New Freeport artist to show paintings at Waynesburg U. gallery
David Lesako, 66, of New Freeport, points out some of his paintings in his studio. Lesako will show some of his work this month at Waynesburg University’s Benedum Fine Arts Gallery.
David Lesako stands in his studio in front of his paint mixing table.
David Lesako feeds his rescue horse, which is the inspiration for some of his paintings.
David Lesako stands next to a table of wooden frames he crafted for his paintings.
NEW FREEPORT – David Lesako’s oil painting studio that sits in the middle of a field near New Freeport gives him daily inspiration for his work.
Large paintings hang from the ceiling and cover the walls inside the small log cabin, and all of the doors and windows are open to minimize the fumes from the materials he uses.
“One time, my horse was in the field and he walked right into the studio and looked around,” Lesako said.
Lesako, 66, has hundreds of paintings stored at his home, and he’ll be showing many of them at Waynesburg University later this month. The retired adjunct art instructor at Waynesburg U. and will show about 20 of his paintings for the school’s Guest Art Exhibition in Benedum Fine Arts Gallery.
The free show will open with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 12 and will stay up through Oct. 7. The exhibit will include oil paintings, watercolors and Lesako’s personal favorite, pastels.
“I really think of myself as an expressionist, which was a period of painting between the first and second World Wars,” Lesako said. “And that’s my favorite art period.”
Lesako’s passion for art began at a young age, as he was growing up in Carmichaels.
“I was that kid in grade school who the teacher would ask to do the Christmas decorations and I was the doodler with sketches all over my notebook,” he said.
Lesako went to college for art education and taught middle school art for Greene County public schools for 25 years. For the last five years before he retired in 2005, he taught elementary art.
“I saw how fearless the little kids were with color so I started experimenting more with color, since I had always been more of a black and white king of guy,” he said.
After his retirement, Lesako taught two days a week at Waynesburg University, but he spent most of his time in his studios and being a full-time painter.
He mostly does landscapes, and he gets his inspiration from the rural hills, fields and farms near New Freeport, where he and his wife, Miriam Rubin, reside. Lesako started doing oil paintings in 2010 and he recently started doing all of his own framing in a wood working studio on his property.
“I was spending way too much money on framing,” he said.
He has shown his work at galleries and art shows in Pittsburgh, Morgantown, W.Va., and in other areas. When he taught at Waynesburg, he participated in faculty galleries. He said he’s excited about this upcoming show and that he hopes to sell some of his pieces.
“This is not a very art-buying community,” he said about Greene County. “But I’ve never let that stop me.”
Andrew Heisey, director of the art program at Waynesburg University, said he invited Lesako to show his work. They’ve known each other for years, since they both taught art at the college.
“I’m excited to have his work here,” Heisey said. “I haven’t seen a full-body of his work recently. He’s always got new work so I’m eager to see what he brings in to set up next week.”