Pittsburgh drawings: adapting

Here are more works from my pen & ink Pittsburgh drawing series. I’ve now completed drawings in forty-three Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Like many artists, the Coronavirus pandemic has forced me to make some changes. In pre-pandemic works, like the Pittsburgh Zoo penguin piece, I was sketching in the middle of a crowd. I now draw in my car or in an isolated park area. In some cases I work from photographs. I’m hoping that a return to public interactions will come soon!

Penguins on parade at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. February 2020.

The last farmer’s market of the 2019 season, Market Square. October 2019.

In the summer and early fall at Market Square, especially during a farmer’s market day, the area is filled with people. Point Park University students, business people and tourists gather at public tables. On this day I ran into a local self-taught artist who introduced me to a homeless artist making large-scale abstract expressionist work. They had set up a makeshift exhibit of work for sale. The homeless artist told me that he was living under a nearby bridge. On another occasion I saw the pair from a distance, being dragged in the wind across and empty square while handling a large painting. October 2019.

An iconic intersection in Oakland featuring The Original Hot Dog Shop (established 1960). Once a convenient stop for Pirates fans visiting Forbes Field, “The O” has long been a favorite for college students looking for cheap beer and grease-laden sustenance. The castle-like building on the left was once a post office, later The Oakland Beehive, a coffee shop with a movie theater and bar that was popular with the bohemian crowd . Today it is a mobile phone shop. February 2020.

Twenty-fifth and Butler Street, Lawrenceville featuring the former Pittsburgh Wash House Public Baths. The structure was built in 1903, providing working class people with a place to wash clothes and bathe. February, 2020.