suns along the Mohawk

Whether you call it a Diamond Jublilee or a semi-sesquicentennial milestone, yesterday’s 75th anniversary of the Stockade Villagers’ Outdoor Art Show was an event to celebrate.  The Stockade Art Show website sums up the day and the history with joyous pride:

The 75th Anniversary Art Show was a huge success with so many incredible artists and gorgeous work on display! Thanks to all of the artists, art lovers, neighbors and volunteers for making this day tremendous!

On Sept. 12, 2026, the Stockade Villagers’ Outdoor Art Show celebrated its 75th anniversary, marking three-quarters of a century as one of the oldest continuously held outdoor fine art shows in New York State.

Since its founding in 1951, thousands of artists and tens of thousands of visitors have participated in and attended the annual event, which brings artists and their work directly into one of the country’s oldest residential historic districts. For 75 years, artists and art lovers have gathered along the streets of Schenectady’s Historic Stockade neighborhood to celebrate art, discover new work and share in a community tradition.

. . even before the Show began, it was clear this was going to be a golden day, with weather as perfect as it can be.

New this year: : There was a Special exhibit, “Founding Fathers” of the Art Show, hanging on the Lawrence fence, with Peter Watrous, a member of one of the founding families, explaining the importance of the art and history.  

Starting this evening (Sunday, Sept. 13) with the names and images of the winning artists and art, I will be describing the 2026 Stockade Outdoor Art Show (SOAS) here at Suns Along the Mohawk, trying to capture its magic and spirit over the next few days.  Thanks for stopping by.

. . and, warm thanks to the Stockade Association committee members who made SOAS sparkle this year, especially Susannah Hand and Colleen MacCauley.

I hope this posting will make you want to attend the 76th version the weekend after Labor Day, September 2027, as an artist, resident, visitor, volunteer or all of the above. Although we call only a handful of artists winners, everyone who attends or helps to make the event so special every year should feel like a winner.

THE 2026 WINNERS 

  FIRST PLACE: BARBARA LENNOX

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. . . Barb is a frequent award winner at SOAS, as is our 2nd Place winner, Peter Watrous . . .

SECOND PLACE: PETER WATROUS

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  THIRD PLACE: DAKOTA RIDGE

. . Last year, Dakota won the award for Best Stockade Depiction for his smile-making scene of bambini surrounding Lawrence and filling the Circle.

HONORABLE MENTION

Six artists were given honorable mention awards this year: LINDA GRIMMICK, MARIA DeANGELO, ERIC-JON TASKER, WENDY ADAMS, CAROLINE LOVE MILLER, and  ANPING LIU. Click on a square tile for a larger version of the image. 

. . AND, click each link for a close-up of the HM painting by: Linda, Maria, Eric-Jon, Wendy, Caroline, and Anping.

SPECIAL AWARDS

NICHOLAS COLANGELO AWARD: BEST 1ST-TIME EXHIBITOR

MARY DIROLF:

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ERNEST A.R. COHEN AWARD:BEST DEPICTION OF THE STOCKADE

RICHARD SACCHETTI

 

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– – Apologies to Richard and his fans: I somehow missed his receiving this award at Lawrence Circle during the awards ceremony. Thankfully, I had already captured the winning painting at his exhibit, and naturally already had images of Mr. Sacchetti from his many previous SOAS awards.

 

BEST DEPICTION OF THE HUMAN FORM

KEITH LANDRY

. . Keith constructs each piece entirely with Cut Baseball Cards . .

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GILLIAN AWARD (OAKROOM ARTISTS)

PETER MASLOW

. . . Peter, a life-long Brooklyn painter, recently moved his studio to 101 State Street in Schenectady, just a block from the Stockade. 

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD (awarded by ballot from the public)

LINDA BIGGERS

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. . share this post with this shorter url: https://tinyurl.com/SOAS2026

 

SOAS 2026 had many more inspiring scenes — with art, artists, visitors, and Stockade beauty — and I will be adding photos and commentary over the next few days. Please come back.

If you need more Outdoor Art Show vibes before I post again, just click the link to our Stockade Outdoor Art Show Category.

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STROLLING THE SHOW

 

VERY EARLY.  My Art Show experience got complicated this year because, in addition to taking lots of photographs, I wanted to have an SOAS exhibit for the first time, to hold a fundraiser for the long-awaited Schenectady Food Coop, the Electric City Community Grocery [ECCG]. When ECCG opens next year in the Wedgeway Building, it will be Downtown Schenectady’s first supermarket since 1998. It is a very good cause, and some great ECCG officers and members (and friends) helped make the fundraiser happen, under the canopy pictured to the right of this paragraph, featuring dozens of photos printed on canvases. 

Some of the photos-on-canvas at DAVID GIACALONE‘s exhibit can be seen to the left of this sentence. Seeing the Show from an exhibitor’s perspective was eye-opening. It also changed my strolling habit from going up and down Front, N. Ferry and Green Streets a few times to sporadically taking short, quick spurts out of my booth. More than ever, therefore, I apologize if I did not take enough photos Saturday of any particular artist’s works or do not to include pieces equally worthy as those that do make it into this posting.

