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If you’ve ever wondered about the mammoth eagles marking the gateway to Pittsburgh International Airport, it may interest you to know that they were designed by a local architect named Fred Daley, who, in fact, was also a very good artist.

Robert Daley’s fascination with art began at an early age when he would watch his father paint. As the son of noted architect Fred Daley, young Daley grew up with a very realistic view of art as it related to livelihood. “My dad became an architect as a way to earn a living through creative expression,” says Daley, “and he loved what he did. But he was also extraordinarily gifted as a painter…amazingly so. Because he made it look so effortless, as I would watch him paint, I began to think that it was something that I could do.

“So one day, while my dad was at his office, I got into his paint and did a portrait of John F. Kennedy. When my dad came home he asked me who had painted the picture and I told him that I did. He told me that it was pretty good. So from there the seed was planted.”

With the affirmation of his father, Daley, then a French major at the University of Pittsburgh, switched his focus to earn his B.A. in Studio Arts in 1972. “My dad told me that he would have never encouraged me to become a fulltime artist if he didn’t think I was any good because, back then, just as it is now, earning a living as a professional artist is not an easy road to forge as a career.” Daley, who is best known as a portrait artist, began to find his foothold as a freelancer. To further enhance his expertise of portrait composition, Daley honed his skills by studying the works of famous artists such as Sargent, Rembrandt and Hals, while also reading books and endless hours of studio application.

“I developed myself as a portrait artist because I liked the challenge as well as the opportunities that it could bring me,” says Daley. “I had always been intrigued with portraits…there is just something about a portrait that I find compelling. Since that is where my interest led me, I responded by thinking that if I became exceptionally good at capturing whatever it is that makes for a successful portrait, then I could certainly carve out a niche for myself.”

Daley’s insight proved to be both rewarding and fulfilling. “As far as artists go, there are many wonderful artists who do a wide range of subject matters but few who accomplish themselves as a portrait artist. For me, being able to do what I love doing and doing it well enough to earn the respect of my peers, as well as function as a profitable business, is validating in so many ways.”

Daley continued doing freelance portrait work until he opened his own studio gallery in Brookline in 1979, during which time a demand for commissioned works grew.

Since then, Daley has completed hundreds of paintings in both oils and pastels. Locally, his accomplished commissions include numerous prominent individuals: Senator Howard Baker, Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, Thomas Sturges, (Art Instructor, Carnegie Institute), Jefferson Whalen (President, Operating Engineers, Local 95); and Pennsylvania State Superior Court President Judges, the Honorable James E. Rowley, the Honorable Edmund B. Spaeth, Jr., and the Honorable Joseph A. Del Sole, to name a few.

Though Daley does paint other subject matter such as still-life and landscapes, his enthusiasm for painting portraits reveals itself as an unquenchable, life-long love-affair. “As an artist,” says Daley, “painting a really good portrait hinges on being able to capture that ‘little bit of life’ that gives the painting its spirit. I don’t always really know exactly where or what it is that I am searching for…but I always know that moment, that stroke, when I’ve caught it.” Daley chuckles and adds, “Or when I’ve over-shot it! You know, you can totally blow it by overworking a painting as well. One stroke of the brush too many is all it takes!”

Today, much of Daley’s business comes through referrals and commissions. In addition to being displayed in a few local galleries, he also receives people by appointment at his Brookline studio and has been committed to teaching regularly for the past 20 years. “Teaching is very much a part of my artistic life. In the course of teaching I learn as much about painting as my students. It’s an opportunity for me to continue my own study because I learn so much from my students.”

Daley is a self-described traditional painter working primarily in oils and pastels. In his approach to composing subject matter, he endeavors to reflect a certain realism that is rooted in reality. His completed works, although interpretive, bring out the embodiment of that which is true and flattering about a person’s humanity. “It’s always challenging,” he says, “because it’s always a different subject, whether it is capturing a spark of personality or, in some cases, bringing to life a person who has passed on.”

Daley is known for his ability to immortalize the essence of a person’s life. One such commissioned piece that hangs in the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh depicts three local firefighters, Thomas Brooks, Patricia Conroy and Marc Kolenda who were all killed together in the line of duty.At 58, Daley is pleased with where his art has brought him thus far. He is especially grateful to have chosen a field that has allowed him to do what he loves while at the same time earning a living. “The really neat thing about living the life of an artist is that I get better as the years role on. I discover renewed enjoyment with each painting…my own as well as my students.”

Robert Daley resides with his wife Lorrie in Brookline, Pa.

Robert Daley’s Art Studio, 1017 Brookline Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA (412) 561-5070