Client

Overview

Large 40 x 60 inch oil painting commission for the lobby of the newly renovated Yorktowne Hotel in York, PA. My studio is located about 20 minutes outside of town where this hotel is located. Once a historic landmark in the city with a long list of prominent guests, the Yorktowne in recent years had become run down and in need of attention. The York County Economic Development Authority stepped up to the plate a number of years ago and undertook a massive renovation of the hotel, keeping its many authentic art deco era details in tact. They also commissioned a series of major artworks by local artists and artisans to be placed on display throughout the hotel. The final spectacular result was recently unveiled earlier this year.

Goals

The goal was for the selected works to connect hotel guests/viewers to the local region in some way, whether to the history of the hotel itself, the city of York, or the surrounding York County landscape and Susquehanna River Valley. My painting depicts the view from Highpoint County Park which looks down on the Susquehanna River valley - the gateway into York County.

Process

An outside jury panel of arts professionals selected a group of prominent regional artists to create works specifically for spaces in the hotel. For the first round of jurying each artist submitted images of existing works that were in line with their vision for the project. Once chosen as one of the contributing artists, each artist worked with the architects and project managers to come up with the specific image and location for the work based on blueprints of the project and walkthroughs of the construction site.