Painting and Drawings

The Station Square at the Entrance of Forest Hills Garden, NY

Oil on Panel 8 x 10

Standing on the Side, Watching the Show

Chatting before the Show

It was a bight and comparatively warmer day this morning. I went to Forest Hills Garden again. I didn't want to go too far since my wife and I planned to go to the library to see a singing show.

The entrance of Forest Hills Garden makes you believe this place must have quite a history. Even though all the big houses in this area are old, some even not well maintained, and most of them do not have air-conditioning system, they are expensive. You can tell they have seen better days. The sign on the sidewalk tells you right away that you are entering a private street. 

Last summer after I posted online  my painting: Midway Cinema Theater at Night, I received an E-mail from a lady in Arizona. She graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1956, two years before Paul Simon and the theater was a popular place with high school kids then. During our electronic conversation, I learned that the area used to be a WASP self-segregated residential area. It had some racial ordinances in history. However, changes, after all, have taken place over time. Even when I was painting there today, a passer-by told me that nowadays wealthy Chinese came to this area and bought all the houses for sale. Then he looked at me with a strange look. I realized what he was thinking and smiled to him, "I don't live here. I am just a starving artist from Florida."

In the afternoon, my wife and I went to Forest Hills Library, where two professional singers sang some international and popular songs in six different languages including Chinese. This is the best part about New York, I think. There are so many quality art programs at its libraries. You have to see the collection of art books at the City Library. Most of performers at the shows are professionals. Also, the street entertainment programs are good, too. Most audience at the library show  today are senior citizens.  As you can tell from my sketches, the guy who came late and could not find a seat had to stand on the side to enjoy the show. Hope you like my works, too.