Postcard from Washington DC

This is a recently completed digital painting of the Georgetown Barge in Washington, DC. Its from an original photo I took a few years ago on my one and only trip to D.C.  The barge is on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, part of a National Historical Park. The canal runs about 185 miles from Georgetown in Washington, D.C to Cumberland, Maryland. It rises from sea level to 605 feet, thanks to a series of 74 locks along the way.

Construction began on July 4,1828, with the groundbreaking ceremonies featuring President John Quincy Adams. It reached Cumberland in 1850. So, it was a serious undertaking, to say the least.

It has the name Ohio in it because it was originally scheduled to run from D.C. all the way to the Ohio Valley. But, by the time it got to Cumberland, it was already obsolete as the B&O Railroad had reached Cumberland eight years previously. Such was the fate of all canals in America. Their candle burned for a short time, only to be snuffed out by the Iron Horse.

Today the canal is maintained by the National Park Service as it is a National Historical Park. It is one of the many historical sites one sees when visiting our nation’s capitol.  On the day I was there, I was fortunate to see the Georgetown Barge as it passed under the bridge I was standing on where I took the original photograph. It took me a while, several years actually, to create a painting I really liked. I wanted to convey a sense of history in the painting as well as something of beauty…For that is what I always strive for. I read recently that beauty in art died off some time ago. Not for me.

The path on the right side is called the towpath and is where horses or mules walked when towing the barges. If you look closely, you can see the tow rope leading from the front of the boat to the horses off in the distance. The path is very popular among joggers, walkers, and bicyclists. The barge you see is a replica of the barges originally used on the canals. The Park Service offers rides...and, just like the old days, the boats are pulled by mules and park rangers in historical dress work the locks and boat while presenting a historical program. I wish I would have had the time to take a ride.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com.