Industrial Paintings
The industrial city of Pittsburgh is almost a thing of history. A handful of mills are still making coke or steel, but most are long gone. Healthcare and banking are the engines that run this new economy, and visually, they are not that interesting.
My dad worked "night trick" on the railroad for nearly 40 years. He, like most men of his generation, worked physically hard and didn't feel the need to "work out" at the gym. In fact, his second job was a repairing and sharpening business in our basement, and his third job was doing carpentry on the side. Seemed like all he did was work, sleep and drink-not necessarily in that order. I suppose it wasn't easy feeding eight kids.
My point is, we live in a different age and are more affected by our current time than by our past. As more and more farms get paved over and mills shut down, our visual environment becomes more austere. (How many more strip malls can be built?) The smoke-filled skies have cleared and what we see is a different place-a city that is changing, mostly for the better. But something seems missing, possibly the spirit or sense of purpose people had when they made things with their own hands.
Atmospheric Mill
53 x 47
Braddock Sky
9 x 12
Double Blast Gray
37 x 69
Forging the Steel
44 x 30
Lawrenceville Steel
11 x 14
Molten Metal
30 x 48
Morning Break
36 x 60
Weirton Mill
30 x 50
Tapping a Heat
18 x 24
SteveYoung
9 x 12
White Hot Steel
30 x 40
Weirton Works
30 x 50
Vertical Pour
24 x 18