Philadelphia through the eyes of living artists.
If you ever lose the will to live in Philly — just for a second — take a look at these.
This is the city seen by the people who feel it brush by their windows, spill onto their steps, burn through their retinas, and leak into their ink.
These artists don’t explain Philly — they remember it, dream it, remix it. They tell stories that make you want to cry a little and then go for a walk.
This is the city seen by the people who feel it brush by their windows, spill onto their steps, burn through their retinas, and leak into their ink.
These artists don’t explain Philly — they remember it, dream it, remix it. They tell stories that make you want to cry a little and then go for a walk.
Erin McGee Ferrell, Marilyn MacGregor, Sarah McEneaney, Joe Barker, Symone Salib, Joe Boruchow, Bella Wattles, Adrienne Langer, Dan Duffy, Watercolors by Da Vinci, Jessica Rodgers, Alicia Levantini, Jessie Husband, Litill by V
Erin McGee Ferrell
Medium: oil painting, plein air, large-scale cityscapes
@erinmcgeeferrell
Mood: Philly on a big canvas and in bold strokes. Trains, bridges, rooftops — painted fast, full of motion and light. Like the city caught mid-breath.
Message: You don’t capture a city by freezing it. You paint it while it’s moving — and you move with it.
@erinmcgeeferrell
Mood: Philly on a big canvas and in bold strokes. Trains, bridges, rooftops — painted fast, full of motion and light. Like the city caught mid-breath.
Message: You don’t capture a city by freezing it. You paint it while it’s moving — and you move with it.
Marilyn MacGregor
Medium: digital illustration, ink, mixed media
@macgregorartdesigns
Mood: Whimsical Philly with clean lines and a wink. Her rowhomes are neat, her color palettes comforting, and her compositions feel like postcards from a city that actually wrote back.
Message: The city can be cozy. It can be kind. Sometimes it just needs to be drawn that way.
@macgregorartdesigns
Mood: Whimsical Philly with clean lines and a wink. Her rowhomes are neat, her color palettes comforting, and her compositions feel like postcards from a city that actually wrote back.
Message: The city can be cozy. It can be kind. Sometimes it just needs to be drawn that way.
Sarah McEneaney
Medium: egg tempera, autobiographical painting
@sarahmce
Mood: Hand-painted Philly, one memory at a time. Studio floors, SEPTA trains, pets in windows — Sarah turns everyday life into soft, quiet epics.
Message: The city isn’t just where we live. It’s what we carry — into our rooms, our dreams, and our brushstrokes.
@sarahmce
Mood: Hand-painted Philly, one memory at a time. Studio floors, SEPTA trains, pets in windows — Sarah turns everyday life into soft, quiet epics.
Message: The city isn’t just where we live. It’s what we carry — into our rooms, our dreams, and our brushstrokes.
Joe Barker
Medium: watercolor
@barkadelphia
Mood: Pure watercolor tenderness. Brick by brick, sign by stair — Joe paints a city just waking up: soft, a little foggy, totally real.
Message: Philly isn’t just loud — it’s quiet too. Sometimes beauty sits on the porch and waits for you to notice.
@barkadelphia
Mood: Pure watercolor tenderness. Brick by brick, sign by stair — Joe paints a city just waking up: soft, a little foggy, totally real.
Message: Philly isn’t just loud — it’s quiet too. Sometimes beauty sits on the porch and waits for you to notice.
Joe Boruchow
Medium: cut-paper, murals
@joeboruchow
Mood: Bold, mythic, high-contrast Philly. His black-and-white figures look like they’ve stepped out of a revolution or a dream.
Message: Art should interrupt you.
@joeboruchow
Mood: Bold, mythic, high-contrast Philly. His black-and-white figures look like they’ve stepped out of a revolution or a dream.
Message: Art should interrupt you.
Symone Salib
Medium: illustration, mural work
@symonesalibstudio
Mood: Loud, warm, human. Faces you recognize, quotes you needed, colors that don’t sit still. Symone paints not just people, but presence.
Message: The city speaks — sometimes on the side of a corner store. You just have to look up.
@symonesalibstudio
Mood: Loud, warm, human. Faces you recognize, quotes you needed, colors that don’t sit still. Symone paints not just people, but presence.
