oil on paper, 11 x 15 inches, 2004 Private collection
Every Labor Day weekend you can find us in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for
the Annual Sideshow Gathering.
Much of my husband Jim's artwork is inspired by the traditional circus sideshow, so we head up to
Wilkes-Barre for the festivities. Jim also has family in the area so we visit cousins, aunts and uncles along the way.
Most of the events at the Gathering happen in the afternoon and evening, so before all the fire eating, sword
swallowing and dancing in broken glass begins I can get out in the morning and do some painting.
I did this painting in a cemetery on the side of a hill overlooking Wilkes-Barre. Cemeteries are great places
to paint as they are quiet and open spaces with few or no trees in the way of the view. It was a hot golden
morning, and the town below just glistened in the haze. The light colored curve with the two light blue marks is a
bridge in the town. I would like to do a painting from that bridge when we go back next autumn. There
are also some abandoned and overgrown train tracks that are ripe with possibility.
