|
|
| Research Step 1 My journey began on this project when fellow artist Tony Stencil suggested I do a companion "period" piece to "Southern Pride" showing how the Fort Payne Depot may have looked during the heyday of steam trains. These period photos were kindly provided by Ann Houston, curator of the Fort Payne Depot Museum . |
 |
| Research Step 2 Picking the correct locomotive for the mid-to-late 1920's wasn't as easy as anticipated. I almost used this engine by mistake because it had been used for excursion trips in the 70's & 80's, repainted in Southern's green & gold passenger train livery. But in the 1920's it was black, & it only hauled freight. |
 |
| Research Step 2a Pictured here is the correct type of steam engine for the time period I am depicting, and it is correctly painted & configured for Southern Railway's passenger service. With the correct type of engine identified, the next task to be done was to determine which engine numbers were used on the Fort Payne Depot's route! |
 |
| Research Step 2b Searching through a series of locomotive diagrams at RainFan.net, I came upon the schematic shown here. Dated in November 1926, it gives all of the pertinent data & dimensions I was looking for - including the engine numbers that operated on the Alabama Great Southern line. |
 |
| Research Step 3 Now that I had correct locomotive information & overall dimensions, it was time to get on-site measurements at the depot to help me get my spatial relationships worked out for the painting. I chose this postcard image to be the basis for the layout, and recorded measurements on a printed copy. |
 |
| Research Step 3a My next problem was to resolve the issue of what to do about the water point in the foreground. It doesn't exist anymore, so I had no way to know how tall it should be in relation to everything else in the painting. Fortunately, I found these photos which enabled me to estimate the height of the water point in relation to the men & engine pictured. |
 |
| Design Step 1 Next I placed people in the scene using Photoshop to get a feel for how I could integrate them into the composition. I also added a cloudscape & a passing freight train, then printed this out and drew out the perspective lines on it so I could make further adjustments. |
 |
| Design Step 2 Now it was time to cull through the nearly 200 digital images that I had shot of steam engines at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN. I finally settled on this one of a "Pacific" 4-6-2 to use as a reference to complete the design of my layout. |
 |
| Design Step 3 Here I've transferred the entire design to tracing vellum with a 4H pencil. This image shows the the full size (15.5" x 22") painting layout. I will finish revising & correcting details or eliminate camera distortions entirely on this vellum drawing before transferring the design to the support. |
 |
| Design Step 3a In this close-up you can see the activity that is going on in the scene as the train pulls into the station. In the left foreground we have a young Army Corporal looking longingly into the eyes of his girl as they prepare to part. The other people have their attention diverted toward the incoming train. |
 |
| Design Step 3b In the other half of the scene there is the oncoming freight train rolling down the main line as the passenger train is slowing to a halt on the old siding. In the distance the landmark Davis Hosiery Mill can be seen, as depicted in the original postcard image. |
 |
| Rendering Step 1 Depicted here is the more refined & detailed design. In this image I've already transferred it to Strathmore 400 Series acid-free drawing paper as the final support. |
 |
| Rendering Step 1a On the left is the initial locomotive sketch from my earlier vellum drawing; on the right is the corrected & refined version on the Strathmore paper. There are countless corrections of detail that were required to get things accurate. This shows even on the facade of the depot visible in the background. |
 |
| Rendering Step 2 With the final drawing complete it was time to get to work adding some color to the trees & vegetation using my water-soluable colored pencils to block in with the lightest shade of green. But before doing so I softened my hard edged pencil outlines with an eraser. |
 |
| Rendering Step 2a An overall view showing the basic color lay-in for all of the trees & vegetation. In the left foreground portion of the image you can see where I'm already beginning to work in a dapple of darker green as I continue to develope these areas. |
 |
| Rendering Step 2b Here you can see how I've developed the vegetation further by applying additional layers of darker green. I've also pre-shaded the clouds in preparation for airbrushing the sky. |
 |