Message: The city speaks — sometimes on the side of a corner store. You just have to look up.
Bella Wattles
Medium: oil painting, still life
@bellawattles
Mood: Still lifes with Philly bones. Lemons, cigarettes, takeout boxes, and flowers — like someone cleaned the kitchen table but left the city in the corners.
Message: Even the quietest objects have attitude. Still life? More like still alive.
@bellawattles
Mood: Still lifes with Philly bones. Lemons, cigarettes, takeout boxes, and flowers — like someone cleaned the kitchen table but left the city in the corners.
Message: Even the quietest objects have attitude. Still life? More like still alive.
Adrienne Langer
Medium: watercolor, ink
Instagram: @art_by_adrienne_langer
Mood: Lush Philly nostalgia. Adrienne paints rowhomes like characters — each with its own mood, curtains, porch chairs, little secrets. Green leaves curl around bricks, and everything feels loved.
Message: Home is more than where we live — it’s how we see. And maybe, how we remember.
Instagram: @art_by_adrienne_langer
Mood: Lush Philly nostalgia. Adrienne paints rowhomes like characters — each with its own mood, curtains, porch chairs, little secrets. Green leaves curl around bricks, and everything feels loved.
Message: Home is more than where we live — it’s how we see. And maybe, how we remember.
Dan Duffy
Medium: typographic illustration
@realartofwords
Mood: Fan energy meets research obsession. Dan draws entire skylines, stadiums, and portraits — out of names, dates, stats.
Message: This city isn’t just made of bricks. It’s made of people, memories, and very specific years.
@realartofwords
Mood: Fan energy meets research obsession. Dan draws entire skylines, stadiums, and portraits — out of names, dates, stats.
Message: This city isn’t just made of bricks. It’s made of people, memories, and very specific years.
Watercolors by Da Vinci (David)
Medium: watercolor
@watercolorsbydavinci
Mood: Like the city just exhaled. Gentle rain, soft bricks, everything slightly faded — but still here.
Message: Philly doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it whispers in watercolor.
@watercolorsbydavinci
Mood: Like the city just exhaled. Gentle rain, soft bricks, everything slightly faded — but still here.
Message: Philly doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it whispers in watercolor.
Jessica Rodgers
Medium: digital sketch
@cityillustrator
Mood: Like a draftsman fell in love with Philly and couldn’t stop tracing it. Clean lines, honest edges, zero sentimentality.
Message: Architecture is a kind of language. And Philly? A city that writes in bold.
@cityillustrator
Mood: Like a draftsman fell in love with Philly and couldn’t stop tracing it. Clean lines, honest edges, zero sentimentality.
Message: Architecture is a kind of language. And Philly? A city that writes in bold.
Alicia Levantini
Medium: Pen & Ink
@artbyalicial
Mood: Philly rowhomes as a love language. Soft light, friendly bricks, maybe a cat on the steps. The kind of block you’d find in a well-kept memory.
Message: A home is more than a structure — it’s the feeling of turning the corner and knowing where you are.
@artbyalicial
Mood: Philly rowhomes as a love language. Soft light, friendly bricks, maybe a cat on the steps. The kind of block you’d find in a well-kept memory.
Message: A home is more than a structure — it’s the feeling of turning the corner and knowing where you are.
Jessie Husband
Medium: digital illustration, line drawing
@jessiehusbanddesigns
Mood: As if the city ran through a technical pen and came out clean. No noise, no mess — just façades, rhythm, and restraint.
Message: To love a street, you don’t always need a story. Sometimes a line is enough.
@jessiehusbanddesigns
Mood: As if the city ran through a technical pen and came out clean. No noise, no mess — just façades, rhythm, and restraint.
Message: To love a street, you don’t always need a story. Sometimes a line is enough.
Virginia S. Kerr
Medium: miniature models
Instagram: @litillby_v
Mood: Philly, shrunk to tenderness. A moodboard of your block, your corner, your favorite stoop — rebuilt with crooked shutters and working porch lights.
Message: Every place deserves to be known. Every street has its own path, beauty, and story. Keep your map close.
Did you recognize the places? Or did you feel something new?
Either way, that’s the power of seeing your city through someone else’s eyes.
Either way, that’s the power of seeing your city through someone else’s eyes.