Bob Evans is a talented photographer who has won many awards with his photography. In this talk, Bob will explore a number of his photos and discuss the techniques and compositions used.
There will be time at the end for photographers to show their own work and have the group offer gentle supportive comments.
The current show in the gallery is the Anything Goes community photography show, so this is also an opportunity for visitors to see all of the photography and discuss it.
Our January 2023 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 17th 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!
Talented artist Bev Tinklenberg celebrated the beauty of Auburn, and the impressive collection of the Auburn Historical Museum, with a series of sessions celebrating this delightful location.
First, on November 29, 2022, the BVAA took a trip to the Auburn Historical Museum at 41 South Street in Auburn, Massachusetts. There, Sari Bitticks and Steven Marshall guided us on a glimpse of the many treasures the museum holds. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who can make it to their location. They have many Nipmuc artifacts, a Civil War uniform, a Japanese parachute wedding dress, a nugget from the Auburn gold mine, and much, much more.
Next, Beverly guided us through how to examine architecture in terms of one point perspective or two point perspective, using the Auburn Historical Museum and its nearby buildings.
It was chilly, so Bev got into her SUV and demonstrated how to do a watercolor value study. By recording just lights, mediums, and darks in shades of grey, an artist can get a handle on how a scene will lay out.
Here’s the quick time lapse version to get an overview of the process.
Fun break time! We decided to get some photos and video of local Auburn cows, to have for future art projects.
Back to serious stuff. At her home art studio, Bev talks about flat straight on and one point perspective, when you are looking straight at a building.
We then go into Bev’s studio where she demonstrates the techniques of two point perspective. She uses wooden blocks for clear viewing, then moves on to a building scene.
Bev now talks about how to use layers to build up a watercolor image. She starts with the lights, then medium tones, then darks and details. Then she focuses in on the area she wants to draw your eye to. Bev also discusses how artful cropping and matting can highlight an image.
Finally, we get a tour of Bev Tinklenberg’s home art studio. It has beautiful light, nice working areas, many shelves, and even an art paper storage system. It’s quite a lovely space to create!
Thank you to the Auburn Cultural Council for supporting this project! And thank you so much to Beverly for sharing her time and expertise with us. To learn more about Bev, her artwork, and her art classes, contact us here at the BVAA and we’ll put you in touch!
The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring the 11th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – this show is open to the public! Prints from all styles of digital cameras, film cameras, cellphone cameras, point-and-shoots, SLRs, cyanotypes, and other photo-related artwork are warmly welcome!
When: January 7 to March 4, 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.
Participation is open to the public. Each participant may exhibit up to two photos. These will be judged for cash prizes.
Entering the Show The entry fee for the main show, open to all styles of photography, is $15/2 pieces for BVAA members and $20/2 pieces for non-members. The theme is wide open. You can submit a portrait, landscape, still life, abstract, seascape, you name it. Your imagination is the limit.
Photos 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 photography must be family friendly and properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. 3M stick-on hangers are notorious for falling off – please don’t use those. If you are new to preparing photography for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions
All photos which are entered are hung. There is no “pre-selection” process where some are accepted and others are rejected. If you submit artwork, and it is family-friendly and wired properly, it will be part of our show. You can have your photo listed with a price for sale, or you can have it Not For Sale if you wish.
Submissions To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit the online label information is midnight on Saturday, January 7th, 2023. Work must be dropped off by Saturday, January 7th, 2023 at 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).
If your submission features an unusual technique, for example you’re using a medium-format film camera or another unusual setup, please add notes in the submission form. We’d love to put those details onto the label. Our show visitors love to learn about unusual styles of photography.
We will hang the show on Wednesday January 11th, 2023.
Judging The judge for this show will be determined soon.
Opening Reception The opening reception for this show will be on Friday, January 13th, 2023 from 5-7pm. Prizes are usually awarded around 6pm.
Pick Up Pickup of the art is on Saturday, March 4th, 2023, from 10am to 3pm. Due to the snow, you can also pickup Saturday, March 11th as well. If you aren’t able to make either date, please contact us for other arrangements.
This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCast, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!
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.
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.
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:
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 –
The BVAA is excited to bring you a hands-on workshop with Jennifer Behymer on sketching with charcoal. You can just watch if you’d like, or you can give it a try!
Come enjoy a charcoal sketch demo of a seasonal landscape scene. Charcoal is a versatile medium that can capture a wide variety of value ranges quickly and efficiently. The demo will help you explore ways to capture the essence of light and shadow in your landscapes with a variety of textures and methods.
If you’d like to bring your own materials, recommended supplies: Nitram Charcoal soft (B), medium (HB), & hard (H) (Or charcoal of your choice) Kneaded eraser Toned paper – 1/2 or 1/4 sheet Mi-Teintes or pad of pastel paper Blending stump Paint brushes for blending
If you don’t have materials, the BVAA has some basic supplies that you could borrow. Alternatively, Jennifer is happy to make up $5 baggies with the supplies, for those who would love personal kits they could take home to keep playing with it.
If people prefer to work in graphite, bring your pencils and sketching supplies and that works too!
Jennifer will bring copies of a reference photo to work from.
Our November 2022 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15th 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!
This session was recorded. The video is available to all BVAA members to watch at any time.
A quick timelapse version of this workshop is found here to get an overview –
Jen teaches classes in Westboro MA – please take a look at her great offerings!
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.
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.
