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Updated 31 minutes ago

Gloria Gonzalez is a woman of many skills and talents. The Manhattan native and South Greensburg resident works as an inspector at Respironics in Murrysville. Her resume includes a stint in Boston with the Hair Club for Men. She recently fixed her own furnace after watching a YouTube tutorial.

She's always had an interest in art but really began exercising her creativity a few years ago as a member of the Greensburg Art Center, where she has an oil painting in the current “Connections” members' exhibition.

Question: Can you describe your featured piece?

Answer: It's called “DeSoto Forgotten.” I took a ride on a back road near Murrysville, just to see where it went, and I came upon an old truck. I always carry a camera with me, and when I took the photo of that truck, I thought the composition was good and I loved the way the light played on it. After taking that photo, I had started to dabble in oil. I'm very proud of this piece because I never thought I'd actually see it done, and now here it is.

What's funny is that the photograph itself is on display (in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts 21st annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition currently in the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley). I entered three pictures and the two others were really my favorites, but they chose the truck.

Q: Did your interest in art start with photography?

A: That's the one thing I've been doing the longest, since college. My photography comes from my love of nature. I love macro shots, to be able to get in there and take a picture of a bee in flight or a flower. To be able to pick up shots of ever-changing nature is great.

Q: How did a big city girl become a nature-lover?

A: I went to college in upstate New York, in Plattsburgh, and I learned culture shock the hard way, going from New York City to a wide-open, wide expanse of nothing. In the beginning, it was like there was nothing there that I was familiar with at all; but my appreciation for the great outdoors and wide open spaces grew.

I learned how to fish. If I wanted fish for dinner, I'd go through my backyard and throw a line in the water and catch dinner.

Q: Do you recall the beginning of your interest in art?

A: I was always interested in art from an early age, and I dabbled a little bit in sketching. I never really had any formal training, so I didn't think I was very good; but I kept at it and occasionally I'd come up with some pieces I really liked.

New York City schools weren't known for offering many art classes, but I grew up in a city that had the best museums. I could go to any museum, like the (American) Museum of Natural History, MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), so that was most of my education.

Q: When did you get involved with Greensburg Art Center?

A: I've been a member for four or five years. I was off work after rotator cuff surgery, and I was looking for something to do once I was able to get out of the house and drive. I started here with Wednesday Night Painters. My first sketch was about 3 inches long and an inch tall because I had no movement in my shoulder, it was just in my wrist. It's amazing how your shoulder affects holding a pencil. Then I got into watercolor, and I've been doing watercolor for two or three years, and I recently took a class in oil.

I'm very proud of being a member. I think we've got a great group of artists. In the years that I've been a member, I've seen it grow by leaps and bounds, with more classes and workshops. The classes for children are really wonderful. This is definitely a place that is friendly and open to all.

Q: What's your goal as an artist?

A: I do this for the pleasure of it. To be able to show here is nice. If a painting sells, it does. If it doesn't, I've got plenty of walls to fill at home. Right now, my thing is to be able to accomplish a piece of work that I'm proud of.

Q: Do you have any other passions?

A: I'm an animal lover and I'm a big believer in adopting animals. I have two cats, and two dogs that I adopted several months ago. The older one is a Lab and probably springer (spaniel) or border collie mix. The little one is a very bad terrier I've nicknamed my devil dog. They were supposed to be a bonded pair, but sometimes the little one tests the bond.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-836-5750 or smcmarlin@tribweb.com.

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