 

 

 

 

Artist and former SOAS leader STEVE KOWALSKI deserves special thanks for his advice and labors on my behalf last week More important, however, for visitors to the Stockade Show, Steve exhibited his work at SOAS for the first time in years. This photo shows just a few of the shapes and colors that Steve does so well.

Naturally, since Steve’s exhibit was right next to mine, I did not take enough photos of his work. Next year I’ll do better. 

RICH SACCHETTI, another perennial favorite at the Stocakde Art Show, had his exhibit on the other side of my ECCG tent, and I wish I had taken more shots of his work. His painting of Arthur’s Market, shown in the winners’ section above was the first building Rich has exhibited. Saturday morning, he didn’t sound like he was going to do more buildings, but winning the award for Best Depiction of the Stockade might have changed his mind. Let him know if you have a favorite Stockade structure you’d like to see in oil.

Rich said the suit seen to the right is his favorite. I’ve admired the painting and the extra face at other shows. 

Here are two more of Rich’s pieces at this year’s SOAS:

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YES, EARLY. Until this past weekend, I never realized just how early some artists arrive at the site of the Stockade art show. Even pre-registered exhibitionists do not get a reserved or assigned spot. You have to be the first at a particular location to claim it for your booth. Many artists set up at the same spot year after year, or hope to; others just want to avoid too much sun.

I was expected to arrive soon after 6:30 AM, and when I did, Steve Kowalski and Food Coop president Eric Johnson (on the right) already had our canopy and folding tables open right across from Arthur’s Market on N. Ferry. It made for a long day, but I really appreciated the nudge and the help.

Getting there early meant I got to see other exhibits being constructed. I was impressed with how early some artists were set up and ready for the Show to begin. For example:

CLAIRE SYTA was ready to go and smiling long before I was.

. . BTW: having one eye covered worked well for Ms. Syta as a 1st Time exhibitor in 2024.

Right next to Claire and also ready early was NAHOMY RIVERA, who had a smaller exhibit than last year, but brought her best work.

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. . last year, I was able to get a clearer shot with less sunshine:

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Speaking of early set-up, BRANDON TOEPER, last year’s Best 1st Time Exhibitor, was setting up at his second location of the morning before 10 AM.

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This year, I got my first close-up look at the MINI ART MACHINE that has been charming little ones for several years at SOAS. Its sign, seen just above on the left explains it well – an analog vending machine experience that takes quarters, produces a 3″x3″ original piece of art, and helps support the good works of Living Resources. Helga and Denise Pritchard and Steve Kowalski (seen in photo at the head of this paragraph) are prime movers of the Mini Art Machine and it was located between Steve’s and Helga’s art exhibits. 

I’ve always heard MAM was a good spot for photographing cute kids, and I found it was true:

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HELGA PRITCHARD is a constant exhibitor and winner at the Stockade Outdoor Art Show.  There’s too much glare on the paintings I shot at her exhibit this year to show them. But, here are images I captured in previous years:

 

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RANDY SPARROW (above) and OLIVIA McQUEEN (below) easily caught my attention:

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 It was good to see MARYANNE-HELM RAPPAPORT again. As you can see, I even liked her sign (on the left):

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 EMERSON LADOUCER was a new artist to me, but I was drawn by his bright and deep colors, and happy to find him (like Erik Rutnik in 2019) painting the picture at the head of this section. Here’s a look at his exhibit. . 

 

  . . and his favorite subject:

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SANDA WILLIAMS was stoic behind her table on Front Street

. . as were her famous subjects, Johnny Cash and Red Cloud:

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. . and so was DAN PREDMORE behind his table:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DAN ALBANO‘s exhibit was a great example of the shadow and light that a sunny day brings to an art show.

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. . and an Albano Bonus from his website (just because it makes me smile):

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 The NORRIS-BAUTISTA joint exhibit on the NW corner of Front and N. Ferry Streets drew me in for a closer look.

LUCIA BAUTISTA was concentrating hard on a piece but stopped to hold another one upright so I could get a better look and shot. I’m glad she did. .

MADISON DOMINGUEZ NORRIS looked familiar and I ended up noting that our young artists grow up quickly. It seems like just yesterday when she won 1st Place in the Young Artist category in 2021. I’m glad she’s still painting.

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THE ART DEPARTMENT NY is GRETCHEN ALMEIDA and MICHAEL STRONG.

. . Gretchen above .. Michael below. . 

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DAKOTA RIDGE brought his wonderful bambini back to SOAS in 2026. Last year, they made a playground out of Lawrence Circle and won an award for Best Stockade Depiction. This year, as you can see near the top of this posting, they crossed the Mohawk and turned Jumpin’ Jacks into the 3rd Place grand prize winner.  They also invaded City Hall and had an air balloon joyride. 

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. . makes you wonder just where they will take us next year!

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 I enjoyed seeing LINDA TRACZ and her artistry again. A vivacious variety.

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. .  ditto for KAREN ZAYRAY:

 

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. . I confess, by 10 AM I wanted a nap. So did this lovely baby girl. Her mom nonetheless had a big smile for all.

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 ROBIN ROSENTHAL again brought a tresure trove of her etheral still-life paintings.

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. . Arthur’s 1795 Market .  . drew visitors seeking all kinds of treats throughout the day. .

And, WENDY ALLEN, along with her Honorably Mentioned painting, brought two images of Arthur’s that she had created:

 

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. . . much more coming . .