10th Ward Yellow, 32 x 42, oil on canvas

Pittsburgh has a particular style of architecture.  Some areas have skinny row houses that are packed together on steep hillsides. This is the case with the 10th Ward of the city. You can sense the claustrophobic environment in this alleyway painting I did last week.  To think I once drove through these places only to get somewhere else, never really seeing just how interesting they were.

Constance Morning, 30 x 40, oil on canvas

Next Saturday from 10 - 6 is our 7th Annual Lawrenceville Artists' Tour. It features 16 artists from my neighborhood. To download a map, go to http://lvpgh.com/  It is mostly a walking tour so you'll get the added benefit of exercise, not to mention see a lot of interesting architecture and new shops. You'll also see why Lawrenceville is the new, hot hipster place to be. And if you get the urge for some new body art there are tattoo parlors here as well.

Group of Three, oil on canvas, 30 x 40

This is another from the 10th Ward area of Lawrenceville. I was intrigued how the light carved out these three houses from the shadowed hillside. Since I've moved about a mile from my studio I can walk and more closely observe possible subjects. Driving doesn't do the same thing.

On another note, I just returned from a plein air festival in Wheeling, West Virginia. It is called Paint Olgebay, which is an amazing park, resort and nature reserve. I'll return next year because it is an excellent event. This year, despite rain and cool temps, 65 artists painted for the three days. Here is the website for anyone who may be interested. http://www.oionline.com/paint/artists.htm