Garage Door Decor

Mural in Lawrenceville by Monstermarblez AKA Chad Parker known for his glass marble creations.

Here’s one article about his artwork and another about his niche of making glass marbles

I was the passenger in my friend’s car. As she popped into the post office, this monster caught my eye

Round Corner Hotel in Lawrenceville

An interesting building built during the Civil War (1862) – you don’t see many round corner buildings in brick.

Thursday night after dinner across the street at Piccolo Forno.

Local artist William Pfahl painted this interesting building in 2017 as one of his cityscapes. A link to an article about Bill’s paintings. Bill is a fellow retired city art teacher. And link 2011 blog post about him painting the Sixteenth Street Bridge.

ROUND CORNER HOTEL – LAWRENCEVILLE.30x48in. Oil. 2017. SOLD.

The Round Corner Hotel building is the home of Esquina Cantina -Mexican Restaurant

Interested in building radial brick work ? A video with instruction

P.S. big shout out to dc today-
stellar blog follower, guest contributor & frequent commenter

Throwback Thursday – 15 years ago

What Steve Put on the Mantel

Reblog from 15 years ago –

“Deborah McLaren’s still life is one I purchased at the PERSAD  Celebrate Life Celebrate Art auction at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh last May.  

The other day I sat at the table, looked up and saw Steve’s additions to the decor.  He has been purchasing RITZ crackers frequently since I bought the painting, subliminal influence?  I wrote to the artist for her permission to post the image of her painting along with his props. Steve’s fun additions- the unexpected sight of them in front of the still life-  I laughed out loud!  How to make life fun!

Still Life Painting by Deborah McLaren

Porch Knitting Inspiration

My granddaughter took a photo of me and two good knitting friends as we sat on my front porch, knitting.

One friend Terry was knitting socks with the Woolens and Nosh Yarn colorway actually named Porch Knitting.

Our friend Randi was knitting a Hawthorne Tank by Caitlin Hunter.

I was knitting Christmas Socks with Must Stash Yarn that Terry had given me.

I shared the photo of the three of us with our Knitting Buddies Zoom group.

Photo taken by Prema

And the photo inspired one of our members to paint us -Porch Knitting.

It was Joanne’s first time using acrylics and she was visiting her sister Mary who was tutoring her on using the new paints. Joanne usually paints with watercolors.

Here’s her first acrylic painting-

Porch Knitting

Artist: my dear friend Joanne B.

Terry is a terrific sock knitter.
Holding Porch Knitting yarn, knit into socks!

On Alder Street in Pittsburgh

A mural, Aqua Boogie, by artist Matt Spahr.

My friend Jen is friends with him and we walked around the corner, after coffee so she could show me his work.

On Alder Street near Highland Avenue Intersection
Artists signature

Brightening the urban landscape with colorful art!

William Pfahl Fine Artist

William Pfahl Fine Artist

I’m at Mark and Erika’s House in Ohio and saw the gorgeous painting of Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood.

It’s where they were married in August 2002.

I posted Bill’s artwork in Ohio in 2018 but it deserves another post.

Manna Pottery is All Painted by Hand

Meet Rezgar Mamandi who hand paints the beautiful pottery and tiles you see in the photographs below.

Manna Pottery was at Shadyside.. the Arts Festival on Walnut Street on Saturday.

The pencil lines will burn away when fired
Close up detail -all hand painted by artist
The colors even more vibrant in person
The tiles can be made in any size
Vases, bowls, mugs, tiles, teapots, plates, lidded jars .
All beautiful.

Watch this YouTube video to see Rezgar Mamandi paint and glaze a ceramic plate for a wedding gift.

From the Artist’s brochure
About the artist

Tea Bag Art

Joanne painted this tea bag art and created a greeting card for my July 4th birthday.

My friend Joanne, belongs to an artists’ group in St. Augustine, Florida, -Cafe Sketchers

“Mary Ann Miller is the leader . Our group is the Cafe Sketchers and the blog is Sketching in Provence as a group of them went a few years ago…
We meet at a different cafe each time and sketch and eat. Lately we meet via zoom and share what we’re working on
.” Joanne writes

The Sketchers in Provence founder, Mary Ann’s blog post says….

“the idea was to use a teabag in a sketch/painting/print in any way you desired. Ideas included painting directly on dried and emptied teabags (inspired by New York artist Ruby Silvious), printing with the wet bag and making something out of that shape, painting with tea or painting a picture of a teacup. I used tea to dye unbleached muslin to cover my T-Doodles books

The members painted tea bags and to see their artwork click here

Looks like Van Gogh

“Quick Anna. Get my phone. Take pictures for me” we rolled down her window.

I’d picked her up at cross country practice about four. On the way home the Ohio landscape was reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Wheat Fields and Cypresses to me but I was driving.  Anna kept shooting. Thanks Anna for capturing the scene.


I loved the addition of the bright school crossing sign

Photo Snapped from Phineas Street

I was headed to I-279 and pulled into Phineas Street on the North Side to capture beloved Pittsburgh Pirate, Roberto Clemente’s likeness on this building.

Artist Jeremy Raymer painted this stunning mural. Here’s an article written by Bob Bauder about the painting.

The building that served as the “canvas” for Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente’s portrait is Verdetto’s Bar and Restaurant.

Roberto Clemente