Canadian Goose by Al Dornisch
5"x7" original painting on "masonite type" artist board.
Framed size: approx. 9.25"x 12.25"
Alcuin C. “Al” Dornisch, 91, of Ridgway, passed away Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at Penn Highlands Elk.
He was a wonderful person and a great artist.
Al was born October 27, 1931 in St. Marys, son of the late Alcuin “Doc” and Charlotte Myers Dornisch. A graduate of Central Catholic High School, Class of 1951, Al continued his education, earning a degree in English from Gannon College in 1958.
On August 6, 1955, Alcuin married his beautiful bride, Carol Klatman, in the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and together they shared 67 years of marriage.
Along with his wife, Al is survived by five daughters: Susan, Paula, Sara, Julie, and Patricia; three sons: Jude, Timothy, and Peter (Joanie); eleven grandchildren: Ashley (Ahmed), Cameron (Allison), Brennan, Charlotte (Cedric), Kyrie (Harrison), Vance, Quinton, Ally Jo, Zane, Keegan, and Deeanna; five great-grandchildren: Sami, Madeline, Lucca, Aziz, and Quincy; one sister: Alice Wiesner of St. Marys; two brothers: Thomas Dornisch (Sue) of St. Marys and Bernard Dornisch (Irene) of Lock Haven; a sister-in-law, Eileen “Dolly” Dornisch of St. Marys; two brothers-in-law: Gelindo “Boots” Bonfardine of St. Marys and Robert Fehrenbach of Wauwatosa, WI; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, Al was preceded in death by a very special granddaughter, Madeline Paguyo; two sisters: Margaret Bonfardine and Mary Therese “Teeta” Dornisch; two brothers: Paul Dornisch and Richard “Dick” Dornisch; and a sister-in-law, Nancy Fehrenbach.
AL DORNISCH
Al Dornisch wood several conservation stamp competitions, including the South Carolina Duck Stamp and the Maryland Black Bear Conservation Stamp.
His love of nature started over 80 years ago in my childhood nurtured by an amateur naturalist father. This interest has sent me on excursions from the Sub-Arctic, through Africa, a good part of Europe, and virtually all of North America to experience, study, photograph, and sketch the flora and fauna of the world. They have become the subjects of my work.
Besides his show paintings, Al has illustrated 6 animal books for Lerner Publications in Minneapolis. I have written and illustrated two young peoples' animal books as well as: "WILD CATS, GREAT and SMALL - An Anthology of the World's Wild Cats".
That early artistic ability came to fruition when he began studying under the late Les Kouba a world- renowned wildlife artist.
"It was because of him that I started doing this in a more professional manner," says Dornisch. "I guess you could say that is when I began as an artist and I have been at it for many, many years now."
Dornisch's combined affection for painting and the natural world has taken him all over the world to photograph, study and paint everything from the flora and fauna of the polar regions to the savannas of Africa. His work is highly detailed and features a myriad of different species, from elephants and butterflies to rattlesnakes and goldfinches to grouse and white-tailed deer
While Dornisch has depicted many subjects over the years, he has remained true to his first love depicting wildlife.
More information about Al Dornisch: Al Dornisch Biography
