Butler residents don’t have to travel far to see picturesque art, and artists don’t even need to leave the city to get the shot of their dreams.

Ben Hughes, who lives in the city and works in Butler Township, has captured views through his camera that end up displayed in local art galleries. Sometimes a scene is so compelling, a camera-less Hughes goes back later with his lens to capture a moment.

“I don't keep it with me every time, I don't think of it every time I go,” Hughes said. “It's an excursion kind of thing, I write a place down and go back later.”

Hughes has considered himself a photographer for years, although it is more of a hobby because he has a full-time job. No matter, he submits photographs to the Butler Art Center as often as he can, which gives him exposure and sometimes even sales.

Just having a place to display his art is a luxury to which Hughes said he is happy to have access.

“It's a hobby right now. I just try to get myself out there and see what happens,” Hughes said. “It's so hard to go further up.”

The Associated Artists of Butler County began in 1934, and is now the oldest cultural entity in the county, according to Shirley McCauley, its board secretary. It is now a nonprofit organization and has occupied the space at 344 S. Main St. for several years.

McCauley said the art center is normally able to display as many submissions as it receives, thanks, in part, to the relatively small artists’ community of the area. Additionally, the art center can be a place for artists to make money from their creations.

“Most people who enter get to be displayed,” McCauley said. “Most of the art is on sale, and it depends on how reasonably priced it is to sell.”

The art center has several exhibits a year, and each lasts about a month. In between exhibits, the center extends a call for artist submissions for its next show.

Members of the art center’s board accept submissions from all kinds of artists from people in, and beyond, Butler County. They also choose winners for different categories in each exhibit, recognizing artists for their creativity and skill.

Elizabeth Ford, a painter from Evans City, won best in show in March’s “This Community is Our Home” exhibit, which featured work from artists from southwestern Pennsylvania.

This is the second show to which Ford has submitted her acrylic paintings, and her first win at the art center. She said she is thankful to have the opportunity to display her art, even at a small center in Butler.

“If you have never displayed in a gallery, it can feel really pretentious,” Ford said. “Butler is really accepting. They are not asking you to explain it in a wide way, they're just asking you to paint a picture.”

Darla Clovico of Sarver, has been painting for almost 10 years, and also submits her work to the art center as often as possible. While she does sell paintings as well, Clovico said she likes having an outlet where her creativity can be displayed.

“I really enjoy painting, I have always enjoyed drawing and things like that,” Clovico said.

McCauley said while many exhibits get a good response from artists, the Art Center sometimes gets fewer submissions than its board hopes for. She encourages aspiring artists to try their hand at submitting.

“It’s a really good place for artists starting out,” McCauley said.

The This Community is Our Home exhibit was on display throughout March, and asked artists for their interpretations on the meaning of “home,” and how they relate their definition to Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Around the gallery are paintings of local sights and landscapes, including several views of Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park, some paintings of flowers and plants and Hughes’ photographs of the Butler skyline.

McCauley said the art center’s themes throughout the year allow for a lot of creative liberty from artists, including this most recent show.

“The concept of community is, it’s not just a physical area,” McCauley said. “This let you show your idea of community.”

One of Hughes’ submissions is a panoramic view of Butler taken from atop a hill, where the main points of focus are three church spires jutting into the sky above the square-shaped buildings.

Hughes said he noticed that there are many churches in Butler, so they probably hold some significance to residents.

“Butler is like an old school, it keeps to its roots and all that,” Hughes said. “So I thought churches and all that are a big part of Butler.”

One of Clovico’s entries is a painting of a bench in front of a bridge she said she saw in Clarion. She likes to take a more realistic view of scenes and tries to paint them as she sees them, she said.

“Sometimes you're driving home and there is a really beautiful sunset,” Clovico said. “I bring my camera with me as much as I can. I may take a photo of a tree and build from that.”

Ford’s first-place painting “Warmth of Community,” shows a “bee ball,” where a group of bees is swarming a wasp in an attack formation. She said she read about how bees band together to generate heat to take down enemies as a unit, which relates to community in different ways depending on the beholder.

“I chose to do community as a broader term, like our community as humans,” Ford said. “The bee ball, they surround an enemy and overheat them with their body. Either you feel like the wasp where you don't fit in or it could be about the bees and how as individuals you don't really stand up, but together you can take on the wasp.”

McCauley said the board of directors is trying to schedule more public painting lessons, so more people can learn techniques that could land their work in a gallery.

The center used to have lessons fairly frequently, which was put to rest for a while because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Clovico said she is anticipating the return of painting classes, as well as the more frequent exhibits — and deadlines — which give her ideas and inspiration on what to paint next.

“You lose a little bit for not having to turn (a painting) in like the next week,” Clovico said.

Despite the added pressure of more deadlines, Clovico, Ford and Hughes all said they find relaxation in their art.

Hughes also said the gallery themes give him ideas on what to look for as potential photography subjects, even though he tries to find good angles everywhere he goes.

“Just walk around, and it's more of like a bird's-eye view and a worm's-eye view,” Hughes said.

Hughes said one of the benefits of being an artist is that it helps him appreciate moments more often, and keeps him from always rushing to the next place.

“Just knowing your surroundings, and just stop and be still once in a while,” Hughes said of how he approaches photography. “We're always busy, but if we just take the time to just stop and look around, you can see some good things.”