Hello all! I'm working with the Center for Railroad Photography & Art on a project about railway related artwork. Specifically, we're trying to learn more about people who make railway art, as well as produce a special full issue of our journal, Railroad Heritage, that will share what we've learned along with many samples of railway art.

I thought I'd post here as I know that paintings sometimes get brought up here in relation to posters and promotional items for museum operations, as well as just for their own interest as pieces of railway history.

I'm looking for help in a few ways:

1.) We have an online survey for artists. It doesn't matter where you are, how many or few pieces or artwork made, what medium used, whether or not you were paid, or what form of rail transport is included. We want every type of respondent. It's about 50 questions, many of those are optional, and artists who fill it out will have a chance to have their artwork published in Railroad Heritage. If you are in any way an artist, please fill it out! If you know of artists, feel free to email the link out to them!

2.) Feel free to respond here about railway art, especially if you yourself are an artist, but even if it's just to talk about what types you enjoy or have seen. I'm especially interested in learning about artists I don't know about, so if you have recommendations, that would be awesome!

3.) Lastly, if you want to talk to me directly rather than on here, you can send me an email at alexander.craghead(at)gmail.com. Just replace the (at) with @.

Here is the link to the survey mentioned above:
http://www.railphoto-art.org/art-survey/

Thanks everyone for any ideas, suggestions, or comments!

~Alex

P.S. Just to show you one of the reasons I am doing this, I also paint, and I'm attaching an image from one of my paintings to this post.

I just completed this.
Your timing for me is dead-on as I'm currently working on some RR-related drawings, something I haven't done in a while (my work is usually military or historical related not having to do with RRs)...

Thanks, Lee!

Make sure you talk to John Bromley. I don't know if he's here or not, but he's over on Trainorders a lot.

One of the most interesting I've ever met, and we have two of her originals hanging here in our office. She did a one-woman show at the art gallery here in Warren several years ago, featuring all her railroad work:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2009 ... ong-career
http://www.llanfairohio.org/blog/2012-0 ... nfair-home

That article was a year ago.

She also did a painting of Kinzua Bridge from my own photography, which was well before the collapse. She offered it to me, and at that time I couldn't afford it!

And don't forget:
http://jcraigthorpe.com/railroad-art/

We've got the office pretty much lined with his art and posters, and I've got several signed by him, as well as some commission work on projects over the years.

Ted Xaras. He's a adjunct faculty member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

http://www.pafa.edu/Faculty/Faculty-Dir ... ty--22534/

Way back in 1975, when I was in charge of the engineering department vault at the Reading Company, we were purging obsolete records in preparation for Conrail. Ted is a big fan of the RDG's former Atlantic City Railroad subsidiary and anytime I came across something from the ACRR, I set it aside for him. He insisted on reciprocating and, from photographs I provided, Ted painted a stunning watercolor of a Pittsburgh Railways Company interurban.

/s/ Larry
Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.

Orchard Supply Hardware, or OSH, has produced a railroad calendar every year for perhaps 30 or 40 years. This originally was a by-product of its past owner, the late Al Smith who was a railroader and a person who collected most of the 19" gauge Overfair Railway equipment and restored it on his ranch near Santa Cruz. I am not certain how to track all the previous artists, I have several calendars stashed away though. They are nice compilations and feature a bio of the artist. This year's calendar features John Winfield. By the way, OSH is now owned by Sears, and it is still the best hardware store chain I have ever known.
O. Anderson
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/18inch

OSH is no longer owned by Sears -- it was spun-off a year and a half ago.
For the complete press releasespartially quoted below and more information see this url:
http://ir.osh.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=250464&p=irol-spinOff

How about David Oram?

http://davidaoram.com/

http://davidaoram.com/The_First_Bullet.html

Thanks for the recommendations, folks. They're a real help!

I'm sure you know of him, as he's very well known, but in the off chance you don't, Mitch Markovitz.


www.mitchmarkovitz.com

A long time favorite of mine is Bob Lorenz of Fremont,Ohio. Bob has done all the graphics for my many projects starting with the HICO logo in the 1960's through the AFT project to the GBX project.

Bob and his wife of 60 years Bea live in Fremont,Ohio and Bob still paints although his age has slowed him down some.

He is a big B&O fan and a majority of his water color and oil paintings over the years have featured various B&O locos and scenes.

Great guy and wonderful artist.

Ross Rowland

I don't know if he's still with us or not, but Richard Sparks, who was in the DC area, and was heavily involved with the Mountain State people at Cass, is a regionally known railroad artist who did the covers for the Potomac Chapter Bill Price photo books 20 years ago.

Jan Rons does water color paintings, primarily of the Colorado narrow gauge lines and West Coast logging lines. He also paints western themed subjects, sometimes combing the two, such as a cattle drive crossing the tracks, calf branding with a loco in the background, etc. He sells original art, prints and accepts commissions. His web site is http://www.ronsartgraphics.com/

Michael Allen

An artist with a mostly regional reputation is Paul Adams. His highly detailed paintings of period Detroit scenes often include DSR street cars. His web site is at http://www.paulhadams.com/holiday.html
Frankly, his prints show much better "in the flesh" as it were than as small thumbnails on his web site. He paints in acrylics and the level of detail is high. One of my favorites is "Welcome to Highland Park (1956).

Michael Allen