The amazingly talented Leslie Breault will be doing a live demo in our BVAA Uxbridge Art Gallery on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 1pm!
Leslie’s beautiful style often involves geometric shapes. In the image above, she won a prize in our “Series” show for her trio of abstract designs.
Here’s another of her paintings:
How does Leslie create these intriguing works with angles and lines? Come by our demo to find out!
Free and open to the public!
On November 22, 2022, talented artist Deb Bottomley presented a wonderful workshop on watercolor painting and watercolor colored pencil use. The focus for this workshop was the Miss Mendon Diner, in Mendon, Massachusetts. The Miss Mendon Diner is a historic Worcester Lunchcar Diner created in 1950. It’s located on Route 16 in Mendon, Massachusetts.
Deb Bottomley’s workshop is perfect for all ages and abilities. To make it easier for brand new artists to get started, we’ve segmented the workshop out into pieces. That way those of you who want assistance with learning about brushes, paints, and paper types can watch those videos and get your supplies ready. Those of you who already have the supplies and want to jump right in to the painting process, that video is available.
Ask with any questions! We LOVE to help new artists get themselves going. All questions are encouraged. Thank you to the Mendon Cultural Council for supporting this project!
First, here is information on the Miss Mendon Diner and some photos Deb Bottomley and Lisa Shea took of the diner. You are welcome to use ANY of these images as a starting point to trace for your artwork. In particular, here is the photo Deb uses in her workshop:
You can print that and trace it to use as the starting point for your own painting. Here is the full set of images you can use of the Miss Mendon Diner:
These next videos from Deb Bottomley get you started with the basics of supplies for watercolor painting and watercolor pencil drawing.
Here is the main 2-hour-long demonstration video of how to paint the Miss Mendon Diner. Deb uses the photo we showed earlier as her base. She uses both watercolor paints and watercolor pencils in this project. You can feel free to use whatever suits your mood!
When painting with watercolors, there is often “waiting time” while you wait for a section to dry, before you can move on with the next step. During the “waiting time” in this workshop, Deb showcased a few other watercolor techniques. Here are the two additional sections Deb created for us.
Ask with any questions! Thank you to the Mendon Cultural Council!
The Holidays are coming at the Milford TV Station! We are starting up our show schedule again after a long break due to the pandemic. This will be our first full show in a while! Come out and participate! This show is open to all current BVAA Members and is FREE to participate in.
“Perfect Presents” showcases anything ideal for gift-giving. Usually smaller, less expensive items (relatively) work better for sales. Explore the possibilities!
Drop-Off
Wednesday, November 30th, 2022
9am – 7pm
Public Reception
We are still determining the date of our public reception.
Milford TV will supply the food and wine for the public reception. Family, friends, and artists are all welcome! BVAA artists should feel free to bring along bin art, notecards, business cards, and other similar items as they meet-and-greet our visitors.
Location
Milford TV Station
138 South Main Street
Milford, MA
https://www.milfordtv.net/
Show Details for the Artists
The Milford TV Station employees create the labels and perform the hanging for us. There is no need to use the BVAA online submission form to indicate what you’re bringing. Simply be sure to label the back of each piece with its title, your name, contact info, and the price. This show is for BVAA members only and is free to participate in.
The Milford TV station does not take any commission on sales. Neither does the BVAA. This is an ideal sales venue, and we do see sales regularly at this venue.
Most artists bring in three to four items but if you have more which match the current theme that’s great! Please bring a maximum of 8 or so, to allow room for everyone to participate. The items can be any size or shape – Milford has a great hanging system which can accommodate pretty much anything.
Ask with any questions! Share the news!
On October 28, 2022, talented artist Scott Nelson took us on a walk through the beautiful Grafton Common in Grafton, Massachusetts. We stopped at various locations around the common exploring the composition of the scene, from landscapes with trees to classic architecture to railway lines. At each stop, Scott explained to us what made a scene intriguing and how to sketch it.
These skills are useful no matter what type of artwork you’re interested in creating. Some people focus on the sketch itself as a finished form. Others use the sketch as a starting point to then later create a watercolor painting, an acrylic painting, an oil painting, or another form of art.
After our exploration of the Grafton Common, Scott took us back to his home art studio where he displays some of his artwork and runs his virtual art classes for the Worcester Art Museum.
In early November 2022, Scott then painted a watercolor painting of one of the scenes he sketched. He recorded a section-by-section description of how he approached that watercolor project.
Here are the recordings from these three sessions. If you have any questions, let us know! We love helping new artists learn and grow.
Thank you to the Grafton Cultural Council for supporting this art project! And thank you so much to Scott Nelson for providing his time and expertise in both sketching and painting! You can learn more about Scott Nelson here:
https://www.scottnelsonandson.com/
Our 2022 Uxbridge SketchFest – our 5th annual event – was held between October 1 and October 31, 2022. This was a virtual event where people sketched on their own schedule and then sent in their sketches.
Here are the sketches we received for 2022!
Frank Robertson – 1914 Uxbridge RR Station (from historic image)
Carole Plante – Bridge at River Bend Farm
Ann Bukoski – Bridge near River Bend Farm
Joyce Indelicato
Janice Hunter
Lisa Shea / Scafuto’s Barbershop
If I missed anyone, please let me know!
For more information about our 2022 Uxbridge SketchFest –
Thank you to the Uxbridge Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council for supporting our SketchFest.
When I stopped by the Open Sky Community Art Gallery last Saturday to pick up my ”Doll Heads” contribution to the 2022 Macabre Art Show Pop-up, Lisa said that quite a few people at the reception wondered how I made the photo. I gave her a brief explanation and showed her some of the steps I had taken. She asked me to share my process, so here are some photos and commentary about the basic steps.
