Artists Network: Four Decades of Traditional Media Painting Education
The 43rd Annual Artists Magazine Art Competition is open right now, with a final deadline of June 11, 2026. Five first-place winners will each receive $2,000 in cash. Twenty-five honorable mentions get a $50 gift card and a one-year membership. Winners appear in the Jan/Feb 2027 issue. That is a competition structure that has been running for 43 consecutive years, which tells you something about the institution behind it: Artists Network has been serving traditional media painters since 1984, and it is not slowing down.
The platform is the digital home of The Artist's Magazine (founded 1984) and Watercolor Artist, two of the most respected traditional media art publications in the United States. Over four decades, these magazines have accumulated an archive of tutorials, artist profiles, and technique articles from hundreds of professional artists and educators. That archive is now accessible through the Artists Network website, and a membership gives you access to over 1,000 hours of video instruction plus a searchable digital magazine archive.
The Magazine Heritage and Why It Matters
The Artist's Magazine has been one of the most influential publications in American art education for four decades. The editorial standards have been maintained consistently: tutorials are commissioned from professional artists with demonstrated expertise, materials reviews are written by artists who actually use the products, and the technique content is edited for accuracy rather than clickability.
Watercolor Artist focuses specifically on watercolour painting and has built a substantial archive covering every aspect of the medium. The Fall 2026 issue, for example, features work by Debbie Friis-Pettitt, Ann Smiga Greene, Paula Fiebich, and Thomas W Schaller, with step-by-step guides and technique articles. For watercolourists who want to deepen their understanding of the medium, this archive is a serious resource.
The magazine heritage gives Artists Network a credibility advantage over purely digital platforms. The editorial process that has been refined over 40 years of print publication means the content is fact-checked, technically accurate, and produced by people with genuine expertise. User-generated content platforms cannot match this level of editorial quality control.
Insider tip: The membership includes a print subscription to Artists Magazine, access to the digital archive, and the 1,000+ hours of video instruction. At $99.99 per year for an annual membership, the value is strong if you actually use the archive. If you only want the magazine, the standalone subscription is cheaper. Do the math based on how much video instruction you realistically watch.
The Competitions: Real Money, Real Exposure
Artists Network runs multiple competitions throughout the year, and these are not token contests. The current competition calendar includes:
- Artists Magazine 43rd Annual Art Competition: $17,500 in total cash prizes across five categories. Final deadline June 11, 2026. Members pay $30 per entry, non-members $40.
- 28th Annual Pastel 100: Sponsored by Pastel Journal, for pastel artists specifically. Early bird deadline June 10, 2026.
- 20th Annual Over 60 Art Competition: For artists age 60 and up working in all traditional media. Super early bird June 26, 2026.
- Splash 28: The Best of Watercolor: Celebrating the best of watercolour with 100+ winners and finalists. Super early bird August 11, 2026.
- Strokes of Genius 18: The Best of Drawing: Top award winners earn cash prizes plus coverage in The Best of Drawing publication.
- Artists Magazine 5th Annual Artists to Watch: For students, recent graduates, and older artists newly focused on art-making.
Insider tip: Members get early-bird pricing even after the early bird deadline has passed. If you plan to enter multiple competitions per year, the membership pays for itself in entry fee savings alone. The competitions also offer a "Members-Only Competitions Special" that extends discounted pricing.
The Tutorial Content: What You Actually Learn
The tutorial library covers every major traditional painting and drawing medium. The content is organised by medium and skill level, and the instruction quality reflects the magazine editorial standards.
Watercolour tutorials are among the strongest content on the platform, drawing on the Watercolor Artist archive. The coverage includes basic technique, colour mixing, wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry approaches, landscape painting, portrait painting, and experimental techniques. The Paint Along workshop series in July 2026, for example, focused on creating convincing depth in landscapes with master artist Johannes.
Oil painting tutorials cover direct painting, glazing, and indirect techniques, with instruction from professional painters working in styles from classical realism to contemporary expressionism. The oil painting content is particularly strong in portrait and figure painting.
Drawing tutorials cover graphite, charcoal, coloured pencil, pastel, and other drawing media, from basic mark-making through advanced rendering and composition.
Insider tip: The video tutorials vary in production quality. The newer content is well-produced with clear camera angles on the working surface. Some of the older archive content has lower video quality and audio that can be difficult to hear. Filter by date if production quality matters to you.
Competitor Comparison
Artists Network is the American equivalent of the UK's Artists and Illustrators. Both serve traditional media painters with technique content, materials reviews, and competitions. The key difference is geographic focus: Artists Network's competitions, workshop listings, and exhibition coverage are US-oriented, while Artists and Illustrators covers the UK.
For digital and concept artists, Artists Network is not the right resource. ArtStation Learning serves that audience with entertainment industry-focused training. For artists interested in classical realism specifically, the Art Renewal Center offers a more focused but narrower resource.
Compared to YouTube and free online tutorials, Artists Network offers editorially vetted content from named professionals with a track record. The trade-off is cost: the membership is $99.99 per year, while YouTube is free. If you are serious about traditional media painting and want reliable, organised instruction rather than hunting through inconsistent YouTube content, the membership is worth it.
The Community and Workshops
Beyond the tutorial content, Artists Network offers online workshops taught by professional artists and educators. These workshops provide more structured, in-depth instruction than individual tutorials, with cumulative skill building across multiple sessions. The workshops cover specific subjects, techniques, and media in depth.
The community aspect of Artists Network is less developed than its editorial and educational content. The forums exist and are active, but the community features have not evolved at the same pace as dedicated social platforms. For community interaction, Cara and Reddit's art communities offer more dynamic social engagement.
Final Verdict: Who Is This Actually For?
Artists Network is for American traditional media painters who want access to a vetted, decades-deep archive of technique instruction, materials reviews, and professional artist profiles. If you paint in watercolour, oil, acrylic, pastel, or drawing media, and you want organised, reliable instruction from working professionals rather than the variable quality of YouTube, the membership delivers genuine value.
It is not for digital artists, concept artists, or artists outside the US who want locally relevant competition and exhibition listings. The community features are also secondary to the educational content, so if social interaction is your primary goal, look elsewhere.
The competitions alone make the membership worthwhile if you enter more than two per year. The video library and magazine archive are the long-term value proposition. Visit artistsnetwork.com to browse the free content and competition listings before deciding whether to subscribe. For related resources, check out Artists and Illustrators, Gurney Journey, and Muddy Colors.
