How do we use our eyes? I use mine to see outside myself, to gather information, to observe images of happiness, sorrow, danger, delight and more. Using my anthropomorphic imagination, I pretend our homes use their windows the same way! I’ve always thought windows and their views were one of the most important aspects of a home. During my childhood InSide the Back Mountain , a large living room picture window enjoyed a magnificent vista as far as Bald Mountain with Scranton j

He hangs out a lot at Harveys Lake. He loves to fish and owns a boat or two. He is a beloved father and grandfather, married for 52 years to one of my talented artist friends. Because he lives with an artist, he knows the importance of color, contrast and visual texture. He snaps cell phone photos and texts his trophy shots to a very small, select group of people. He not only enjoys sunsets—Sam Giunta STALKS sunsets! Sam is an opacarophile, a person who loves sunsets and thei

They began to appear about 1800 in the United States, and by 1870 our country boasted about 10,000 of them, many in Pennsylvania. They warm the hearts of antiquarians, are the focus of several associations, and have become, with increasing reverence, a sort of national monument. They are America’s covered bridges. The often-asked and often-debated question is: WHY WERE THESE BRIDGES COVERED? Most authorities claim protection from rain or snow extended the longevity of the wo

A truly dedicated ornithological artist would tramp through snowy forests InSide the Back Mountain with an expensive camera sporting a telephoto lens weighing down its front, patiently communicating with birds using various bird calls. However, I am not a dedicated ornithological (having to do with birds) artist. I do not have an expensive camera with a telephoto lens–and would not know how to use one if I did! I don’t know many bird calls although I can identify a few com

My good friend Ray Mancke, founder of the Back Mountain Railroad Club who is featured in this month’s cover story, stopped by my studio one cold winter morning last year to chat. After some small talk about the Club and local history, Ray asked, “Would you be willing to paint a picture of a trolley to help raise some funds for the restoration of what we think is the last trolley in the entire Wilkes-Barre Railway System?” Loving history like I do, I hesitated for less than h

Leonardo da Vinci, centuries ahead of his time in ideas and arguably the greatest artist/scientist this world has ever seen, died in 1519 at the age of 67. He famously said, “to develop a complete mind, study the science of art and the art of science.” Even Einstein opined that art and science are branches of the same tree. Both art and science involve problem solving skills and both artists and scientists describe their greatest aim as the pursuit of truth. That pursuit begi

Crunch! The monster machine stretched its neck, opened its huge jaws, bit off a chunk of the front corner, chewed it a little, and spit...

You might label me a homebody because my idea of the perfect summer night is sitting on my porch watching fireflies rise out of the grass...

One of my favorite authors, Henry Beston, once spent a year on an outermost beach on Cape Cod. He wrote in The Outermost House , his...