Artist Recaptures 1960s Main Street

By FRED CONNORS Staff Writer


WHEELING—People are lined up under the Capitol Music Hall marquee. Across the street, others gaze into sparkling window cases at C.A. House Music.

Neon lights invite folks in for a bite at the Hamburger Grill and Bridge Hotel and Bar.

In the early 1960s, Main Street in Wheeling had it all— and nationally acclaimed artist Dave Barnhouse has recaptured the day.

“A Capitol Night In Wheeling,” Barnhouse’s latest canvas, has an ambiance many Ohio Valley residents will never forget — and others can only imagine.

The work has been reproduced on 17 inch by 30 inch lithograph prints and will be available to the public for three days only in April.

Barnhouse will be on hand to personally sign each print from 6-8 p.m. April 4; 2-5 p.m. April 5; and 6-8 p.m. April 11, at the Center Court of the Ohio Valley Mall near St. Clairsville.

“There are only 795 of them made,” Barnhouse said. “They will be available until they are sold out and no others will be printed.”

Last year, Barnhouse released “Steubenville, My Hometown,” a painting remembering a 1950-1960s downtown of the Jefferson County Seat. The 495 limited edition prints sold out in two days.

Barnhouse said the inspiration to paint downtown scenes from yester-year came, as do so many ideas, while he was cruising around his yard on a riding mower.

“I do most of my day-dreaming while I am cutting grass,” he said. “I honestly believe the idea to do vintage community scenes came from God. He spoke to me and said to offer the people something that nobody else has offered —something that takes them back into their past.”

Barnhouse is quick to credit the Lord as the guide of his life and his career.

He is now working on a similar piece for Pittsburgh and is eyeing other communities throughout West Virginia.

In preparing for “A Capitol Night In Wheeling,” Barnhouse said Main Street represents Ohio Valley culture.

“With all of its arts, sports and, of course, The Jamboree, Wheeling has a big city feel,” he said.

He credits George Dormas, owner of The Bridge Tavern and Grill, for providing historical information about Main Street.

“I love to go in there and eat a breakfast of eggs and that thick bacon,” he said. “Walking out of the place is like stepping in the painting.”

Through the years, Barnhouse’s work has earned many awards and honors across the nation.

He was voted America’s third most popular print artist of 1995-96 by U.S. Art Magazine and was included in InformArt’s “Top Ten New Artists” in 1995. His work has found itself in Holland, Italy and other European cities.

Barnhouse’s mastery of art began as a child when he made pencil sketches of huge strip mining machinery gnawing away at the landscape near his grandparents’ farm in Richmond.

It was during that same period in the late 1940s that he sketched scenes of Richmond-area farmers gathering to share the work and fruits of the harvest season.

“I remember those big threshing machines coming to the farms,” he said. “All the people gathered for the work and to enjoy huge meals together. The did the same thing on butchering days.”

During his 35 years as a Weirton Steel electrician, Barnhouse would make sketches during lunch and down times.

He said “a lot of the guys liked them. They took them home and framed them — and said they would someday tell their grandchildren that they knew the artist who drew them.”

His mother, Virginia, had always encouraged him to pursue his talent and Marie, his wife, told him the time had come to “get your work out there.”

Barnhouse became serious with his artwork and it was not long before Hadley House Publishing of Bloomington, Minn., expressed an interest in him.

His first notable piece, a B24 Liberator airplane, sold for $2,700 at an art gallery in Lagoona Beach, Calif. It was bought by Jimmy Buffett, the nationally known singer-song writer.

In 1996, Barnhouse became one of only four people licensed to product Harley-Davidson motorcycle art to be sold through galleries.

His work and travels have produced many memories for Barnhouse.

One of his favorite stories is about the 2000 Art Link show in Salt Lake City, Utah, where America’s four largest publishers and their artist gathered to share a common interest.

“I drew a farmhouse scene on an 8-foot round table cloth,” he said. “Before you knew it, other artist added a drawing. When it was over, more than 75 artists drew something on the table cloth. When the event was over, the publisher took the table cloth and sold it for $50,000.”

Barnhouse said the proceeds went to the American Red Cross.

Last year, Barnhouse broke ties with Hadley House and is now working as an independent artist. He is planning a sequel to the Steubenville piece and will do the same in Wheeling if an interest exists.

Barnhouse said “A Capitol Night In Wheeling” is a must-have piece for people who have a passion for what he calls “a simpler time.”

“Imagine how exciting this will be for people who have moved away and want a piece of home hanging on their wall,” he said.