From an oil painting depicting the heat of battle, to the cool serenity of a snow-blanketed farm in Western Pennsylvania, Nat Youngblood's artwork evoked strong emotions.

Friends and former colleagues recalled yesterday how he was methodical in his research, studied in his approach to each fresh canvas and unflappable on deadline during the 30 years he served as art director for the Pittsburgh Press.

Mr. Youngblood, who would have celebrated his 93rd birthday next week, died Friday.

"He lived a very full life; age finally got him," said Sandy Youngblood, his wife of 29 years.

Until two or three years ago, he was still painting full time at his studio above the garage of his home in West Middletown, Washington County.

"Eight or nine hours a day, five days a week, sometimes six," Mrs. Youngblood said.

Born in the state of Indiana, Mr. Youngblood attended Indiana University, the University of New Mexico and the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the Harwood Foundation in Taos, N.M., and Southwest influences were evident in his work throughout his life.

During World War II, Mr. Youngblood served in Europe with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, and following a plane accident was awarded a Purple Heart.

"Sketching and painting during downtime, he sent the artwork home with letters to his mother. She bundled these with blue ribbon, eventually sending them to the Scripps-Howard News Service in 1946," Mrs. Youngblood said.

The bundle got lost in the mailroom, but someone found it three months later and E.T. Leech, the editor of The Press, which was part of the Scripps chain, said "Come to Pittsburgh," she said.

"Just the smog and the dirt was enough to make him not want to [stay]," she said. "But Mr. Leech said 'Nat, there is going to be a renaissance and I want you to paint it.' "

Early on, the newspaper chain recognized his talent. Scripps-Howard decided Mr. Youngblood should accompany John F. Kennedy on Air Force One weeks after the 1960 election as the president-elect flew to Florida. He was to sketch for a painting that would be the cover of the chain's national magazine.

Ushered by press secretary Pierre Salinger back to the private quarters of the plane, Mr. Youngblood met a tired but cooperative JFK.

"Nat told me 'He was the best sitter because he was so interested in what I was doing,' " Mrs. Youngblood said.

Just after the landing, the president-elect dashed from the plane, saying he needed to make a phone call.

"Nat told this story many times," Mrs. Youngblood said. "There was this little phone both nearby and when [JFK] came out, he said, 'It's a boy!' " .

Mr. Youngblood's work inspired unknown numbers of artists.

Robert Griffing, a Richland artist, said that Mr. Youngblood's technique was the envy of his peers: "He was able to achieve so much with lighting and just a few strokes of the brush, that was the amazing part."

"His art was his life and his passion," added Post-Gazette artist Dan Marsula, who began his career at The Press in 1976. "Nat has been a great influence in my life, a mentor, and most of all, a deeply missed friend."

Mr. Youngblood, during his time at The Press, regularly produced mini-masterpieces for the cover of Roto, and then Family Magazine, both Sunday magazine supplements to the paper.

"I've met people who made scrapbooks, they collected his Roto covers. He reached probably tens of thousands of people," said longtime friend Robert Trombetta, former director of the Fort Pitt Museum.

Ralph Brem, former Press managing editor, wrote 500-word essays to accompany the paintings. He'd cross the Boulevard of the Allies to drop in on Mr. Youngblood at the latter's apartment studio in the Gateway Towers.

"The research he did was what I wrote off of," Mr. Brem said.

"Nat was a true gentle man who was also a gentleman," said Barbara Cloud, a former fashion editor at The Press and columnist at the Post-Gazette. "I proudly display two of his watercolors in my home and have many wonderful memories from our days at The Press.

After he left the paper in 1980, Mr. Youngblood established studios locally and in New Mexico. An Eagle Scout in his youth, Mr. Youngblood was fascinated with Native American art and culture and in addition to his peaceful landscapes and historic depictions of Revolutionary War confrontations, created many works influenced by the Southwest.

Fifty-four years ago he also helped establish the Pittsburgh Experiment, a nondenominational organization that encourages small-group prayer through the workplace.

Mr. Youngblood is survived by his wife, his son, Nat of Albuquerque; daughters Dorothy Ann Cisneros of San Antonio, Texas, and Sandra L. Rice of Phoenix; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Mary Ann Corrigan of Evansville, Ind,, and Geraldine Tobias of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Mr. Youngblood was buried yesterday in a private ceremony at West Middletown Cemetery. Memorial contributions are being accepted by The Pittsburgh Experiment, 325 Oliver Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, and Grove United Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 88, West Middletown, PA 15379.

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