Art forms offer a strong sense of storytelling
Andrew Knez's "Difficult Crossing" features Indians of the Miami tribe at Swallow Falls in Deep Creek, Md.
Tim Anderson with his hand-crafted camera.
Tim Anderson and his "Calla Lily" photograph.
Quite often we are so busy with our families and day-to-day activities that we know little about our neighbors. Frequently, we are not only surprised, but delighted to learn about the talents of those not only close by, but others within our local communities. Public exhibits of their artistic gifts offer an insight and a heads-up to their creative skills.
With this in mind, Bridgeville Public Library has recently added fine art displays to its programming, bringing attention to fine artists living in the South Hills. The library currently features three male artists and a display of their amazing talents.
At the age of 4, McMurray resident Andrew Knez Jr. loved horses and cowboys. He enjoyed drawing his favorites from comic books and cartoons both in pencil and crayons. Today his Frontier Art has been featured on the cover of more than 70 national and international publications. One thousand copies of his book “Eastern Frontier Art” sold quickly, mostly through word of mouth. Fifteen historic and realistic paintings will put the viewer in touch with Western Pennsylvania history during the 1700-1800s.
“Prior to starting a painting, I do plenty of research, mostly in historic diaries, memoirs and historical societies,” said Knez.
Andrew is a signature member of the National Oil and Acrylic Society and has been accepted into the American Plains Artist Association and the Western Artists of America Society.
South Fayette resident Tim Anderson’s interest in photography piqued while helping a friend develop film for a school newspaper. In recent years, his eye-catching photos have been included in exhibits at The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. More than 16 black and white photographs adorn the Bridgeville Library, capturing moments in time with incredible detail and clarity. His 8-inch x 10-inch images were created with a 100-year-old field camera. For two years, Anderson worked at building the huge camera which photographed his 11-inch x 14-inch prints.
“I’m looking forward to someday traveling to Yosemite and also capturing the waterfalls at Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania,” said Anderson.
Stippling is Penn State graduate and art teacher Justin Celedonia’s current art form. “I became interested in dot art in high school, but started to use this art form in my current series just in the past year,” recalled Celedonia. His display includes portraits of Uncle Sam, Abe Lincoln and Mario Lemieux in dot art.
“I spent the past two years teaching art at a therapeutic boarding school for students with special needs. Recently, I’ve focused on combining the portrait with the background so that it’s not simply a subject on a canvas, but the portrait and canvas are both artwork.
Libraries are centrally located in each community, providing excellent recreational and educational opportunities for men, women and children of all ages.