Sowing hope through Pittsburgh neighborhood garden prints
“But then when I finally did, there were two rainbows right over the garden — my eyes lit up. I knew that I was going to beat the cancer, and I knew that I was going to be alright. The garden helped me overcome it all.”
By Francesca Dabecco
The Incline
October 27, 2021
Excerpt:
Charlie has always been fond of the unique landscapes and residential architecture that pervades Pittsburgh neighborhoods. He’s been a practicing artist here for the past five years, mainly focusing on creatively rendering Pittsburgh houses (which you can see on his Instagram account, @pgh.houses) and working out of his print screening studio in Bloomfield, Pullproof.
“I spent years exploring this subject matter with pen and ink illustration, digital illustration, and screen printing,” Charlie said. “The through line of this work was celebrating overlooked elements of the city; creaky awnings, modest dormers, the traces of perpetual DIY home improvements.”
His drive to highlight the beauty of humble spaces took on a new resonance during the pandemic and the country’s reckoning with its racist history last summer.
“I knew there were communities in Pittsburgh that felt these waves of change much harder than I, so I contacted Neighborhood Allies and pitched them an open-ended art project concept,” he said. “I offered to do a pro-bono project that would celebrate communities in Pittsburgh that could benefit from such recognition.”
