SHELBURNE FALLS — Following a one-year hiatus, Colrain on Canvas is returning for its second year with an entirely new collection of paintings featuring the town’s historic and natural beauty.
The event, put on by the Colrain Historical Society, will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center in Shelburne Falls from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The show features 73 paintings of Colrain and its people by 48 different artists, including some contemporary art.
Debby Wheeler, who sits on the Colrain Historical Society’s board of directors, said “Colrain on Canvas II” is a chance to see art that might never be seen again because they belong to private collections.
“It’s an opportunity to see something you’re not going to normally see,” Wheeler said. “They’re mostly paintings from private collections and family heirlooms.”
Attendance costs $10 and all proceeds go to making renovations at the Historical Society’s museum to make it fully accessible.
There will be prints of some paintings available and three individual vendors will be selling their paintings as well. Wheeler also noted there will be a map of Colrain with the locations of the paintings’ subjects marked to provide a visual representation of what areas of town have been painted.
The first Colrain on Canvas event was held in 2019 and Wheeler said it was so popular that organizers were going to offer it again last year.
“It turned out to be a big hit. It was like a walk down memory lane for people,” Wheeler said. “We were going to do it last year, but COVID shut us out.”
The 2019 event featured 58 paintings, none of which are being shown this year. Wheeler said she is shocked by the amount of art that focuses on Colrain and how people are so willing to share it with the Historical Society.
“We really were very, very surprised (at the amount of art) and the fact that I have a list for the next time,” Wheeler said. “It’s amazing.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.