Portraits of North American Railroading

I am a railroad artist based in South Carolina and have been drawing since childhood, and painting since about 1989. While I

have taken art in high school and studied much about art technique and history, I am basically self taught.

My inspirations have been railroad artists Howard Fogg and Ted Rose, as well as American painters Edward Hopper, Frederic Remington and Charles Russell.

By career I am an civil engineering designer but have been studying, photographing and modeling railroads all my life, having also worked on a shortline railroad and prepared technical drawings of railroad equipment for model production. Broadway Limited recently used scale drawings that I prepared for thier California Zephyr passenger cars. I am also an NMRA Master Model Railroader and am active in the organization as the Southeastern Region Education Chairman. The creative outlet of painting railroad subjects was a next logical step given my diverse background. 

There is much enjoyment I take working in several mediums including acrylics, pencil, pastel, and watercolor.

Watercolor, while more challenging, provides me the greatest outlet of creativity and inspiration, capturing mood and atmosphere like no other medium.

While I began my painting career with subjects that were in essence “photorealistic”, my style has changed as I my skills have matured, and I find myself much more interested in creating impressionistic style works. Watercolor provides the perfect medium for this loose, more creative style.

As my body of work has evolved, so has my subject matter. Rather than concentrate on the historically accurate subjects, I have enjoyed portraying railroads and railroaders as they confront operating challenges – railroads against the elements of nature or against problems of everyday operation. The image of a train with a blazing sunset background, or the stark loneliness of a section crew at work in the winter, provide both the drama and romance of railroading more so than technically and historically accurate works. Creating works that represent more of a vignette of railroading are also a passion. Rather than show the entire side of a locomotive, there is something more interesting when you portray only a portion, letting your mind fill in the rest of the picture. It also provides a more intimate connection with the subject; the collector shoud feel the drama and place themselves within a painting when they see it, as I do when I am creating it.

I have been displaying my work in the Southeastern U.S. for 18 years at various railroad memorabilia collector meets, railroad conventions, and art shows. Currently I have a line of prints, both lithographic and giclee, of many of my works. The prints I have available run the spectrum of my skills, from photorealistic to more impressionistic.

My works hang in a number of collections, both public and private, throughout North America.

You may now proceed to the "Available prints" page to view what I have currently for sale.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my site !