Local Artist Spends A Year Painting All 90 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Lawrenceville artist painted a scene from each of Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods in a single year.
All 90 of Ron Donoughe's paintings will be displayed Friday, May 15 at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside.
From Allegheny Center to Windgap, he visited the neighborhoods in alphabetical order.
"To do them alphabetically, take 12 months to do it, visit neighborhoods and make myself available, engage the neighbors," he says.
He painted all 90 of his neighborhood scenes the old fashioned way - not from photographs, but on location. As the paintings reveal, he was a man for all seasons.
Visiting places in alphabetic order led to some zig zagging.
"I found out how difficult it is to get everywhere. It would have been easy to do them alphabetically. But crossing through neighborhoods made me see them again and again and again. One of the ones I found interesting was the Donut Shop (Better Maid) in Crafton Heights."
A van crashed into the shop, not long after he painted it. Like many works of art, it's now a memory.
His paintings are not only suitable for framing, but for the pages of a new book, "90 Neighborhoods."
Despite the added expense, he felt a Pittsburgh book should be printed in Pittsburgh. When foundation money fell short, a crowdfunding effort on Indiegogo made that possible.
"We had a goal that was actually met in three hours," he said.
There's a reason for that.
"Everybody loves their neighborhood," he said. "And they're proud of their neighborhood. And that was one of the experiences I found most refreshing."
For hours of the upcoming exhibit, and other information, log on to: www.donoughe.com.
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