Art! - 100 Reasons I Love Peekskill - Post 51

Art! There's visual art everywhere you turn in Peekskill, produced by passionate and prolific local artists. We have artists working in many media here. The majority are painters, but there's also quite a bit of sculpture around town. Of course this is to be expected--we're an arts community, with nearly a hundred artists of all types living right downtown.

There are large public murals (with more in the works), including those on the Youth Bureau, the Park Street Garage and the newest, the Peekskill Postcard (which I love) on the corner of Division Street and Central Ave. A number of downtown restaurants display the work of local artists. The BeanRunner Cafe and the Division Street Grill (and others) are essentially art galleries as well as eateries. Other businesses display local artists on both their walls and in their windows. Some, such as the Beale Street Barber Shop, also double as galleries. There's always art to see in the lobby of Westchester Community College and upstairs at the Paramount.

And that's just the art that lifts my spirits as I go about my daily business. If you seek it out just a tiny bit, there's so much more Peekskill art to see. There's the street level Driftwood Gallery, on North Division Street, but if you look upwards as you walk through Peekskill, you'll see the second floor studios of various artists. The Flatiron Building is full of artists studios and galleries, and there are many more sprinkled throughout downtown. There are so many openings and shows in Peekskill that some of us must monitor our intake of wine and cheese.

If you want to deepen your experience, there's the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, in the eastern edge of downtown--a seriously high-profile venue.

There's such variety in the art displayed throughout Peekskill--so many styles and materials. I confess, I'm not a fan of every piece I see. But I love that it's there. I'd rather see art I don't really like or understand than no art at all. It colors my life and expands my spirit, and it's made all the more special by knowing most of the people who created it. And some of the art here is so splendid it makes my heart soar.

It's a wonderful part of living in downtown Peekskill.