The Group is 5 Years Old!

Welcome Welcome, old and new members!

Dec 31, 2014 will be our 5 year mark. In 5 years we've grown to 8,700 members and counting!

I thank everyone for their help in this group, from the Members submitting paintings to the Co-Founders voting them in.

The only reason this group was started was I just graduated with my art degree and was looking for a dA group to submit my college oil paintings to. Finding no group specialized in the medium, I decided to start my own group and submit my work. I was sure a few fellow deviants also wanted to submit their paintings. I had no idea I'd have 8,000+ fellow deviants who also liked this idea.

I am truly touched by how large this group has grown, and so happy the traditional medium of painting is still alive and well.

Thank you everyone, and Happy New Year!









This Club's Purpose:

Sharing with others your ability to paint. I'd like to think this group will be a laid-back type group with happy, friendly vibes. No hate, please. Starting this group has already showed that there are traditional painters still out there in the world that is going digital.

Traditional-Painting Submissions:

This Group is for traditional/physical painters and their work. Acrylics, oils, ink, a spray can, or any physical-type of paint is permitted upon any surface imaginable. Graffiti, traditional, window art, painted ceramics, face paint; any type of paint-based works are allowed. We also allow painted ink or pastel artwork. We look for artists who are dedicated to getting messy and putting themselves into their pieces.

  
Limit on Submissions:

We have a 1-per-week limitation. We hope this will slow down the inbox-overload for all involved.

How To Tell Us Your Piece Is A Painting:

1) Submitted works should be categorized by starting with:
Traditional > Painting > etc
Traditional > Mixed Media > etc (with paint being 50% or more of submitted piece)

2) If you do not have your piece Categorized as in step 1 then you MUST indicate the medium you used in your artist's comments. (i.e. watercolors, acrylic, etc)  Why? Because if it's categorized as a drawing, looks like a drawing, and has no medium, everyone is going to assume the piece is a drawing, and it will be denied.  We want to avoid this just as much as you do.

Mixed-Media Works:

We are strict with mix-media paintings. The piece has to be at least 50% paint and applied in a painted manner. Editing for brightness, contrast, clean-up, etc. is not considered mixed media. Small, non-obstrusive digital frames and watermarks are allowed, as long as they follow what is listed in the "Quality" section below.  Example of a denied piece: adding a touch of watercolor to a colored pencil piece. Example of an approved piece: a rock slab with scenery painted on its surface.   

  
Quality:

We ask you present your paintings professionally. This means: crop photos of your paintings so that the focus is your work and not what's around it. Try to avoid flash glares/lighting in the photo of your painting. (We can help you with this if you're having trouble- but first, scroll down to the "An admin asked me to fix something, but what if I can't fix it now?  What if I don't know how to fix it?" section of the FAQ for some useful tips and links.).

NO WIPs:

We do not accept WIPs (Work In Progress), with the exception of "tutorial" type images as seen in our Tutorial section.

Mature Content:

We follow dA's rules about mature content, and artwork submitted with require proper mature tags.  We ask ALL our members to be mature and respect other artists and their work. As the saying goes: If you don't like it, don't look at it.

What do you consider acceptable media?   

All traditional painting methods and traditional mixed media (at least 50% paint) are accepted.  Aside from brightness/contrast and cropping edits, the only digital editing we accept is frames and watermarks.  
Painting Media (ACCEPTABLE):
-acrylics
-airbrushing
-glaze (on ceramics)
-gouache
-ink (if applied with brush)
-oil
-oil pastels (if classified as painting)
-poster paint
-spray paint
-tempura
-watercolours/aquarelle
-works like ceramics, OOAK (one-of-a-kind) dolls, and other objects painted on unusual canvases)
-any combination of other traditional media with at least 50% paint on it
Drawing Media (NOT Acceptable):
-charcoal
-coloured pencils
-ink (if applied with pen)
-markers
-oil pastels (if classes as drawing or with a drawing-like appearance)
-pastels
-pencils
-pens
In-Between Media (may or may not be acceptable): -ink (as described above) -watercolour pencils (must have been used with water, and must look like 50% painting) -some mixed media pieces will take longer to get through the submission process because it takes us a while to decide if they're 50% painting

Why was my submission declined?   

There should have been a comment on your denied submission explaining why it was or will be denied. If you've taken longer than 3 days to answer or comply with an admin question, the piece will be denied. If you've checked this and still do not understand why your piece was denied, send a note to our founder: guardian-of-moon. 

Why did an admin ask me to change something?   

If a piece is a painting, but is in the wrong folder or is not presented well (cropping issues, blurry, etc), we will tell or ask you to fix your submission before denying or accepting.  For folder mistakes, we ask that you withdraw the incorrect submission before submitting to the correct folder. For quality issues (cropping, blurry scan/photo, etc), we ask you to obtain a better copy before accepting your submission.  If we do not receive a response from you, the artist, within 3 days, the submission will be denied.

An admin asked me to fix something, but what if I can't fix it now?  What if I don't know how to fix it?   

Feel free to resubmit the image when fixed.  All computers come with default editors that will crop photos and edit for brightness (i.e. Windows Media Picture Manager or iPhoto), but sometimes Photoshop or similar is required.  If you don't know how to fix it or don't have access to Photoshop, just consult these resources:
How to photograph and crop paintings: fav.me/d471sdt
How to crop scans and photos: fav.me/d30niwf
Editing brightness and contrast: fav.me/d3fno6l
*How to digitally edit artwork so it looks the way it did in real life: fav.me/d393nzv
Download the GIMP (a free and legal alternative to Photoshop): www.gimp.org/
*Tutorials with an asterisk mean that you'll need Photoshop, but they will work the same in GIMP.

How do I decide which folder my piece goes in?   

If you want to get your piece accepted as quickly as possible, first check through the folders and read the descriptions in them. If you still don't know, just place a comment with your submission and one of us admins will help you decide.

Why did an admin ask me to clarify something?   

Sometimes, it is unclear to us how a piece fits into the "Spiritual" or "Controversy" folders, and we might ask you to tell us why you feel it belongs there. For media issues (piece is not in dA's painting categorization and no media is stated in artist description), we will ask what media you used to create the piece. Again, if we do not receive a response from you within 3 days, the submission will be declined.

Why was my piece removed from the group?   

Sometimes pieces that break the rules accidentally make their way into the group.  If this happens, the admin who catches it will remove the piece from the group.

One of the admins was mean to me!   

Some people seem to take every decline and question as a personal attack on themselves. We will tell you your piece was not 50%+ of paint, or not cropped properly. If you did not fix your piece after being told to, or decline fixing it, that is your decision. Our decision will be to decline the submission.