Tom Todd

    I grew up in South Eastern Pennsylvania, nearer to Wilmington, Delaware than to Philadelphia.

    Although they had little money for recreational spending, my parents regularly took my brother, sister and me to museums and historical sites. Before I was a teenager, I was quite familiar with the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Rodin Museum, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Hagley Museum and Brandywine River Museum of Art.

    From as early as I was able to drive, the back roads of Chester County, Pa. and the Brandywine were my favorite escape. I could drive for hours admiring the old stone houses and barns that proliferate there. It was then that I developed an eye for old farm equipment, old vehicles and “RUST” (my favorite subject).

    I was fortunate to grow up very close to Chadds Ford on the Brandywine. Throughout my younger years (and continuing to today) my main influences were the works of N C Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth as well as the entire extended family.

    Now settled in Toledo, Washington, I am thrilled to have a nearly endless supply of triggers like decaying old barns, rusty farm implements in the field and rusty trucks in the front yard. I hope Lewis County stays just as it is because “I love rust!”