This page is dedicated to artists who are considering entering Paint Ontario. Let us bring your art to thousands of people – patrons and art lovers. Add this prestigious show to your bio.

Check Your Status is Open


Over $14,000 in Painting and Sculpture Awards & Prizes

Painting Awards: 1st Prize: $3,000, 2nd Prize: $1,000, 2 Honourable Mentions: $500 ea
Sculpture Awards: 1st Prize – $1,000, 2 Prizes of $500 & 2 Honourable Mentions: $250 ea
Sponsor Choice Awards: In 2024, over $3,500 were given as “Sponsor Choice” awards by repeat businesses and patrons. Each award is $250.

Mayor’s Purchase Award $750 – During entry you can mark yes if you would like your piece to be entered to win the Mayor’s Purchase Award. The painting chosen will become a permanent piece in the Mayor’s collection. Regardless of the tag price of your entry, if the work is selected for the purchase award you will receive $750. Works in all categories, including sculpture, are eligible. Because this is a prestigious award, you may even decide to enter a piece of greater value in order to have your work included in this permanent collection.

The Grand Bend Art Centre
16 Municipal Drive, Grand Bend Ontario
Find the GBAC on Google Maps

Drop off Location Details

Shipping Your Piece: If you want to ship your artwork directly to the show Curator, email Curator. Directions for packaging can be found here

Grand Bend Art Centre “Shoppe”

16 Municipal Drive, Grand Bend, ON
• Accepted Artwork Drop-off
• Art Centre Shoppe & Host Gallery
• Unsold Artwork Pick-up AFTER May 24th.

Find the GBAC on Google Maps

Paint Ontario Venue

Grand Bend Legion, Branch 498
Community Hall, upper level
20 Municipal Drive, Grand Bend

Find Paint Ontario on Google Maps


Images must be in a .jpg or .png file format and 3 MB or less in file size. Name your file with Your Name, the Title of the piece and the price of the piece.

Apple has developed a new more highly compressed file format .HEIC and is the default on new iPhones. This digital image format is not accepted on entry.  

To change the format on your iPhone to .jpg go to: Settings/Camera/Format/Most compatible 

How to convert HEIC to JPG
It may be easier to change the setting on your iPhone and retake the picture 

On a Macintosh 

  1. Use the Preview app to open the HEIC image. 
  2. From the top menu, select File and then Export. 
  3. You will see a Format drop-down menu. Use it to select JPG as the format. 
  4. Give your new JPG photo a name and choose where you want to save it. 
  5. Click Save, and you’re done. 

To open an HEIC file in Windows, you will need to update to version 18.09 of Windows 10 or later. Open the file in Paint. Choose Save As and .jpg.  

Reduce File size to less than 3 MB. It is best to make a duplicate of your image before making any adjustments. 

On a Macintosh 

  1. Double click the image. It will open in Preview. 
  1. Under Tools, choose Adjust Size, make changes and hit OK. Save the file 

On a PC Computer 

  1. Right click and open in Paint 
  1. Choose Reduce size. Leave in percentage and depending on how large your file is, reduce the image size. Start at a higher level, for example reduce by 90% if it is only a bit large. Save As.