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Waynesburg U. grad’s pop art takes hold in Pittsburgh

3 min read
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Dave O’Brien, 24, of Bethel Park, paints a mural on the classroom wall for the North Hills and South Hills beauty academies.

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Waynesburg University graduate Dave O’Brien paints a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia as part of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in July.

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Dave O’Brien, 24, of Bethel Park, paints a mural on the classroom wall for the North Hills and South Hills beauty academies.

Dave O’Brien started painting a year-and-a-half ago, making Christmas presents for his family.

“They were surprised I could actually paint,” he said.

Now, the Waynesburg University graduate and Bethel Park native is getting paid for his painting projects all over Pittsburgh, and soon will start a project in Brooklyn, N.Y.

One of his recent projects was painting an “art car” as part of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in July. The car was a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia provided by the Ron Lewis Automotive Group on which O’Brien painted an Andy Warhol portrait.

“It was kind of a centerpiece of all the cars there,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien, 24, said that while he was live-painting the car in Market Square, representatives from the North Hills and South Hills beauty academies asked him if he paints murals. Together they came up with a plan for cosmetology-themed murals on the classroom walls at both locations.

“It’s going to be over 10 murals,” O’Brien said. “We’re going week-by-week, but my goal is to finish a mural every weekend.”

O’Brien said he prefers live-painting or painting on untypical canvases, such as walls or cars, to give his work more exposure.

“I want to do more public projects where thousands of people can see it,” he said. “So, anything’s pretty much my canvas at this point.”

O’Brien said just two years ago, he never dreamed of pursuing art as a career option. After graduating from Seton-La Salle High School, O’Brien attended Waynesburg University, where he graduated in 2015 with a teaching degree.

“I drew a lot before, but just doodling in a class when I got bored,” O’Brien said.

After teaching for a year and a half as a substitute at two private schools in Pittsburgh, O’Brien decided he wanted to make a career change.

“I just watched YouTube videos to learn different painting techniques,” O’Brien said. “I started a website and researched how other artists did this in the past.”

His first sale was a painting of the three rivers in Pittsburgh in the form of an Irish flag. He saved his painting on computer software and had it printed on a T-shirt, which the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee purchased in 2016 to sell to the public on parade day.

“I was kind of dumbfounded by it because I only picked up a paintbrush a few months prior to that,” O’Brien said. “It gave me motivation to do more.”

Soon after that, a dance company in the Cranberry area contacted him to do a theater backdrop, which he painted in one weekend.

“That showed people that I could do large-scale projects in a small amount of time,” he said. “I’m trying to take on projects that raise the bar.”

He’s also painted a skateboard with the Pittsburgh skyline on it for the Red Bull Flugtag in Pittsburgh Aug. 5. In three weeks, he’ll be working with the nonprofit 501 See Streets in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, painting a jazz-themed mural.

“That neighborhood is known for famous hip-hop artists who were born there, and they are trying to break the hip-hop image,” O’Brien said. “This is definitely a project I’m most excited about.”

O’Brien said he still has a day job in sales, but eventually wants his own studio and to support himself with his artwork.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s something now that I really just want to invest my time into. I’m just enjoying it.”

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