2025 plein air competitions

- You must start and finish your artwork on the day

 - All works must have a stamp on the back, administered by the team on arrival 

- Original artwork can be in any medium & any size  

- iPad and photography artwork does not qualify 

- We accept no responsibility for loss, damage or injury during the day 

- Any work bought back after 4pm, will not be eligible for judging. 

- You can create more than one piece on the day, but  you  can submit only  one item for judging, 

- Criteria for judging is that any winning entry agrees to participate in the selected exhibition  as part of the competition. Artwork will need to be delivered and collected, by the artist, to Spencer House Gallery  framed and ready to hang by 23 May 2025. Artwork for sale is optional, and must be specified. Commission on any sales agreed direct with the individual venues.

- Watch This Space accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or injury during the day.

Arrive at the  Garden, having pre-registered, with your blank surface, be that, canvas, paper, board to be stamped on the back and your materials ready. and your name on the back of your piece.

Go and spend the day creating your artwork within  the confines of the Garden. Come back to the registration point  (The Bothy) by 4pm for judging. 

There will be a  30 minute window for visitors to the garden to see the work created from the day.

Judging  is at 4.30pm, winners will be announced by 5.30pm  The garden is open until 6pm.

Prizes:

1.  Overall winner - £250 cash prize 

private sponsor

The overall prize winner will be included as part of the Spencer House Gallery exhibition, Indulgence, opening on 20 June - 23 August.,

2.  Contemporary landscape- £100 cash prize  

3.  Painting / Landscape - £100  cash prize

(sponsored by Tetbury Goods Shed). 

4..  Indulgence  - celebrating the flamboyant nature of the garden   - £100  (sponsored by SHG)

4.  Youth prize, (under 25s)  - £50 arts material voucher 

(sponsored by Pegasus Art)

5. Rococo Artists in Residence

The winners of the above categories will be invited to take part in a residency to paint seasonally within the Garden.

Seasonal Paintings

For those who wish to enter, we are introducing a new category in this year's competition.

- Winners and Highly Commended will be offered the opportunity to come and  create four pieces of work over the course of the year, all plein air, within the Garden.

- Entry to the Garden up to four times over the year will be free.

- All four pieces would then be submitted for a separate judging prize in Rococo Plein Air Competition 2026. 

The winner of this 2026 category would receive:

 - An opportunity for their work to be hung at Rococo Garden, for sale with a commission taken by the Garden.

- An opportunity to have cards created of their seasonal work organised directly with Rococo Garden. 

              + 4 Highly Commended prizes

Rococo Rocks!

The Plein Air Competition will be the start of a collaborative programme of events between Painswick Rococo Garden,  Tetbury Goods Shed (TGS) and Spencer House Gallery (SHG).  

Please Note:

Criteria for judging is that the overall winner  agrees to participate in the selected exhibition  as part of the competition. Artwork will need to be delivered and collected, by the artist, to the Spencer House Gallery well framed and ready to hang by the end of May 2024. Artwork for sale is optional, and must be specified and price agreed with the galleries. Commission on any sales agreed direct with the individual venues, at their usual rates.

We are hugely grateful to all of our sponsors, for supporting this event:

Spencer House Gallery - https://www.spencerhousegallery.co.uk

Tetbury Goods Shed  -

 https://shed-arts.co.uk

Falcon Pub - 

https://thefalconpainswick.com

Pegasus Art - 

https://www.pegasusart.co.uk

Roger Dellar, award winning artist and acclaimed en plein air specialist painter and awarded by the following socities: New English Art Club, The Royal institute of oil Painters and The Royal society of British artists, amongst others.

* Jaynie Tricker, professional artist and prize winning en plein air specialist painter, passionate about the creative process, with a love for the outdoors, colour and painting directly from life.    

Chris Woodcock, Owner and Curator at Spencer House Gallery in Tetbury , one of the galleries offering prize winners an opportunity to exhibit as part of thir summer show.
 

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

The competition is open to anyone aged 16 years of age and over. 16 - 18 year olds are able to paint but they are not required to register and pay the registration fee, and would just pay for entry into the garden, as a reduced fee of £2.50. Please bring id to confirm your age and to receive the reduced entry fee.

There is a specific youth prize for under 25's as well as the opportunity to have your work judged for the main prizes.  . if you are under 18, to be eligible for judging, please get your work surface stamped, on arrival to the garden.

Do I have to pay to get into the garden?

For all over 18’s who have registered for the event, the entry price to the garden is included in your registration fee of £20. 

* What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event? 

By car: enter GL6 6TH into your satnav, or follow the brown tourism signs on all major approach routes. Painswick Rococo Garden is 15 minutes’ drive from junction 11a of the M5. Parking is free, of which there is plenty.

By train: The nearest station is Stroud (5 miles). Trainline is a useful website.

By bus: Stagecoach service 66 from Cheltenham to Stroud via Brockworth (Mon-Sat), The nearest stop is Pullens Road. Service 166 on Sundays.

On foot: Rococo are just off the Cotswold Way, in beautiful countryside, and well signposted from the corner of Golf Course Road and Gloucester Road.

By bike: cyclists are very welcome. There are no bike racks but you’re welcome to lock your bike near the café. We’re surrounded by hills so you’ll have earned a slice of homemade cake by the time you reach us!

* What can I bring into the event?

All you need to bring is your blank canvas and all materials ready to paint for the day, including an easel and a chair if you wish. No materials are supplied. Plain background cover only, no preparatory drawings or painting to be on your artwork prior to the day. Please note that your canvas will need to be stamped on the back upon arrival to qualify for the judging process at the end of the day. You will also need to provide your own refreshments for the day. There is a fantastic cafe onsite.

* Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

If you're able to arrive with a print out of your booking confirmation that would help us out immensely on the registration desk, alternatively you can have it on your phone, 

* Is my registration fee or ticket transferrable?

If you wish to transfer your booking to another name and it is not within 30 days of the event, then please do email through the details to hello@wtscollective.co.uk and we will endeavour to transfer the details for you. We will not be able to make these changes within 30days of the event and certainly not on the day .

* How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch, via email hello@wtscollective.co.uk , or phone

Niki Whitfield on 07821 098171.

* What's the refund policy?

Refunds are available up to 30 days before the event, however you will still be required to pay the booking fee. We are unable to refund any payments within 30 days of the event. 

- You must start and finish your artwork on the day

 - All works must have a stamp on the back, administered by the team on arrival 

- Original artwork can be in any medium & any size  

- iPad and photography artwork does not qualify 

- We accept no responsibility for loss, damage or injury during the day 

- Any work bought back after 4pm, will not be eligible for judging. 

- You can create more than one piece on the day, but  you  can submit only  one item for judging, 

- Watch This Space accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or injury during the day.

Arrive at Ritual Coffee Roaster on the industrial estate having pre-registered, with your blank surface, be that, canvas, paper, board to be stamped on the back and your materials ready and your name on the back.

Go and spend the day creating your artwork within  the confines of the industrial estate. Maps will show the area and buildings that are due to be knocked down, but you are not confined to painting in this area alone, but you must stay within the estate boundaries.

End of day logistics:

Please bring work back to The Swamp, DEYA Brewery at 4pm. 

Any work received after 4pm will not be eligible for judging

Work will then be photographed and put on display for everyone to see work created on the day, ready for judging. 

Judging will commence at 4.45 

Prizes will be announced at 5.30pm.

All work will be for sale, if agreed by the artist, and available to do so post judging. Purchases can be made direct with the artist and no commission will be taken. 5.30 – 6pm

Pre orders of the book, if not a participant can be made on the day.

Competiton Prizes include:

-  Winner £100 cash prize and a double page spread in the book

-  Youth (18-25) £100 cash prize and a double page spread in the book

-  Contemporary Artwork £100 cash prize and a double page spread in the book

o  6  highly commended  and a page in the book

As part of the project, we will create  a Post Event Book  to capture the day, record a documented piece of the site, celebrate its heritage and present the work made. As part of the criteria for registration, the artist will receive a high-res image of the piece created on the day.  The winning artists will be offered a space in the book as part of their prize, all other participants will be chosen according to layout requirements, but we will endeavour to include all registered artists  who  create work on the day.

Each participating registered artist will receive a free copy of the completed book.

* Mike Duckering BSc(Arch) BA(FineArt) RIBA

Chair: Lansdown Art Studios Association

Mike Duckering studied architecture at the University of Bath under the late Professor Ken Smithies, a renowned pioneer of modern architectural design theory. After graduating he worked for many years as an architect in Bristol - an early project was the Arnolfini Gallery - establishing his own practice in 1986. The practice carried out a wide variety of commercial and industrial projects in Bristol and the southwest. Art has been an ongoing interest, and after retiring from architecture, he went on to study art at the University of Gloucestershire, gaining a BA Fine Art degree in 2013. Mike is co-founder of the thriving Lansdown Art Studios in Cheltenham, where he has a studio. His work has been exhibited and sold at a number of galleries and exhibitions, including Hadfield Fine Art, Sevenhampton; Lime Tree Gallery, Bristol; Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway; the Affordable Art Fair and Bristol's Royal West of England Academy. His work is held in private collections in the UK, USA, Canada and France.

mikeduckering.co.uk

• Sophie Wardle - artist 

• Jeremy Duncan who finds inspiration in overlooked old buildings, which provide a bold geometry of shape, colour and texture, exhibited regularly in the past in London, at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Mall Galleries, and was represented for eight years by a gallery in Mayfair.

* How do we register and how much is registration: 

Please click the relevant link BELOW

Registration is £20 per person - REGISTER 

* Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event? 

The competition is open to anyone aged over 18 years  old . There is a specific youth prize for 18  25’s as well as the opportunity to have your work judged for the main prizes. 

* What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event? Lansdown Industrial Estate is a stones throw from Cheltenham Train Station.  Enter industrial estate off Gloucester Road beside the Steam & Whistle pub (opposite back of station).  There are  lots of parking options available in the vicinity, please check the car park at the far end of the estate for parking signs, as this is pwned independently and tickets are required.  All other areas of the estate by DEYA and Ritual are free to park. 

* What can I bring into the event?

 All you need to bring is your blank canvas and all materials ready to paint for the day, including an easel and a chair if you wish. No materials are supplied. Plain background cover only, no preparatory drawings or painting to be on your artwork prior to the  daay. Please note that your canvas will need to be stamped on the back upon arrival to qualify for the judging process at the end of the day. You will also need to provide your own refreshments for the day. Ritual Coffee Roasters is open from 9am - 4pm where you can buy  refresh ments and food, and DEYA is open 12-6pm.  

* Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

If you're able to arrive with a print out of your booking confirmation that would help us out immensely on the registration desk, alternatively you can have it on your phone, 

* Is my registration fee or ticket transferrable?

If you wish to transfer your booking to another name and it is not within 30 days of the event, then please do email through the details to hello@wtscollective.co.uk and we will endeavour to transfer the details for you. We will not be able to make these changes within 30days of the event and certainly not on the day .

* How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch, via email hello@wtscollective.co.uk , or phone

Niki Whitfield on 07821 098171.

* What's the refund policy?

Refunds are available up to 30 days before the event, however you will still be required to pay the booking fee. We are unable to refund any payments within 30 days of the event.