In spite of the tremendous summer storms we've had lately, I've managed to get out for a a plein air painting session at another of our local parks along the James River:

"Afternoon at Pumphouse Park" Oil on Canvas, 9x12" Click here for more info.

Pumphouse Park, which once generated drinking water for the city of Richmond, is the site of a large and very interesting neo-gothic stone pump house that has now fallen into disuse and disrepair. But word has it that volunteers are gradually restoring it so that one day it can be used again for something. According to the Discover Richmond website it was quite a social center at one time:

"In the heyday of the Pump House, debutantes dressed in Victorian-era hoop skirts glided with their dates on the pine dance floor of an elegant open-air ballroom overlooking the gentle rapids of the James River."

The park sits just behind the "nickel bridge" (which I believe now has a toll of 50 cents, so you can tell how long I've lived here!) It runs along the James River, and it would have been a nice access point to paint the sunset. But I couldn't find any public river access here. The only thing I found was a path that was barred by a chained fence and a posted sign reading "Property of CSX". Access denied! Grrr. I would have been pretty grumpy about the whole situation except that just as I turned back towards the pump house I saw a bunny!