Easels Set Up For Artists At Burlington County's Smithville Park

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Artists across the region have flocked to Historic Smithville Park for its majestic views and landscapes, and now the county is making life easier for them. The Burlington County Parks staff have installed easels in some of the most popular spots around the Eastampton park for residents and visiting artists to use, the county announced this week.

“This new initiative is a great way for residents to enjoy our parks, while still maintaining social distancing during the pandemic,” Burlington County Director Felicia Hopson said. “Our parks staff has done a great job adjusting this past year to assure the safety of visitors in our parks. We hope residents take advantage of using these new easels, and also share their artwork that they created with the county.”

The easels were installed at these three locations in Smithville Park:

• Near the Smithville Park Gazebo —https://goo.gl/maps/beaee6PVUW19jWJF8
• On the Blue Trail overlooking the creek — https://goo.gl/maps/fCm3uN8e7FTX1t3v5
• On the path along Smithville Lake —https://goo.gl/maps/nbjzuK1zgqvFHRNb8

“These locations have scenery that any landscape painters would be thrilled to capture,” Hopson said. “And this is just at Smithville. There are plenty of other majestic views to be found at our other county parks, so we’ll be looking to build on this and install more easels in those locations.”

The county has also started a Plein Air, On Location Series with artist Michael Anthony. In this virtual series, participants can sit alongside Anthony as he reveals his process on location. The demo will focus on a specific topic at each location and show you an overview of the artist’s procedure.

Anthony is a New Jersey born artist from the Burlington County area. Trained as an illustrator at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Anthony has transitioned to fine artwork, primarily landscapes.

While seeing many artists around the world paint the outwardly beautiful locations in other countries, Anthony is attracted to the less noticed local destinations that many of us take for granted.

“Burlington County spans from the Delaware River all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and we have some of the most beautiful and varied landscapes imaginable, including the Rancocas Creek, cornfields and barns, Arney’s Mount and the wonderful Pinelands,” Burlington County Freeholder Linda Hynes, liaison to the Department of Resource Conservation, said. “We would encourage any seasoned or aspiring artist to take a look around here. The next masterpiece is waiting for you.”

The new easels in the park joined another new initiative this year, the Music in The Parks Series. The Music in the Parks Series, which concluded last month, featured local, talented musicians performing 90-minute sets in the parks.

Throughout the ongoing pandemic, the county has continued to host socially distanced events, including drive-in movies, sunset yoga classes at the Agricultural Center, country line dancing, trivia nights, and the Agricultural Center’s online cooking classes through their Facebook page.

“We encourage residents to check out the programs offered in our parks and get out and enjoy these programs with their families,” Hynes said.

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