| Rendering Step 3 After sealing my colored pencil work & allowing to dry, I permanently mounted the work to acid-free foamcore, then covered it with Frisket masking film in preparation for airbrushing the sky. Here I am carefully cutting around the irregular shape of the tree. |
 |
| Rendering Step 3a Even though the process of accurately trimming the Frisket film can be tedious, it is always worth the extra trouble. Here I've finished airbrushing the sky, and I'm in the process of trimming out areas of the ground & railbed so I can pre-shade those areas with my airbrush too. |
 |
| Rendering Step 3b In this close-up you can better see the subtle variations of value in the clouds & where I pulled my cloud work onto the Frisket film as I rendered the sky. |
 |
| Rendering Step 4 Now I've removed all of the Frisket film, put away my airbrush, and I've begun to render the windows with pencil & tint the sandstone of the Depot with pastel applied with an artist's stump. |
 |
| Rendering Step 4a A close-up allowing you to better see the pencil work & pastel tinting that I've applied. Due to the color of the light on the Depot at midday, the base color of the stone must be lighter & a little more cool than in my previous rendering. |
 |
| Rendering Step 4b Here you can see an overall view of how I am now applying additional layers of color & detail to the sandstone walls, while replicating the color & cast shadows of the midday light of this scene. With the light correct on the Depot, I will be able to "key" the cast shadows & light in the remainder of the painting! |
 |
| Rendering Step 4c A close-up allowing you to better appreciate the level of detail that I've applied thus far. |
 |
| Rendering Step 4d With the sandstone work now complete, I've moved up to the roof. Using a combination of Chrome Orange, Brown Ochre, Copper Beech, & Terra Cotta colored pencils, I've begun to render the old weathered copperplate roof. |
 |
| Rendering Step 5 After consulting with Fort Payne Depot Museum Curator Ann Houston, she advised me that the old copper roof was painted a flat brown back in the twenties. So here I have finished the roof to reflect the flat, weathered, streaky brown that it was coated with at the time. Next, I turned my attention to shading & detailing the water column & getting a start to rendering the worn concrete base & adjacent curbing. |
 |
| Rendering Step 5a With the water column shaded with pencil graphite, it was time to mask it out with frisket film & paper so I could paint it with an application of airbrushed transparent Sienna Brown. Since the column's construction was segmented, that's how I painted it - in segments - as shown here! Once I was satisfied with this layer of color, I added a couple of drops of Burnt Umber to my color mix & gave the entire column a dusting to darken it uniformly. |
 |
| Rendering Step 5a Cont'd Here is the water column resplendant in it's burnt orange "rust" underpainting! I know it appears too dark & too orange for the moment, but this will get toned down with the addition of further texture & lighter values through additional retouching! |
 |
| Rendering Step 6 With the water column now underpainted, I now turned my attention to completion of the of the setting by giving more depth, definition, & contrast to the trees & vegetation, as well as getting the Davis Hosiery Mill & the semaphore post rendered. |
 |
| Rendering Step 6a In this close-up of the tree in the left foreground you can see the details of how I've started to deepen the shadows & pick out the highlights of the masses of leaves, giving it a more 3-dimensional appearance. |
 |
| Rendering Step 6c In this view of the distant area in the right background you can see the Davis Hosiery Mill starting to take shape & see how I am reworking the values of the trees & brush there. |
 |
| Rendering Step 6d In this overall view you can appreciate the greater depth of the trees & vegetation, and see the development of the barricade & semaphore posts. I've also started the addition of the cast shadow under the tree, and I've strengthened the highlights on the clouds with retouching using Titanium White acrylic paint. |
 |
| Rendering Step 6e In this close-up of the right-hand side area of the painting, you can see the now complete hosiery mill & revised copse of trees & vegetation. You will also note how I've painted out the head of the semaphore post as I revise it to show the signals displayed in the proper aspects appropriate to the train traffic in this scene. |
 |
| Rendering Step 6f Here you can see the now complete semaphore post with the signal vanes displayed in the correct aspects appropriate to the train traffic in this scene. The north-facing signal is in an upper aspect position of 45 degrees, indicating to the engineer of the passing freight train that he may proceed with caution due to the passenger train located on the depot siding. The south-facing signal is in the horizontal or "stop" position, indicating that traffic coming from this direction is not cleared to move! |
