Murrysville artist's work will go on display at Brushes and Beans Café

Like so many other large-scale public events, art shows largely went by the wayside during the covid-19 pandemic.

So, when Murrysville artist Barbara Jewell saw that a new coffee shop, Brushes and Beans Café, offered their space as a venue for local art displays, she was immediately energized.

It cemented the title of her upcoming exhibit at the café, “Celebration!”

“I am thinking of this show as a celebration, in gratitude for the blessings of the past year,” Jewell said. She always was interested in art and the creative process, but really got a chance to dive into it after her 33-year career as a learning support resource teacher with Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Not long after, she was juried into the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society and the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and was awarded a signature membership in the PA Watercolor Society.

Her work has been on display and earned awards at art shows throughout western Pennsylvania, and Jewell is an exhibiting member of both the Latrobe Art Center and the East Suburban Artists’ League.

Her pieces will be on display at Brushes and Beans during August and September. Owner Mark Clemente said, in addition to enjoying local artwork, customers can purchase coffee and food, as well as a blank piece of pottery to paint.

“What my wife, Amanda, and I wanted this place to be is a community resource,” Clemente said. “A safe, comfortable, fun environment for people to come and do things in Murrysville.”

The café opened in early March, and offers reservations for larger groups wanting to paint pottery, as well as art displays and live music.

“We want it to be a place to relax and enjoy yourself,” Clemente said. “Plus, we just started serving food a few weeks ago.”

Jewell’s watercolor work leans toward the realistic side, with an emphasis on bold colors and the natural world.

“The interplay of colors, patterns, shadows and texture is what inspires my creative process, in addition to how nature’s examples represent all manner of human experience,” she said.

See Jewell’s exhibit, beginning Aug. 1, at Brushes & Beans, 4550 William Penn Highway in Murrysville. For more of her paintings, see BarbaraJewellWatercolors.com.