Seeing a great work of art in a museum – inspiring. Seeing the artist in the process of creation – priceless. Art enthusiasts have the opportunity to see the masters at work, thanks to a new central Pennsylvania initiative, stretching from the Susquehanna River to New Hope. The PA Arts Experience promotes this art trail through the region by directing visitors to the numerous museums, galleries, historic inns, bed and breakfasts, scenic, heritage and cultural attractions found along the way. A more extensive concierge service coordinates exclusive studio visits with the region’s wealth of celebrated artists and artisans.
A driving force behind this initiative, Rob Evans, creates stunning, evocative paintings on his family homestead on a Wrightsville mountainside overlooking the Susquehanna. His paintings are like the edges of dreams we’re left with at morning’s light, the half-remembered familiarity, the grasping to make sense of it. Here in his studio, a renovated barn next to his house, it’s easy to see his inspirations. His desk is strewn with turtle shells, birds nests, seashells, animal skulls, and snakeskins. Under glass, a perfectly preserved walking stick fished from his children’s pool. And nearby, the scene itself almost a Rob Evans painting, bookcases and cabinents salvaged from his grandparents estate frame a multi-paned window. In the foreground, a fly buzzes against the warmth of the late morning sun, and in the distance, that view, the tops of the trees framing the breadth of the Susquehanna, the line of the river disappearing into the sky. For connoisseurs, it’s a rare glimpse inside the world of the artist that deepens and enriches the understanding of the work.