Bellevue is the perfect place to paint

My Favorite Place to Paint: Jennifer Young – OutdoorPainter

July 23, 2014; 8:50 AM • by Richard Hayes

I believe there is a magazine and/or website for every hobby on the face earth. I’m not sure why then, I was surprised when a loyal reader sent me a link to this article, My Favorite Place to Paint: Jennifer Young – OutdoorPainter. I was not surprised in the least bit by the descriptions that Jennifer gives in the article.

Bellevue is an interesting community, with wide medians and architecture ranging from colonial revival to Arts and Crafts-style bungalows — “urban with a small-town feel,” says Young. The medians are a remnant of the founders’ dream to make the area an idyllic streetcar suburb that would alleviate the crowded and unsanitary conditions in downtown Richmond. The two men behind the plan, Lewis Ginter and John Pope, died before they could fully execute their vision, but the basic plan for Bellevue endures in its layout. The gardens are more improvised, with effusive life spilling out of nearly every patch of ground. Cottage-style or English gardens are the norm, rather than more formal designs. The gardens are an important part of life in Bellevue.

Maybe it’s time for you to go into the closet and dig out that easel and watercolors you last used in college and capture some of the unique scenes around us all.