College's 'Art on Campus' Initiative Acquires Four New Works

Pennsylvania College of Technology's "Art on Campus" initiative has acquired four additional paintings from area artists.

The pieces were purchased during the Bald Eagle Art League Show and Competition, which was held on the College's main campus in June. The show is part of the Susquehanna Valley Festival of the Arts.

The newly acquired works are: "Pea Island Surf," a 40-by-50-inch oil painting by Roger D. Shipley; "Fallen Leaves," a 24-by-30-inch watercolor by Gloria J. Watts; "Conrad," an 18-by-24-inch oil by Holly Patton Shull; and "Ledger," a 32-by-40-inch gouache by Charles Springer.

Shipley, an artist and educator, is a professor of art at Lycoming College who teaches print-making, two-dimensional design, drawing and color theory. Watts, a western Pennsylvania native who resides in Dillsburg, is a realist artist whose love of flowers, peppers and vivid subjects in bold colors is evident in her works. Shull, a California native who moved to Williamsport in 1989, is a full-time marketing consultant for Sabre Radio Group who describes herself as a "weekend painter." She works with oils now, but previously worked in graphite, colored pencil, and pen and ink. Springer, who resides in Lock Haven, pursued his art education at Philadelphia College of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial and The Barnes Foundation. A show of his recent works will be presented Oct. 15 to Nov. 8 at The Gallery at Penn College.

Each year, Penn College President Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour provides funding to purchase artworks for the College's permanent collection. Funds also are provided for that purpose by a gift from the Lambert-Tyson Foundation.

The purpose of the Art on Campus initiative is to expand the College's collection, especially focusing on area artists and Penn College alumni. The funding allows for the purchase of works and for the transfer, maintenance and support of numerous donated pieces.

The Art on Campus Committee has begun work on a Web site for those interested in local and regional art. In addition to descriptions and photographs of currently held works, the site will include features such as short biographies of the artists, a campus map to locate the pieces, and links to similar sites. The site is expected to be available later this fall.

Several other pieces of artwork have been donated to the College's permanent collection recently. They include eight lithographs by Florence Putterman of Selinsgrove from the Florence Putterman Foundation, Sarasota, Fla.; two pieces by artist Gerry Grace commissioned by Author Services, Inc. of Hollywood, Calif., which arranged for artists to interpret scenes from L. Ron Hubbard's science-fiction literary works; and "God Shed his Grace on Thee," a print by internationally known aviation artist John D. Shaw depicting a number of World War II vintage aircraft. The work is signed by 25 highly decorated veterans of the armed services.

A collection of 15 works by the late Edwin Dorris was donated by Dr. and Mrs. Jeff Porter of Williamsport, Nick Porter and Todd Porter. Dorris, a California native, studied design and painting at the Art Students League of New York. He lived and painted in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1953-75 and in Paris from 1975 until his death in 1985.

The Art on Campus Committee also discovered two very early oil works by the late David Armstrong. The paintings, which have been cleaned and framed, will be placed in the College's Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood. The pieces were "commissioned" by Joseph Sick, a Penn College professor emeritus, for a Lycoming County Conservation District display in the 1960s.

In addition, a colored-pencil piece by still-life artist and art educator David Dooley was purchased after he participated in an on-campus demonstration and showing of his works in November 2001.