With the opening of my first-ever One-Man-Show only three nights away, it has been fun, finishing watercolor compositions and delivering them to the Weiler House Fine Art Gallery (http://www.weilerhousefineart.com). This afternoon, I got a sneak preview of the installation of the show, and was delighted to see this piece presented in a beautiful custom mat. Besides my trademark nostalgia watercolors from the American 1950’s, there are several railroad compositions included in the show. The scenes include Burleson, Texas, Eureka Springs, Arkansas as well as Durango, Colorado.
I cannot explain my train fetish. From my childhood, I was flooded with that sense of wonder and delight of model railroads, and still remember my first Lionel layout when I was of preschool age. I also remember pressing my nose against department store windows late at night, staring at layouts with dozens of trains winding about in all directions. We frequently picked up my grandmother at the St. Louis Union Station when I was barely old enough to walk. I still remember the pain of my parents holding both my hands tightly as we hurried along, and I tugged and strove to look about at all the different sets of road colors on the F diesels that polluted the 31-track train shed. In later years, I was fascinated with all the road names on the sides of the passenger cars rolling in and out of St. Louis–the Frisco, New York Central, Pensy, MOPAC, Burlington Route, Wabash, etc.
I haven’t painted as many trains in this past year as I used to, but now have serious thoughts about returning to the practice. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting some railroad management figures who have assured me access, provided that I call in advance for appointments and sign the necessary waivers. The Texas weather is finally cooling enough for me to be outside longer. I guess it’s time to resume the trainwatching!
Thanks for reading. I hope you can attend the opening of my show Saturday night from 5-9:00. Weiler House Fine Art Gallery is located at 3126 Handley Drive, Fort Worth, Texas 76112.