The photo was printed on tea-bag paper, salvaged after I made sun tea last summer. Somewhere I had heard about using tea-bag paper for printing and art projects, and in the summer of 2021, I checked out a few how-to videos on YouTube. Of course there were a variety of techniques and applications, and, while all of the artists/crafters produced fine-looking results, I did not see an immediate application.
Nonetheless, I started salvaging tea bags. Tea bags are really a folded paper tube with a crimped seal along the length of the tube, and a single staple at the top holding the whole thing together.
I removed the staple, but one can cut just below the staple and save some steps. At first, I worried that flecks of tea would attach themselves to the paper, so while the tea bags were still damp, I removed the tea and rinsed the remaining leaves off of the paper. The result was a very thin but sturdy fine-grained sheet, with an evenly-distributed hint of tea stain.
With the next batch, I left the tea bags intact until they dried completely. When I unfolded the dried tea bags and removed the tea, I saw areas of deep stain, broad areas of light stain, and a few unstained areas. I felt these would be more appropriate for what I had in mind.
When the call went out for pieces for the BVAA Macabre 2022 pop-up display, I figured I would give tea bags a try. I knew my printer would not feed this lightweight paper, so I had to attach the unfolded and flattened-out tea bag to a carrier sheet with masking tape, as I did a few years ago when I was printing on rice paper. The assembly fed through the printer without a problem. When I removed the tape to free the paper, I saw that the paper is so thin that ink had sprayed through the fibers onto the carrier sheet. “Sharing” the ink with the carrier sheet diminished the density of the image on the tea bag sheet itself.
So for my photo, I needed to attach the tea-bag paper to the carrier sheet permanently with spray adhesive (I used 3M 77). Also, it’s more manageable to print the entire image in a single pass instead of on separate sheets that then would need to be matched up. Teabag paper measures 3 ¼” by 6″, so I needed glue four sheets down to reproduce the photo. If you know they’re there, you can spot the seams in the finished print.
The photo was taken at a vendor’s booth at the Oddities Flea Market in Brooklyn NY in December 2019. The vendor said that they are molds for doll heads that she found on a visit to Germany. If I remember right, she wanted $60 each. I left her collection intact. An event space isn’t ideal for taking pictures, mainly because of poor lighting. So most of the Photoshop work on this photo was to straighten the lines and adjust brightness and contrast. My non-tea bag image is in color (link below), but I converted the photo to black and white for the tea-bag print so the color would not distract from the grunginess of the tea stains.
One of many YouTube videos about printing on or with tea bags: https://youtu.be/j0_BrpC95BA
Link to the “standard” version of the Doll Head photo: https://flic.kr/p/2mkHk9w
Info about the Oddities Flea Market: https://theodditiesfleamarket.com/events
Ask with any questions!
https://www.artandframeemporium.com/class
Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Blackstone Valley Art Association is showcasing a delightful selection of photography, watercolors, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, jewelry, and more for the month of December 2022. Be sure to stop by and see what we have available! Perfect for gift giving! We’ll also have fun events on every Saturday in December to entertain and intrigue you!
When:
November 25th 2022 to January 7 2023
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
This show is open to BVAA members only. 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.
This show is NOT judged (no ribbons, no prizes) – it is primarily about providing visibility and sales for artists during the holiday season. For that reason, you can enter pieces that have been in previous shows. We suggest you enter pieces you think will catch a buyer’s eye and serve well as a gift.
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. This show is free to participate in. Each artist may submit up to five items under 11×17 or up to three items if they’re 11×17 or larger.
Drop Off of Works
Drop off your works on Saturday, November 19th from 10am – 3pm.
All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).
Opening Reception
The opening reception will be on Friday, November 25th from 5-7pm. This is Black Friday so hopefully we’ll get some visitors in to rest and relax! And buy!
Pick Up
The pick-up for the Great Gifts show will be on Saturday, January 7th from 10am – 3pm.
Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information
Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!
Please consider selecting the BVAA as your designated Amazon charity.
By choosing us, you help to support our community art programs!
It’s wholly free for you, and a portion of every purchase you make goes to help the BVAA expand its mission.
Just go here and select Blackstone Valley Art Association.
Ask with any questions!
Painting from life, (painting from photos is okay, but from life is preferred) all levels of development welcomed. Bring what you want to paint. If you have no idea, you can paint my still life that I demo from, and we can discuss how to make a decision on what YOU want to paint.
I will demonstrate the first hour and then students paint for the remaining two hours. I will help everyone and answer questions as I walk around to each student for one-on-one advice and helpful information.
This will be a fun and positive environment where everyone is free to express their creativity and bond with other artists.
This monthly class usually meets on the first Thursday of every month from 6-9 pm. PLEASE ALWAYS DIRECTLY EMAIL RSVP WITH ME PERSONALLY. That way I know who will be there, in case of weather or other situations that might involve cancelling.
Cost:
The maximum class size will be 10 students, to ensure plenty of hands-on time for each one.
Cost is $20/hour.
Invite your friends! Share the news!
When:
First Thursday of Each Month
6pm – 9pm
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
This class is open to the public. It is open to all ages and to all levels of painting ability.
Please make sure you register beforehand so we know how many to expect. Carol will send you a supply list to get you started.
To register, please make sure you email: carol@carolarnoldfineart.com
To learn more about Carol Arnold and to view her painting gallery:
https://carolarnoldfineart.com/
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