Work by Frank Wengen, a local artist who has earned national and international acclaim, will be on display through August at Abide Coffeehouse.
Submitted photo
WILKES-BARRE — Work by a local artist who has earned national and international acclaim will be on display through August at Abide Coffeehouse.
Frank Wengen, a Northeastern Pennsylvania native, has been painting watercolors for nearly 50 years. He is an active member of The Wyoming Valley Art League at the Circle Center For the Arts in Wilkes-Barre.
Seven of Wengen’s works are part of the exhibit at Abide, which re-opened on July 31 after being closed for more than a month following a flooding incident that damaged the floor and ceiling of the shop.
Wengen graduated from what was then Wilkes College in 1973, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
In his senior year at college Wengen was awarded the American Watercolor Color Society Scholarship in recognition of outstanding achievement in watercolor.
Shortly after graduating college, in 1978, Wengen had several solo art exhibits by 1984, and had sold his paintings extensively in the Northeast Pennsylvania region, and across the United States and Canada. In subsequent years he received several awards from various international, national, regional and statewide competitive art exhibitions.
Wengen is a member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, The Philadelphia Watercolor Society, The National Watercolor Society and American Watercolor Society.
According to his blog, “Why I Paint: An Explanation of Why I Do What I Do,” Wengen says his main reason for painting is because he “loves life and has a deep appreciation for the man-made beauty that surrounds us everywhere we look.” His watercolor pieces feature seasonal landscapes, country still life, and epic realism.
Abide is located at 23 W. Market St. For more information, including shop hours, visit abidecoffeehouse.com.
