Saturday, May 2, 2009

Painting at Valley Green


Valley Green is a spot on the Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The creek flows through a steep wooded gorge, and Valley Green Inn is an old, historic inn where travelers stopped to refresh themselves while traveling the dirt road along the creek. Now this road has become a popular trail for walking, riding bicycles and horses.

A few weeks ago, I went there to paint with my artist friends Alyce Grunt and Garth Herrick. It was a spectacular mornng. I have rarely seen the sky such a deep blue. Spring had not yet sprung, but the tips of the maple trees were slightly reddish. I love the winter color of the woods in Pennsylvania so I was glad of the chance to try and capture the subtle colors. We had a great couple of hours in which I produced this oil sketch of the creek valley and stone bridge, then we went out for lunch in Manayunk.