Mark Brewer

I had the pleasure of creating a series of drawings for the Sewickley Tavern on the subject of their remarkable and historic town. Sewickley sits along the Ohio River and bears landmarks that date back to the 1800s. At the time, the old post office was one of only two in the United States built with such elaborate and ornamented intentions. The Delta Queen made a special stop in Sewickley when they brought back the remains of Riverboat Captain and Sewickley native Fred Way on Oct. 9, 1992. Pictures of the famous clock tower on Broad Street in the 1800's, the old train station from the 1930's, the Flat Iron Building, and storefronts now along Beaver Street ensured there was no shortage of ideas. Sketching the historically steeped pictures from various eras was a thrill! Using my pen and a few watercolors, I produced six large finished drawings from those initial sketches of Sewickley, PA.

A native of Connecticut now living in Pittsburgh, Mark’s drawings have appeared in nationally distributed print and digital publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Wine & Spirits, Major League Baseball, and The New York Times. His artwork has been reproduced on the cover of Newsweek, The American Conservative, Politics magazine, Strategic Finance, and GolfStyles among others.

In 2002, the National Cartoonists Society honored Mark Brewer with a Best Magazine Illustration Award at the Reuben Awards in Cancun, Mexico. In 2008 the Society of Professional Journalists honored Mark for his original magazine illustrations in San Diego Magazine. Mark Brewer is the past President of the Pittsburgh Society Of Illustrators (2009-2014). He is the author and illustrator of Brewology, An Illustrated Dictionary for Beer Lovers (Skyhorse Publishing) and continues to write What's Brewing? a column dedicated to educating consumers about the craft beer industry.

Crhistine Swan

The restaurant wanted a theme of Sewickley in the roaring twenties.  Although they wanted to look back in time, they also wanted pieces that were relevant and contemporary.  So rather than just recreating scenes from those times, I wanted the paintings to be of women of today that had the feel of the twenties.  I had photo shoots with my daughter and some of her friends where feathers, pearls, and silk abounded.  Then I found another model that would work for the middle panel since I wanted a variety of ages for the "flapper" girls.   The idea was to create pieces that were very backlit where the lights and dashes of color were the focus even more than the models.   The clothing and even their faces are secondary to the light streaming in from behind them. I wanted them to feel like they could be in the Tavern,  but also not specifically at that bar.   I wanted them to have just a bit of attitude from the twenties but also feel like they could be your friends waiting for you for a special occasion- not just people from another time.  

The panels were done on an oil paper mounted on boards which is a specially prepared indestructible surface that lets the layers of oil be applied very thinly to get the glowing effect from the lights and the backlighting on the models.  Slowly the oil paint gets build up more opaquely until the images were complete. 

The Tavern Project Part 1 The Tavern Project Part 2 The Tavern Project Part 3

Ramon Riley

The research came together when Riley learned Sewickley’s population more than doubled on the weekend in the early 1900's. This was the result of the accessibility by boat, train, road and bridge. Riley connived an interpretation of what that energy must have been like in era where everybody danced. Integration of culture through inspiration and influence, whether direct or subconscious, manifested in body movement.

Each work in the series features a historical elects of the development of Sewickley. Sewickley’s contribution to the region and the country is immeasurable.

Each work also feature a different dance. Dance in the 1920’s appeared to be escape-ism from “The Great War”, but it also laid the groundwork for the civil rights and the women’s liberation movements. Louder, faster music and the popularity of intimate, more public movement… the world was changing.

Thematically each work is unique and can be experienced individually. However, each work in the series shares a unique horizon line, so the viewer can also experience the works as a continuous can in the Tavern dining area.