On the last day of the 2026 Historic West Bottoms Plein Air Festival, I found myself driving around the dusty northern edge of the district looking for a scene that somehow captured the place for me. The wind had been relentless throughout the festival, whipping through the streets for three straight days, and Sunday morning was no exception.

I eventually set up in a cleared parking area with no protection from the wind at all. Dust swirled around my easel and rattled everything in my painting kit. After a while, I realized my truck could serve as a makeshift windbreak, so I repositioned it and turned the side into a wall against the gusts.

I was drawn to this scene for a couple of reasons. First, there’s the building itself. Its large shape sits off to one side of the composition, looming over everything around it. It has a presence that feels both imposing and mysterious. Then there are the railroad elements, which seem to be everywhere in the West Bottoms. They feel woven into the identity of the place.

Most of all, though, I was attracted to the sense of emptiness. Even on a busy festival weekend, there are pockets of the West Bottoms that feel quiet, almost forgotten. That atmosphere hangs over the scene and gives it its character.

The color palette felt right for the subject. It would be easy to paint these old industrial structures with a nostalgic glow, but that didn’t seem honest to me. What interested me was the evidence of age, hard use, and, in some cases, abandonment. There’s a beauty in that too—one that feels more true to the place than sentimentality.

This painting is currently on exhibit at Rice Gallery of Fine Art and is available through the gallery.