Braddock Houses, For Sale, 16 x 20, oil on linen

Braddock, Pennsylvania is full of despair. You can feel it when you drive around. Lately the community has been dealt another blow because the hospital there just closed. Unemployment is 15.8% compared to the national average of 9.7%.This was once a thriving mill town but now you see boarded-up storefronts and lots of houses are for sale–cheap. Lawns of these houses are overgrown with huge weeds and many are unoccupied. The dark sky tells this sad story while the crisp light gives hope that things can only get better.