Pittsburgh Artist Captures 16th Street Bridge on Canvas

Thursday evening Bill Pfahl was painting the 16th Street Bridge down in the Heinz Plant parking lot. I was on my way back from Sheraden and headed home. I called Bill to tell him about the churches I saw in McKees Rocks Bottoms- two Ukrainian and one Orthodox and one Byzantine. The sun was dropping on their domes and I pulled off to photograph them.  Turns out Bill has already drawn them in pastels and they were sold and are on display in a Wyndam hotel in Oakland 3454 Forbes Avenue

A man came out to his car to go home  and he complimented Bill on his artwork. I asked him about the ketchup. Hasn’t been made in Pittsburgh since the 70’s.  They made ketchup packets for fast food chains here but all the ketchup is made in Ohio.

I have the Most Holy Spirit Church in Millvale painting on my living room wall. I bought it from Bill during the Art Teacher Show at the Board of Ed a few years ago.

My People at Work series has taken twists and turns this week focusing on artists- emerging and established.  Bill is the artist who painted the church Mark and Erika were married in and gave it to them as a gift.   I learned about armillary spheres and how the four of them on this bridge were brought by truck and boat as they were too wide for the railroad. Remember the recent Artist’s  Palette Post?  Bill was gracious to allow me to photograph him while he was trying to paint before the sun set and the light was gone.

Here is Bill’s palette for this painting.

Click here to see more Pittsburgh painting by Bill Pfahl