no-more-than-4-2025/
We decided to introduce a theme for our members’competition this time, to try and get artists to paint specifically, to feel a little challenged and think about their choices; maybe even to step out of their comfort zones and create something new. We were seeing an emerging pattern with the same paintings being re-entered from past exhibitions, and this was intended to get the creative juices running and produce fresh material. We like to try to encourage our artists to move forward in their artistic endeavors instead of relying on older paintings. Working with a limited palette is not an unusual practice and most successful artists will choose their colours specifically instead of using every colour in their paintbox. The result is always more harmonious and cohesive. Choosing your colours and embracing the various mixes can be very rewarding. It was very interesting and educational to see the various colour choices and results.
We received 279 entries in total. Early entries were slow to come in, and then the last 2 days we were under pressure as more than half the total number of entries were processed. A few entries unfortunately had to be declined for not meeting the brief or having too many colors. A tip for next time: enter early to allow time for corrections if needed, and please read the rules stipulated on the entry form. A last-minute scramble to enter something that doesn’t fit the brief is not going to work. When you enter a competition, you should be proud of what you are putting up, make sure the photo is clear, the right way up, suitably cropped and that the details are entered correctly. In any other competition, especially where there is an international interest, there is no editing on entries,[ we still had to edit some] and if they are not presented suitably and according to specifications, they are simple declined.
As always, we engaged international judges to ensure fairness, maintain objectivity, and gain valuable international exposure. Our judges were Chris Reid from South Africa and President of WASA, Jan Min from Holland, Dylan Scott Pierce and Soon Warren from USA. We are always grateful to our judges for giving us their time, and expertise and we value their support for WASA and what we stand for.
We pride ourselves on being inclusive and encouraging to artists at all levels. We welcome beginners and don’t pre-select works for publication— every entry is exhibited and shared on our social media platforms, so everyone has a chance to shine. The overall winner, Naseema Barday exhibited for the first time in a WASA competition as a beginner artist and has since won numerous awards. She is also a regular exhibitor at FabrianoIn Aquerello in Italy as part of the South African representation. We do hope that next time we will see more works from our older long standing members.
One issue we must continue to take seriously is copyright and plagiarism. Sadly, one painting had to be disqualified as it was copied from one of our judges’ works. We were fortunate that the matter was handled with grace, but it was very uncomfortable at the time. Please remember to always use your own references or get permission before using someone else’s material. Copying another artist’s work and presenting it as your own is NEVER acceptable.
Thank you once again to everyone who took part. Your creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment are what keep our community vibrant. Let’s keep learning, growing, and painting with integrity and pride. Last but not least, one of our sponsors , Art Canvas Factory is very generously offering a 35% discount on any canvasses ordered to any South African artist who entered the competition, as long as it is not on a special or a bulk offer. You can email them at support@acfcanvasses.com for a discount code.
Barbi Cunningham, VP, Admin and Competition Manager, WASA