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Artist paints Mon Valley time capsule

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

A painting by Ron Donoughe of Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville.

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

Ron Donoughe’s interpretation of steep stairs climbing Fifth Street in Donora.

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

A scene overlooking the coke works in Monessen

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

A painting of U.S. Steel Clairton Works

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

Pittsburgh artist Ron Donoughe on location at Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Swissvale.

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Courtesy of Ron Donoughe

Ron Donoughe on location in the Polish Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh

A Pittsburgh artist spent 2019 painting scenes in the Mon Valley to create a time capsule of one year in struggling communities that need attention.

Ron Donoughe is set to publish a book of his paintings and thoughts, “Brownsville to Braddock: Paintings and Observations of the Monongahela River Valley” in March through University of Pittsburgh Press.

“I really didn’t know much about the Mon Valley and thought, maybe if I painted it, it might bring some publicity to the area that needs it,” said Donoughe, 62, a 1980 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s art school.

He said he is familiar with the landscape of post-industrial communities having grown up in Cambria County.

Donoughe said he is probably best known for the 2015 “Pittsburgh 90 Neighborhoods: The Paintings and Experiences of Artist Ron Donoughe.” The collection of oil paintings in the book has been acquired by the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

“These are small paintings done on location, Donoughe said. “I don’t paint people. I wasn’t trying to do postcard stuff.”

He said he gets to know places by painting in them.

His book on the Mon Valley features steep stairs in Donora, the blighted Monessen Savings & Trust Bank and the vacant Union Station in Brownsville.

“It’s definitely a place that has been diminished,” Donoughe said. “I wanted to shine a light on an overlooked region.”

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