CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Alan Rauch of Johnstown spends his days making his visions come to life.
"It's exciting to wake up in the morning and think about, 'Well, I have this great idea that I want to put on canvas.' That happens to me almost every day," he told 6 News.
Over the last few months, Alan has been busy painting house and pet portraits, which many people have been ordering as Christmas gifts.
"I think people respond so well to them because it's not a photograph. It's not so detailed and realistic. At the same time, it has some style to it," Alan said.
Alan is the artist, instructor, and owner of Rauch Fine Art.
It takes him about three to ten days to complete a painting, and he's done about 20 of them since Thanksgiving.
Most people have a living room in their house, but Alan has a full blown art gallery.
"Almost every square inch of the wall space is taken up by a painting," he said.
But his art studio on the third floor is where all the magic happens (with help from his trusty easel).
"It has all the old paint from almost every painting that I ever did in the last 20 years."
While Alan has spent many years living in Johnstown, he originally is not from here.
"I bet you can tell from my accent that I'm from New York City," Alan told us.
That's where Alan was born, raised, and worked in the art industry for 25 years.
He then moved to Miami, Florida for a "change of scenery and subject matter."
"I was looking forward to painting some ocean scenes and sailboats."
Then an art show in Pittsburgh brought him to our region where he fell in love with the four seasons.
"It just opened everything up for me. It just widened my horizons," he said.
Shortly after, he went from painting palm trees to mountains.
"It was just a great thing to finally move to the mountains and be able to do some really interesting work here."
Alan says he also has two children who are both in the art field.
He also has a dog who is named -- you guessed it -- Picasso.
Now he spends his days in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania, sharing his love of art with his family, his dog, and the entire Johnstown community.
"It's just blessing for me that I'm an artist. I'm able to start my day off with the excitement of, I can't wait to sit down behind my easel. It's very very rewarding for me to be an artist."
To contact Alan for a house or pet portrait, message him on his Facebook Page: Alan Rauch.
Alan also has an exhibit at The Bottleworks Ethnic Arts Center at Johnstown where his art can be purchased.
To join a painting class at The Bottleworks -- instructed by Alan -- call the organization at (814) 535-2020.
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