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The Blackstone Valley Art Association is proud to host the FREE 2024 Community Art Show! The public is warmly invited to participate! This show is open to all forms of artistic expression. We would love to see watercolors, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, pottery, mixed media, drawings, pastels, photography, cyanotypes, and other forms of art.

THERE IS NO THEME. Your art can be about any topic at all! We celebrate the diversity of our artistic community. All levels of artist warmly encouraged to participate!

Up until 2022 we called this art show “Tapestry” to indicate it represented all types of threads from the community coming together. Every time we referred to it as “Tapestry” artists thought it was a fabric arts show and wouldn’t enter. In 2022 we updated its name to “Diversity” to represent our aim to bring in a diverse community. However, people then thought the topic was specifically about Diversity. So now we simply call this a Community Art Show!

When:
October 19th to November 16th, 2024

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 Open Sky 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. This show is free to participate in. Each artist may submit up to two items. The deadline to submit is Saturday, October 19th 2024 at 3pm EST.

Drop Off of Works
Work must be dropped off on Saturday, October 19th between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly). Please ONLY bring your artwork in on Saturday, October 19th. BVAA staff need to be present to sign in the artwork, and we are only there at that day and time.

Reception
We will be having an in-person reception at the Uxbridge gallery on Friday, October 25th from 5-7pm! We would love to see you there.

Pick Up
Pick up is on Saturday, November 16th from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, please contact us for other arrangements.

Voting is done by the community! Please cast your votes for first, second, and third place. Each person can vote for those 3 places. You can email votes to info@bvaa.org. Voting is through November 30, 2024.

Here’s the video of the show, if you can’t make it in person!

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions!

Here are the 2024 winners!

Winners of 2024 Free Community Art Show

Here’s the video walkthrough from the 2023 art show:

Here are the winners from our 2023 show!

Winners of our Community Art Show 2023

Here is the 2021 Community Art Show to get some ideas!

Here’s the 2018 show video:

Here is a flyer for this show for you!

The Small Stones Art Festival 2025 is coming up soon! This is an art show for photography and paintings. The submissions of JPG images of the art is all done online. Judges then look through those JPG images in order to decide what will be allowed into the physical show at the Brigham Hill Community Farm in North Grafton, Massachusetts. The show runs Jan 25 to Feb 2, 2025.

Usually this submission process is fairly easy for photographers. Photographers are generally fairly good at turning their images into JPG files for submission.

Often, though, this process is much more challenging for painters. A painter might be really talented at creating an oil painting on canvas of a woman’s face. It might be much harder for that painter to figure out how to take a great photograph of their painting, with the right lighting and focus, so that the resulting JPG file showcases well for the judges.

We are here to help!

Award-winning photographer James Hunt has kindly volunteered to take photos of BVAA members’ paintings for FREE for the Small Stones festival. The 2025 Small Stones festival allows each artist to submit up to 5 pieces of art. Each accepted physical piece can be a maximum of 26 inches (including frame) on its longest side. Full Small Stones art show requirements:

Small Stones Art Show

Here are the details of what James Hunt is offering for our BVAA photo shoot.

When: Saturday, September 28nd 2024 from 1-3pm
Where: BVAA Uxbridge Art Gallery, 5 South Main St., Uxbridge MA

James provides this information:

• We can photograph up to 5 images (typically paintings or drawings, two-dimensional art only).  It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
• The maximum size for any image is 26″ framed, though we won’t photograph the frame. We highly recommend removing the glass if there is glass involved. Glass can cause reflections.
• Image will be color and exposure corrected in post, cropped to the edge of any framing.
• Images will be sized according to the Small Stones Festival specifications (maximum 4500 pixels on the long edge). You’ll also get a full-sized version for other use.
• Jpeg images will be sent to you via Dropbox only, the next day.  You don’t need a Dropbox account, just email.
• Hopefully your work can lie flat!!!
• No charge, no do-overs!
• This offer is available to BVAA members only.

Thank you so much to James for volunteering to help out our painters! To learn more about James and his photography, be sure to visit:

https://jameshuntphotography.com/

Ask with any questions!

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is blessed to have talented painter Deb Bottomley. On Tuesday, September 17th, 2024, Deb will do a FREE live demo for us!

This will be helpful to ALL artists, even if you don’t use Deb’s particular paints. Deb’s skill with composition, color, emotion, and more can be applied to any form of art.

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

This meeting and session is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all learn 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 learn some new things and explore your creativity!

Note that Verne Thayer was originally going to do our September demo but he became sick. We will definitely have Verne paint for us when he feels better! Thank you Deb for stepping in to do a demo!

You can learn more about Deb here:

https://www.deborahbottomley.com

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

We are celebrating our Seventh Annual Uxbridge SketchFest with beauty! We have the amazingly talented artist Brandi van Roo joining us in Uxbridge to present supportive encouragement on how to quick-sketch buildings, landscapes, and bridges. We will walk short distances around the River Bend Farm canal and use the beautiful architecture and landscapes to develop our sketching skills.

Perfect for all levels of artists. Beginner will get themselves started, and more advanced artists will hone their skills!

This workshop is FREE! Please RSVP either with the online form on this site or by emailing info@bvaa.org so we know how many supplies to prepare. We will provide clipboards to draw on, paper, and pens / pencils. You can of course bring your own if you have supplies you prefer to use.

By getting started with Brandi, you’ll then have the skills you need to participate in our Seventh Annual Uxbridge SketchFest, which runs from Sunday September 15th through Thursday October 31, 2024!

