The Modern Woman

Portrait of Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliot by Thomas Gainsborough

Last weekend, we journeyed to see Thomas Gainsborough and the Modern Woman at the Cincinnati Museum of Art, a truly wonderful museum.

The Modern Woman featured sixteen of Gainsborough's portraits depicting renowned society women of eighteenth century Britain, most of which were life-sized and full -length, wearing finely detailed, glamorous gowns in rich, silken fabrics. Some were posed in scenes of nature, reminding us of Gainsborough's famed identity - that of a highly acclaimed landscape painter.

Loot from PIX!

With a tardy follow-up to my last post...

While at the Indy Comic Expo, we went on a little shopping spree of locally made, independent comics. One treasure we came away with was a piece of original comic book art from Pittsburgh comic book illustrator, Ed Piskor. Piskor gained fame for his illustrations for Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor: Our Movie Year, and he lives right here in the Burgh!

The illustration we bought is from Wizziwig, his latest series creation and self-publication. You can check out Wizzywig here: http://www.wizzywigcomics.com/

We also bought a bunch of local comics by other writers and artists, and another awesome poster from Mike Budai to add to our collection. It was a super fun day!

PIX: Pittsburgh Indy Comic Expo this weekend!

PIX is Pittsburgh’s first ever exposition devoted solely to creator-owned, self-published, small- press, and handmade comics. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. PIX will be held at the newly refurbished 17,000 square foot top floor of the Guardian Storage facility located at 2839 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, just outside of downtown. PIX will run from 10:00am to 5:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The event is organized by Copacetic Comics and presented by the Toonseum. Can't wait!

Big Momma

At the Pittsburgh Zoo, we saw this giant aluminum praying mantis by Don Jones called Big Momma.

Don also builds the wonderful toy train display with the ginger bread houses at PPG Winter Gardens for the holidays, a project he started himself which is now a Pittsburgh holiday tradition. He also creates robots out of kitchen utensils, oil cans, and other found objects.

Pittsburgh Sketch Crawl

Don't miss the Pittsburgh Sketch Crawl this Saturday, October 9!

It's a 6 hour drawing marathon (10am - 4pm) in some of Downtown's scenic plazas, and it's free to participate. Bring a sketch book and preferred art supplies.

SCHEDULE:

10:00 a.m. – Registration at Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education Center (805-807 Liberty Avenue)

10:15 a.m.– 11:30 a.m. - Katz Plaza / Magnolia Tree Sculptures

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Arch (Robot Sculpture) / the Seventh Steet Bridge from the River Walk

1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. - Market Square

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. - Free Draw! Recommended Location: Mellon Plaza

Watercolor by Courtney Mead