Author: Blackstone Valley Art Association

Every year, the Blackstone Valley Art Association holds an Uxbridge SketchFest celebration. This month-long experience encourages artists to explore the town of Uxbridge and sketch its beauty.

For various reasons, some artists are unable to go on site to visit locations. For that reason, members of the Blackstone Valley Art Association have created an Uxbridge Photo Library. These photos are donated by BVAA members to serve as source inspiration for sketches. The photographers still hold the copyright to their images. They are granting sketchers the ability to use the photos as a starting point to create their Uxbridge SketchFest artwork.

These images were part of the 2022 SketchFest project. These images were all supplied by photographer Nancy Wright. These are from Rice City Pond and Heritage Park. They were taken on September 23, 2020.

Let us know if you have any questions, and best of luck with your sketching!

Click on any image to see it in a larger format.

You can also view these in a slideshow format:

Here are other photographs from 2022 which are part of the Uxbridge SketchFest Source Library –

Uxbridge SketchFest 2022 Source Photo Library

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring our annual members-only Fall Show! This show is open to all active members of the BVAA. Entries can include all forms of artwork on any theme. This show will be judged for cash prizes.

When:
Saturday, September 24th to Saturday, October 22nd, 2022

Where:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

There is a TON of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Entering the Show
The theme is wide open. Any topic can be addressed as long as it is family-friendly. Artwork can be any size. That being said, please contact us first if you plan on bringing anything over 20″ x 30″ in size. We need to arrange for space for those separately.

All wall-hanging items must be properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. If you are new to preparing artwork for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The fee to participate is $8/piece or 3 for $20 for members. You can submit up to 3 pieces. As this is a judged show, you cannot enter anything which has been entered into a previous BVAA judged show. The deadline to submit is Saturday, September 24th, 2022 at 3pm EST.

Drop Off of Works
Work must be dropped off on Saturday, September 24th between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).

Opening Reception
The reception is Friday, September 30th from 5-7pm. Please bring a snack or drink to share! Winners are generally announced around 6pm.

Pick Up
Saturday, October 22, 2021, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, contact us for other arrangements.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!

A frame is an integral part of most hanging works of art. For some formats like photography and watercolors, the frame and mat help to keep the artwork surface separate from the protective glass, so the two do not stick together. On other artwork, like oil and acrylic, the frame around the edge of the artwork creates a border to highlight and complement the piece.

A well-done frame can elevate a piece of art from “lovely” to “must buy”. I’ve heard from several buyers in our gallery that part of the reason they bought a piece was because of how well the frame matched it. I’ve also heard from judges who adored a given art-frame pairing and felt it brought the whole piece together.

Come join us on Tuesday, Sept 20th as master framer Sue Dion steps us through how to mat and frame a piece to bring out its best qualities. Sue is both a talented artist as well as an experienced, professional framer. She’s taught framing at the Worcester Art Museum. Please follow her on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/SueDionArt/

Sue is also on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9aoUdh6KJ6tQb4PBmcjmmw

Our September 2022 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 20th from 6:30-9pm.

Location:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot.

This meeting and workshop is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all try new things we’ve never done before.

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half interests you the most. In general, our monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month unless otherwise announced.

All are welcome – this workshop is open to members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to try some new things and explore your creativity!

NOTE: We did record this session. The video is available for BVAA members to view. If you’re a member, contact us for the information.

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring our fourth annual “Show of Hands” open art show! We had this show in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and then the pandemic interfered. We are back in the groove!

The public is warmly invited to participate in this art show! This show is open to all forms of artistic expression EXCEPT photography. It is the counterpoint to our photography-only show in January. We would love to see watercolors, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, pottery, mixed media, drawings, pastels, and other non-photographic forms of artwork.

We award cash prizes!

When:
September 10 to September 24, 2022

Where:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

There is a LOT of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Entering the Show
The theme is wide open. Any topic can be addressed as long as it is family-friendly and is not photography. Artwork can be any size. That being said, please contact us first if you plan on bringing anything over 20″ x 30″ in size. We need to arrange for space for those separately.

All wall-hanging items must be properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. If you are new to preparing artwork for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The fee to participate is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. You can submit up to 2 pieces for that fee. The deadline to submit the online form for labels is Saturday September 3rd at midnight.

Drop Off of Works
Work must be dropped off on Saturday, September 3rd or Saturday, September 10th between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).