Our River Bend Farm Sketching workshop will be held on Sunday, September 29th, 2024 from 2-4pm. If it rains, we’ll hold the workshop in the Uxbridge BVAA Community gallery space. We will definitely post here and on social media, and email all RSVPed people, if we have rain concerns.

Initial Meeting Location:
River Bend Farm
287 Oak Street
Uxbridge MA

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

This 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.

All are welcome – this workshop is open to BVAA 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!

For more about the 2024 SketchFest event:

7th Annual Uxbridge SketchFest – Fall 2024

For more information about River Bend Farm, visit:

https://blackstoneheritagecorridor.org/exploring-the-blackstone-river-valley/heritage-centers/river-bend-farm

Here are a few sketches and paintings by Brandi to see her style!

This event is supported in part by grants from the Uxbridge Cultural Council, part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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

Here’s the plan.

Sometime between September 15th and November 30th 2024, 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 November 30th 2024. 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.

At our 2019 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

Our 2023 Uxbridge SketchFest session featured the talented Howie Green leading a sketching session on the Uxbridge Town Common!

In 2024, this session by Brandi Van Roo covered all the basics – equipment, techniques, and brainstorming, done at the River Bend Farm in Uxbridge:

To get some inspiration, here are sketches from the 2023 SketchFest:

Here’s images 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 flyer for our 2024 Uxbridge SketchFest. Please share this flyer with local websites, libraries, and schools!

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

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

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 7th to Saturday, October 19th, 2024

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. This show does NOT have to be about autumn. It simply happens in the autumn. 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. While AI and other artists can be used to generate starting concepts for BVAA show artwork, all final work submitted must be wholly the personal creation of the individual BVAA member.

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 the physical artwork is Saturday, September 7th, 2024 at 3pm EST.

Drop Off of Works
Work must be dropped off on Saturday, September 7th between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung, as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly. We do not ‘pre-select’ art for the show.

Judging
The show is judged for cash prizes. Those cash prizes are based on the money paid in to the show for entry fees. Each show is self-supporting in that sense. The shows don’t add money to the BVAA – the money we take in then goes to the prizes and judge. Generally we award first, second, third, and three honorable mentions. This depends on the number of overall entries.

Opening Reception
The reception is Friday, September 27th from 5-7pm NOTE THE NEW DATE!!. Please bring a snack or drink to share! Winners are generally announced around 6pm.

Pick Up
Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that timeframe, please contact us for other arrangements. We need to have a BVAA person on hand for an art pickup.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

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

Here’s the walkthrough for the 2023 show, to give you some inspiration:

2023 BVAA Fall Art Show – Winners Listing

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, paper, and brushes on hand. If you have a preferred medium feel free to bring along your own paints, 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!

If you’d like to bring in a few of your works in progress, we’re happy to offer friendly ideas and suggestions on them!

Our summer meetings are casual and drop-in. Come and leave whenever you want, and work on whatever projects you’d like. 

Our August 2024 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 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. There is a bathroom.

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.

Here are the winners from our 2024 Carbon Copies Fakes & Forgeries art show! For this show, we did a “people’s choice” voting. Every person could vote for first, second, and third. We took in votes via email, by comments on YouTube, by Facebook, by in-person ballots, and by messenger! We had a lot of people voting. Thank you to all our artists for participating, and thank you to everyone who voted!

To see each image alongside its “inspiration” be sure to see the video:

And now, the winners!

First Place: Stephen Paulson – watercolor
inspired by “Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede” (Jacob van Ruisdael, 1670)

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Second Place: Evan Plante – Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated by Bing
inspired by “Mona Lisa” (Leonardo da Vinci, about 1503-1506)

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Third Place: Cheri Holland – Digital Art created in Photoshop
inspired by “Oriental” (Wassily Kandinsky, 1909)

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Honorable Mention: Katie Williams – acrylic painting
inspired by several of Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings in late 1800s

Here’s a video tribute to the four winners!

Here are the winners from our 2024 art show held at the Worcester Center for Crafts! Congratulations, everyone!

Congratulations to Young Farwell for first place in our show at the Worcester Center for Crafts “On The Way Home” oil $800.

Congratulations to Al Weems for second place in our show at the Worcester Center for Crafts with his photo “Progress” $350.

Congratulations to Brandi Van Roo for third place with her watercolor “Whitin Machine Works” at the Worcester Center for Crafts art show!

Congratulations to Pamela Gover for an Honorable Mention for “Fish Dinner” oil $425 in our art show at the Worcester Center for Crafts

Congratulations to James Hunt for an Honorable Mention for “Bernat Mill Entrance Uxbridge 2017” photo on metal $750 in our art show at the Worcester Center for Crafts

Congratulations to Susan Johnson for an Honorable Mention for “Village in the Fog” monoprint $125 in our art show at the Worcester Center for Crafts

Full show walkthrough:

Here are the full details about this art show:

Hot Night in the City Art Show 2024

Here are the sunflower artwork items being submitted for the 2024 Sunflower art show at the Booklovers’ Gourmet in Douglas, Massachusetts. Each BVAA member can submit up to two art items for the show. Deadline to submit is 11:59pm EST on Sunday July 28th 2024!

We can fit about 18 items in the space. If we get more than 18 items submitted, then ALL items will be featured in our online virtual promotional videos, with prices and sales information.

UPDATE: Deb Horan at Booklovers’ Gourmet thinks she should be able to fit all 24 of our items on the walls. Hurrah!

Note that this online gallery crops the images into a grid – click on an image to see its full shape!

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Thank you to everyone who is participating in our sunflower show.

Here’s the details of the show:

2024 BVAA Sunflower Show at the Booklovers’ Gourmet