 |
| Rendering Step 7 Now I'm begining to bring the people on the loading platform to life! Using standard drawing pencils & an artist's stump, I pre-shaded my figures to establish shadows & the values of the folds in their clothing. I then applied a sealer & started painting the figures using water-soluable colored pencils. |
 |
| Rendering Step 7a In this image I've completed my refinements of the other figures on the platform & I've only just started to paint the couple in the foreground, begining with the young woman's face. I've saved the couple for last as it is critical that I get believable expressions on their faces! |
 |
| Rendering Step 7b And here we have our young couple completed, engaged in that last longing look into each other's eyes as they express their sad, sweet goodbye! I've placed a ruler next to them so you can appreciate the my challenge of having to paint expressive faces in such a small size! |
 |
| Rendering Step 7c A close-up of our young couple so you can better see the detail of their faces! Trying to render as much detail in such a small size has been a challenge, and I hope that I have achieved a reasonable result! |
 |
| Rendering Step 7d With our young couple & the other people on the platform completed, it was now time to finish the water column. I applied a patina of rust to this cast iron fixture by layering applications of Copper Beech, Brown Ochre, Terra Cotta, & White colored pencil, along with various graphite pencils over my airbrushed underpainting. The final result is pictured on the right. |
 |
| Rendering Step 7d In this close-up, you'll be able to appreciate the streaky rust texture on the main body of the column, the "distressed metal" finish on the thin sheet iron of the water nozzle, & the refinement of detail in the shadow area under the water nozzle! |
 |
| Rendering Step 7e Using a combination of Copper Beech, Brown Ochre, & Golden Brown water soluable colored pencils, combined with light touches of 4H, 2B, & HB graphite pencils, I've rendered the railroad ties & fill material in the railroad bed. The shine of the rails was done with Spectrum Blue & White. |
 |
| Rendering Step 8 With the setting for our scene now complete, it was now time to render the trains, starting with the distant, oncoming freight train on the main line. I rendered it using a combination of 4H, 2B, & HB graphite pencils, then sealed my graphite work before retouching the highlights & adding the brass color of the bell & the red of the engine number panel with gouache. |
 |
| Rendering Step 8a With the freight train and its smoke plume complete, I decided to add the smoke plumes to the mill smokestack & the passenger train too. After that, I started rendering the front end of the passenger train locomotive, again using my trusty graphite pencils! |
 |
| Rendering Step 8b Here is the result of my work thus far on the locomotive applying successive layers of 4H, 2, 2B, & HB graphite pencils to render the black-painted areas of the train's chassis. Using this method has allowed me to show all of the detail under the boiler & running boards illuminated by the noon day light reflected up from the surrounding lightly colored ground. The smokebox on this locomotive was graphite gray, so I've rendered it with a primary shading of 4H pencil! The cast shadows from the light, bell, and the other various fittings are rendered in heavier applications of 4H pencil. Where these shadows needed to be darkened further, I've used 2B pencil. Finishing up this graphite work, I added some copper beech & chrome orange to the coupler to replicate the rust that forms on this component. With this work done, its time to start applying the additional colors. |
 |
| Rendering Step 8c Here is the completed passenger train! After spending a week away from this painting attending the A.S.A.A. Annual Forum in San Diego, I came back to my previous work with "fresh eyes"! Giving the entire painting a good look, I realized that I needed to go darker in all of my shadow areas. So again I applied successive layers of 4H, 2, 2B, & HB graphite pencils to the black-painted areas of the train's chassis. I also darkened the Depot windows & the shadow areas in the foliage of the fore ground & middle ground trees. Next, I applied a gray wash over the trees next to the Davis Hosiery Mill to push them further into the distance. With these changes & adjustments made, I applied the additional train colors & details using my pencils & fluid acrylics. The final touch was the application of cool white plumes of steam with my airbrush using masks cut from acetate. Click HERE to see the finished painting. |
 |
| Back to Wheels & Rails |