Rash's Surname Index
Notes for George Pennock LOSCH
Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA) - September 18, 2003
Deceased Name: George P. Losch: Artist captured beauty for all to enjoy
As children, George, Mike and Stuart Losch remember how excited they were to get up each morning and see what their father had accomplished overnight.
Long after they went to bed along with three other siblings, their father, George Losch, would remain in his studio, putting onto canvas the pictures he visualized.
The three brothers gathered yesterday with their mother, Annamae Losch, at Heartland Gallery in Thompsontown to share memories of their father, George P. Losch, 70, a well-known artist who died Tuesday at his Juniata County home.
Losch, who had painted since he was a child, began selling his work 10 years ago from home and later from the family's Heartland Gallery. His work hangs in businesses and homes throughout the midstate and ranges from wildlife and birds to flowers, homestead scenes and historic structures.
Losch was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease two years ago. His wife said yesterday that he had suffered two strokes in the past two weeks.
He died in the log house along the Cocolamus Creek where his parents lived and where he and Annamae held his first art show in 1984.
Annamae said that when her husband was a child, an uncle gave him a paint set. To this day that paint set remains in Losch's studio. Losch worked for 17 years in construction with Hempt Brothers. In the winter, when work was slow, he painted.
"When he first started out, he would go to galleries," Annamae recalled. She said that because Losch had no formal training and was self-taught, "the door was closed. He never really got the chance to show his work."
The couple decided in 1984 to have a show in their home.
"We came home and we couldn't find a place to park at our own house," said George Losch, 39.
At that first show, they put 78 originals up for sale and sold each one.
From that point on, Losch couldn't keep up with demand. The couple began offering signed and numbered limited edition lithographs and opened Heartland Gallery in 1998 to show his work and the work of other artists.
"George helped to give a lot of artists encouragement," said Annamae. "He wanted to never stop looking at other people's work and encouraging them."
George said his father would visualize what he wanted to paint for months before actually picking up a brush.
Stuart Losch, 42, recalled the tedious research that went into his father's work. Before starting such paintings as "The Rockville Bridge," "McGarey's Tavern" and "Evening at the Station," Losch spent considerable time studying their history.
"McGarey's Tavern" is a painting of the building the gallery is housed in, and "Evening at the Station" is of the former Thompsontown train station.
The brothers laughed as they recalled a 10-by-10 shed where their dad used to paint. It had a lot of windows, a skylight and an extension cord running from it to the house.
"You'd look out there at night and there was this glowing shed," George said.
Annamae said there are two more signed Losch prints to be unveiled: "Nestled In," to be exhibited at the gallery Oct. 4-5 and "Flowers for Mom," available November. The family also has more originals from which to make prints. The prints, however, will no longer bear his signature. His work will continue to be shown at the gallery.
The family says it feels blessed by the appreciation for nature and the beauty that Losch captured and left behind for all to enjoy.
"Dad used to tell us to leave the world a better place than we found it, and he did," said George.
DEB KINER: 582-2193 or dkiner@@patriot-news.com
INFOBOX: HONORING GEORGE LOSCH ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION MEMORY WALK Artist George Losch will be remembered during an Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk at 10 a.m. Saturday beginning at the EMS building in Mifflintown. A T-shirt being offered to participants who raise $100 or more in pledges bears Losch artwork.
MEMORIAL SERVICES Losch's viewing will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Faith Lutheran Church, Richfield RD. The funeral is at 2 p.m. Sunday, also at the church. Garman Funeral Home, Mount Pleasant Mills, is handling arrangements. In addition to his wife, Annamae, Losch is survived by sons Pusey, Mike, Stuart and George, daughters Julie and Sarah and 13 grandchildren.
Copyright, 2003, The Patriot-News Co. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
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