Rendering What I See.
I've been working with images of Carnegie, Pennsylvania since I moved back here after graduating college. Artists often render whatever is near them whether just for practice or in order to create a finished piece of artwork, and I'm no different. I might prefer the personalities of animals and the moods of nature, but I also love the look of a street lined with houses and trees, quaint old storefronts or someone's laundry hanging in the back yard. I really picked up the pace when the 3rd Street Gallery began hosting "Carnegie Painted" in the year 2000. The show encourages artists to paint images of the town and exhibit them all together, and it's always interesting to see what we've all done with the same subject.
Click on any image to see an enlarged version.
Pear Trees on Main Street
Pastel; SIZE: 12" x 10"; 2003, sold
In May, when the ornamental pears bloom, Main Street seems more colorful than usual with big clouds of soft white pear trees all along the street. Even though I painted this in 2003, it carries the memories of Carnegie's Main Street as I was growing up, visiting the shops and walking here after leaving St. Luke's School, then, later, working my first full-time job at the Isaly's.
Library Avenue
Ink; SIZE: 16" x 12"; 2007, sold
I carry with me a little pouch of art materials (see Landscapes, in Daily Sketches at the bottom of the page) so I'm always ready to capture an image, and I love drawing in ink because of the patterns I can make with the lines to create shadows and textures. This is larger than the usual 5" x 8", though, as I had started carrying a larger sketchbook when I was on my bicycle. This one was intended to be done on site, but the angle of the houses nearly defeated me and I ended up finishing it up at home.
Rainy Night on Main Street
Acrylic, "24" x 12", 2007, sold
I pulled up to a stop sign and saw this view of Main Street at night in the rain. I took a photo with my ever-present digital camera, then painted it later.
The Castle
Pastel, 9" x 11", 2000, sold
It's actually a church steeple, and at any other time of the year, or even in another year, I would have missed it because the trees would have been significantly different. I loved reading the variations on the Arthurian legends and all the anachronistic fantasy stories related to and inspired by the legends, so I was probably predisposed to see this view with this interpretation.
Alley in Dusk
Acrylic; SIZE: 10" x 8"; 2006, sold
Those clear spring evenings in April are touchingly beautiful with the turquoise glow in the sky for the longest time after the sun has set, and here, in the darkness of the buildings, the lights of humanity poke holes in the darkness.
How Many Sunsets
MEDIUM: Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 10" x 12"; 2003, sold
How many sunsets have shone on this site in Carnegie, the angled sun shining nearly horizontally on the cliff about the creek. Currently, it's Ross Colonial Cemetery, named so for the Ross family of settlers around the time of the Revolutionary War, but the site has been a lookout for millennia as one can stand on the cliff's edge and see most of the valley containing Carnegie and the creek as it enters and leaves town. My mother told me her brothers and others found Native American artifacts in this area. I have another version of it below in pencil in "Quiet Spots", and I've got a few photographs of it in my photography section.
Memorial Day Parade
MEDIUM: Pencil; IMAGE SIZE: 17" x 14"; 2008, $150
The good old traditional parade on the good old traditional Main Street, so instead of color I decided to render it in pencil, in a style reminiscent of World War II cartoons. Pencil is so expressive, and it really reduces lines down to just what they need to be to get the point across, and this illustration style is almost impressionistic in its quality of line and level of detail.
Other Images
I've got quite a few pieces depicting Carnegie, from small quick sketches to big finished paintings. Most are fairly small, 10" x 12" or less because I'm often experimenting with a medium or technique using a subject that's familiar. Some are sold but some originals are still available matted and framed; read the footnotes in the enlarged image. Even if the piece is sold, I have prints of nearly every one. Prices vary for prints according to size, please contact me if you are interested and don't see the information you need.
Around the Library
It's our own "Carnegie Carnegie", the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall. We call it this because, while there are Carnegie Library buildings all over the country, and especially all around Pittsburgh, this is the only one in the town which was named for the benefactor--specifically because he built a library here when the two towns decided to merge and find a new name. I lived a few doors away from the place when I graduated college and began drawing and painting, but I've been visiting the building all my life, even now, to take out books and see performances, and just to find a quiet spot to sit and read or do research.
Carnegie Park
It's a handy place to go and work; I have more sketches than these, only need to scan or photograph them.
Chartiers Creek
The creek runs right through the middle of town, adding an interesting dimension to an otherwise tradition small town where the waterway usually runs behind everything, like the train tracks do. The reflected lights at night, for instance add a European flair, while finding "my private beach", a seemingly isolated but easily accessible sandbar right in the middle of town gives me a unique opportunity.
Backyards
Here are some of things you see just walking around. I have more laundry, too--in fact, a whole series, and then I'll have another category.
Streets, Alleys and Quiet Spots
Just little moments caught in passing.