Painted during my grad school years, this view from my Shadyside apartment window carries with it the weight of a difficult time. I was feeling low and decided to let the mood pour into the canvas. It’s one of the few paintings I painted alla prima — thick, direct strokes of oil laid down in a single sitting.
Though the paint went on heavily, it has held together for fifty years without a crack. For many years it hung in our home, a reminder of both struggle and resilience. On one visit, my daughter fell in love with it and insisted on taking it home. My wife shed a few tears watching it leave, but I was moved differently — there was something fitting about the painting finding a new life in her care.
Oil on canvas, c. 1970s – in the collection of my daughter