Finding Beauty in the Grid

Electric transmission line painting by Thomas Van Auken

About a block from my home, an electrical transmission line runs parallel to Parham Road on the far side of the road. It’s screened by trees so I barely see it, and I pay it no mind. But these paintings by Richmond artist Thomas Van Auken almost makes me wish I had a transmission line in my back yard.

If I were Dominion Virginia Power or Appalachian Power, I would commission this Van Auken (about whom I know nothing more than what I’ve already told you) to paint a whole series of transmission-line scenes. Where others see blight, he sees something else. Not beauty exactly, but something worth viewing.

Check out his Facebook page. Van Auken’s self-portraits are something to behold.