I was very fortunate to head off to New York exactly a year ago, spending most of my time in the fabulous art galleries. But another reason for visiting the Big Apple, was to walk the High Line – a kilometre and a half, of prairie grassland planting, located three stories high above the “meat packers” district in east Manhattan.
This 1.5 km stretch of disused railway stands three stories high above the city’s streets. Left derelict from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s, it was considered an eyesore, due for demolition. But during this approximate 10 year period of disuse, something amazing started to happen. When left to it’s own devices this stretch of railway started to grow, and as nature took control, a seedling idea came into being – to turn it into a public space for the locals to enjoy all the while providing a haven for wildlife. It has also by default become a tourist destination.
I was really taken with this concept, and loved the idea of capturing the relationship between a prairie grassland planting scheme, (courtesy of the wonderful Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf) and the classic architecture of New York’s vertical skyline. The first sketch in this blog shows a classic water tower – the unsung heroes of the city, used to provide water to the apartments. In the foreground however of both sketches feature the remnants of summer grasses as they go to seed, creating a beautiful architectural show of autumnal shapes and colours. These final two paintings ‘seedheads on the highline’ continue the idea of exploring this fantastic relationship of city life and botanical magic. I hope you enjoy them!