Opening Reception
The show reception will be Friday, September 23rd, 2022 from 5-7. Invite family and friends – all are welcome!

Pick Up
Saturday, September 24th, 2022, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, contact us for other arrangements.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!

2022 Show of Hands art show video with winners:

Here’s the video from our very first ever 2017 Show of Hands –

The BVAA Uxbridge SketchFest is back for its fifth year! Grab your pads of paper, pencils, and pens, for it’s SketchFest time!

Here’s the plan.

Sometime between October 1st and October 31st 2022, head out to your favorite locations in Uxbridge. Make sketches of whatever catches your eye. Send them into us at info@bvaa.org. Each person can send us up to three sketches. Please have the last JPGs in to us by midnight on October 31st. Participation is completely FREE!

If you can also send a photo of what you were sketching, or its location, that would be lovely. That way people can tour Uxbridge and see the locations of the artwork.

We will make a virtual gallery of the sketches and also a YouTube virtual presentation! We’ll share all the beautiful artworks for the entire community to enjoy!

All ages and abilities are warmly encouraged to participate. This is open to the public!

Here is Dennis Smith’s great map of wonderful locations in Uxbridge. Click on it to get a larger version along with details about each location. This is a starting point. You can make your sketches anywhere in Uxbridge.

What Is A Sketch?

Just what is a sketch? We’re glad you asked!

For the sake of our SketchFest, a sketch is a quick representation of a scene done with pen or pencil on paper. It can then be colored in with colored pencil or watercolors. Here’s a beautiful example done by Pamela Siderewicz of a lawyers’ office building on Uxbridge Common.

Talented artist Scott Nelson led an urban sketching session on Grafton Common – you get a TON of tips from Scott in this on how to compose and approach sketching in a town setting –

At our 2019 in-person Uxbridge SketchFest we had the amazing Laura Sfiat from the Urban Sketchers Boston group come guide us through sketching. Here is one of Laura’s examples (not of Uxbridge) which provides a few details about how she works.

Here’s Laura’s website which has all sorts of great information and advice:

https://belleartwork.wordpress.com/

Here’s a video of the afternoon session with Laura, which focused more specifically on portrait sketching.

Portrait Sketching by Laura Sfiat using Reilly Method

To get some inspiration, here are sketches from the 2021 Uxbridge SketchFest:

If you can’t get out to a site in person, here are some photos of locations that our BVAA members have allowed you to use as a basis for a sketch!

Here’s a collection of source photos you can use as inspiration from Nancy Wright:

Uxbridge SketchFest 2022 Source Photo Library – Nancy Wright

Here’s a flyer for our 2022 Uxbridge SketchFest. Please share this flyer with local websites, libraries, and schools!

Ask with any questions, and we look forward to seeing your beautiful sketches!

Here are some of the sketches we received from artists in 2022!

2022 Uxbridge SketchFest Virtual Art Gallery

Thank you to the Uxbridge Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council for supporting our SketchFest.

The amazing town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts holds a big summertime celebration in September on the Uxbridge Town Common. In 2022 the date is Sunday September 4th from 9am to 2pm. The Uxbridge Town Common is FULL of vendors, food, events, and more.

Our gallery will be open!! We’ll have cards, prints, artwork, and much, much more. Hang out and paint!

Location:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot.

All are welcome – this session is open to members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to try some new things and explore your creativity!

Ask with any questions!

Make sure you follow the official Uniquely Uxbridge Day page and support all the local vendors!

https://www.facebook.com/UUxbridgeDay/

Summertime is a busy time for many of our artists, so we keep our summer workshops light and fun.

The workshop will involve Carol Frieswick’s book and card set “The Artist’s Muse – Unlock the Door to Your Creativity”. There are bunches of cards with all sorts of challenges and prompts to get you thinking out of the box with your art. We’ll have watercolors, acrylics, pastels, paper, and brushes on hand. If you have a preferred medium feel free to bring along your own paints, pastels, pencils, or camera. We will tackle the creative challenges with whatever we like to work with. Or, heck, if you normally work in one media, try changing over to another to see how it goes!

Our August 2022 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 16th from 6:30-9pm.

Location:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot.

This meeting and workshop is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all try new things we’ve never done before.

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half interests you the most. In general, our monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month unless otherwise announced.

All are welcome – this workshop is open to members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to try some new things and explore your creativity!

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.