To say that the year 2020 was a dramatic one — with its pandemic lockdowns, protests and divisive presidential campaign — is to understate the matter. But for Joshua Hoffman, those were footnotes to a life-altering year.
Early in the pandemic, the Dormont resident was laid off from his job as a case manager for a local nonprofit organization. At about the same time, he and his wife Ana welcomed their younger daughter, Hazel. Later that year, Hoffman was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent surgery to remove a tumor. He beat cancer, but he said it left him with a newfound clarity: “I made the decision to make art full time.”
Hoffman had graduated from PennWest Edinboro with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, but after he got married and started a family, painting became less of a passion and more of a hobby. Until 2020.
“Having the cancer gave me a broader view of life,” he noted.
With the support of his family, Hoffman took occasional handyman work, but he was laser-focused on painting. He connected with Ron Donoughe, a Lawrenceville artist whose work he studied in college.
“We would meet to paint and talk” at Donoughe’s Lawrenceville studio. Donoughe worked en plein air, meaning painting from life outside. Hoffman had always liked the style and began outdoor painting as well.
In 2023, Hoffman was able to shut down the handyman business and step up the painting. He’d rise very early and prop his easel wherever he liked the morning light, something he still does. He’s painted all over town, from Polish Hill to Manchester, including many locations in Mt. Lebanon.
His Lebo works include the Stevenson Williams Building, St. Bernard Church, Bird Park, and the small white house at the entrance to Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. His painting of Arthur’s Korner Pub hangs over the popcorn machine in the bar.
Hoffman’s favorite Lebo locale is Clearview Common. “In every direction you can get something.”
By late 2024, as commissions picked up and his work was displayed at local galleries, Hoffman was ready for a new challenge. Last summer, he won admission to Plein Air Easton in Maryland, the country’s largest and most prestigious juried plein air competition. Mt. Lebanon illustrator and Easton veteran Dave Csont saw Hoffman’s name on the list of competitors and reached out to give him “a big breakdown of what to expect” during the weeklong competition, Hoffman said.
It must have helped, because on his first trip to Easton, one of Hoffman’s works won third place. “It filled my confidence up so much,” he recalled.
Plein air painting “can get lonely and isolating,” Hoffman noted. “It’s super hard in the winter. The heat and the cold are hard.” But the Easton triumph was enough to keep him going. His new goal: placing first.
Last winter, East End Brewing’s Mt. Lebanon taproom exhibited some of Hoffman’s paintings. As he has in other years, Hoffman participated in the Mt. Lebanon Partnership’s Artists’ Market in September. He counts organizers Steve and Wendy Denenberg among his friends and supporters.
“That’s been a really good event,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman continues to accept commissions. He estimated that he’s done about 30 so far.
“I’ve painted people’s dogs, but about 95 percent of (commissions) are houses,” he said.
Hoffman is also sharing his expertise. He has taught at the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media and, since 2024, has been teaching art to middle schoolers at the Waldorf School in Bloomfield. He attributes his success not just to talent but to perseverance.
“Keeping at it with a high degree of intensity is a big part of it,” he noted. “It’s amazing, being my own boss.”
Not long ago, Hoffman converted his Wisconsin Avenue garage into a studio. “With two small kids, it’s convenient,” he noted.
Hazel, now 5, and 8-year-old Valentine like it too.
“They love to paint with me.”