02/20/2002 Post Gazette Article

South Side artist captures city sights in sand, enamel, paint

By James DeWeese
Post-Gazette Staff Writer

High atop the South Side Slopes, Johno Prascak's got a great view of Heinz Field, one he's been looking at it since before the field was even completed.

It's shielded from view by the houses lining the snake-like curves of 18th Street and the bulk of Mount Washington beyond, so you can't see the real stadium from Prascak's cluttered little art studio on Arlington Avenue. But within the cinder-block walls covered floor-to-ceiling with his other work, Prascak admires what he considers the pinnacle of his artistic career: a limited edition Heinz Field print the Steelers commissioned him to paint last year.

Basing his painting of the field on a set of black-and-white architectural line drawings, the bartender-turned-artist created a multicolored vision of the stadium, mixing the Steelers' traditional black and gold with green, blue, red and orange. "I was jazzing it up, " he said.

But the textured 4-by-5-foot original, which hangs in the lobby of the Steelers' business office at the stadium, goes well beyond a minor image tuneup, Steelers merchandising manager Tim Carey said.

"It's got dimension to it.[even though] he drew it from the most stagnant black an-and-white-lines," said Carey, who contracted the painting and 2,001 limited edition prints, a number chosen to reflect the stadium's inaugural year. "You get the feeling... there's a good deal of sweat and pieces of his heart that goes into it. It's the treatment that Hinz Field deserves."

It took three months to paint the piece, and several more waiting for the finishing touches on the stadium to be completed to ensure accuracy, Prascak said.

A self-described "Pittsburgher, all the way," he said much of his work centers on popular Pittsburgh themes. Local sports heroes, the city skyline and steel mills figure prominently. In fact, even when the 'Burgh doesn't offer the subject matter, there's almost always a little bit of the city in his paintings.

Prascak uses a combination of sand- usually dredged from the Monongahela River-and enamel paint to give his works texture and an eerie quality of depth. He said he doesn't know why he started using the technique that's become his trademark.

"It was sort of by accident, [but] if you're going to be big in the art community, you've got to be different."

When mixing his supplies, Prascak doesn't limit himself to South Side sand. Working oin commission, he's used rocks and sand from a bullfighting ring in Madrid and the pitcher's mound at Wrigley Field and, yes, even the cremated remains of a pet.

Art, Prascak maintains, wasn't a likely outlet for him. Growing up in Dormont, "I played sports, had a paper route and cut grass, like a regular kid." But in his early 20s, he underwent surgery for a life-threatening case of ulcerative colitis. Now 43, he'll wear an ileostomy pouch for the rest of his life. "I'm 98 percent normal, and 2 percent plastic," he jokes.

While recuperating, Prascak could use only his eyes and his hands. So, at his father's suggestion, he began to paint. Starting small, he painted a Czech coat of arms for his father and a German one for his mother. Shortly after, he began using enamel paints to copy works of the Old Masters.

"If you're a musician, you're going to copy the Rolling Stones or the Beatles until you know where you're going," he said.

Prascak said he also draws inspiration from his wife, Maria DeSimone-Prascak, an artist. "We feed off each other. That's why we're here."

Content with the direction his life has taken, Prascak said he considers himself blessed with a second chance. "Now I found the arts and I have a thirst for it." And he's using his art to help others.

He offered three prints, including one of Heinz field, to be auctioned for charity at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's 66th annual Dapper Dan Dinner. The charity, founded in 1936 by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Al Abrams, benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania. The prints netted $900. No stranger to charity, Prascak donated a print titled "Pittsburgh" to last year's Dapper Dan event, bringing in about $500.

For more information, or to view Prascak's artwork, visit his Web page: www.johnosart.com.