Tomorrow evening at City Hall, some of the buildings of Providence that I love and have photographed over the years will be on display as buildings loved and painted by the artist Peter Thornton of our fair city. His show of stylized images, “Providence Scenes,” opens Thursday at 5-7 p.m. This looks to be a lovely and charming exhibit, not to be missed. It will run through May 15.

“The show,” according to a note sent me by the artist himself, “will feature iconic images of our fair city as depicted in a series of limited edition Giclée prints. Working sketches, photos and short commentary on each piece will also be displayed.”

At left, sitting for their portraits, are City Hall along with the Biltmore and beyond it the Westin addition (at least that’s what I call it). I am glad to hear that the artist has provided commentary on his work, as I am eager to learn, for example, of how the skating rink across from the Biltmore came to be filled not with ice but with trees. Ah! Lucky rink! Lucky artist! Among the delights of painting largely unavailable to the photographer is the ability to edit a scene so as to delight the eye. Thornton has also edited the original Westin Hotel from this painting. I have no quarrel with its defenestration on behalf of art, but I pant to discover the “why” of this magical decision by the godlike artist.