Painter Creek begins northeast of Big Pine Hill in Thornhurst Township.

After nearly a mile, the creek turns north-northwest and enters Spring Brook Township.

It then turns north-northeast for more than a mile and receives two unnamed tributaries from the left before reaching its confluence with Panther Creek.

[5] The mouth of the creek is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Avoca.

[3] In the early 2000s, the Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan recommended that Spring Brook Township include protection of Painter Creek in their comprehensive plans, as well as their ordinances for land use, zoning, and subdivision.

[11] Wild trout naturally reproduce in Painter Creek from its headwaters downstream to its mouth.

[13] The Painter Creek Bog mainly consists of a floating peat mat with low growths of sphagnum and graminoids.