The Colored Pencil Society of America was founded in 1990 to establish a nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to artists working with colored pencil. The CPSA currently has over 1600 members in fifteen countries. Each year an annual international convention is held in a different part of the country presenting the public with the highest aesthetic standards in colored pencil fine art. Many cash awards are presented to the winners and Best of Show merits the CPSA Award and the CIPPY Trophy. Signature status can be earned only by acceptance into these shows.

District Chapter 210, San Francisco Bay Area was founded in 1996 by Shirley Dominiak. Her tireless efforts brought a group together from the northern California area. This area runs from south of the Bay Area north to the Oregon border and east to the Nevada border. Many diverse and wonderful artists are members of DC210.