Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Behind the Painting

Saturday morning on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I stood against the railing and looked down.

Green leaves and white blossoms. Soccer fields and basketball courts. Highways and rivers. Shadows bending across the Manhattan skyline. A mass of towers, stacked shapes, strip windows and punched openings.

I sat down to paint on a bench in the shade. Behind me, brownstones and tree-lined streets. Shouts from a nearby playground.

In front of me, families walking along the promenade. Couples meeting for coffee. Tourists with cameras. Dogs straining against leashes. Pigeons looking for crumbs.