Watkins Glen, New York Illustrated Travel Wall Art

A Watkins Glen illustrated print from inside the glen itself, where the trail is cut into the rock. A flagged stone walkway with a low wall runs down the left under a sheer veil of falling water. Above it a high stone arch bridge spans the gorge, with a second smaller arch and railing below. Between them the creek steps down over mossy ledges in one small cascade after another into a teal pool.

About the artwork

Painted, with the shale doing most of the work. Every ledge on the right wall is drawn as a separate bed of rock in buff and grey with cool shadow underneath, and the stonework of the bridge is laid out voussoir by voussoir. Moss and fern hang off the wet ledges in yellow-green clumps, the falling curtain on the left is a run of fine pale strokes over near-black rock, and the pool at the bottom is banded teal and slate. The canopy above opens on one patch of blue with cumulus. Three lines of white type run along the base: WATKINS GLEN, STATE PARK, and a letterspaced NEW YORK. Portrait, 2:3.

Why you'll love it

• Many small falls, not one big one. The glen's character is a whole staircase of cascades, and the print shows them stacked down the creek.
• You are inside the gorge. The trail, the wall and the water curtain put the viewer on the path rather than at a lookout.
• Stone craft and rock. The masonry bridge and the natural shale ledges play off each other throughout.
• Deep, wet green. Moss, fern and canopy give it a cool, shaded palette that suits a quiet room.

Sizes and materials

• Paper — archival matte, rolled and unframed. Nine sizes from 8" x 12" to 30" x 40", plus A4-A1 for European frames.
• Matte canvas — stretched on a wooden bar, no glare, ready to hang.
• Framed canvas — solid wood floating frame in white, black, espresso or natural.
• Pigment-based archival inks, rated to resist fading for decades indoors.

Styling it at home

Wet stone grey and moss green make this a cooling piece for a warm room, and it holds up well against olive, clay and mushroom walls. Espresso or natural framing repeats the shadowed rock, as in the herringbone-floor photograph above. On a pale wall the teal pool at the foot of the image becomes the accent colour and can be picked up in cushions or a rug.

Shipping and care

Unframed prints ship rolled in a protective tube. Framed canvas arrives ready to hang. Keep prints out of direct sunlight to protect the colour, and dust canvas with a dry, soft cloth.

Questions people ask

What size should I get? There is dense detail in the masonry and the ledges, so small sizes lose it. 18" x 24" is the sensible minimum; 24" x 36" keeps the bridge stones and each step of the cascade distinct.

Does it come framed? Paper and matte canvas ship unframed. Framed canvas arrives stretched in a solid wood floating frame in white, black, espresso or natural.

What is the difference between your two Watkins Glen prints? There are two designs for this park, drawn in different styles. The other is a flat vector version built from simplified colour shapes with the place name across the top of the image. This is the painted one, with bed-by-bed shale, modelled masonry, hanging moss and the three lines of type set along the bottom edge.

What does the print say? WATKINS GLEN on the first line, STATE PARK on the second, and NEW YORK letterspaced below.