A discussion on railway art.

[Anglian]

Not a GWR fan myself, but surely the granddaddy of all railway paintings is Turner's Rain Steam and Speed?

 

I like Monet's railway paintings. Hugely atmospheric.

 

Paul

 

 

Has anybody ever bettered Rain, steam and speed? Not in my view. I've spent a long time gazing at the original, when the opportunity has presented itself, and whilst very beautiful it's also packed full of raw excitement. In essence it touches many senses. You can paint what you see, what you imagine or what you feel, Turner did all of those on one canvas. 

 

That written I enjoy the classic poster artists; Purvis, Wilkinson and Cuneo.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Anglian

[The Johnster]

No, nobody's ever bettered or even equalled 'Rail, Steam, and Speed', though Cuneo comes close sometimes.  But if we're talking about Turner, who of us who are of the generation that lived through the end of working steam cannot be moved to the core by 'The Fighting Temeraire'.

 

Slightly OT, my apologies.

Edited June 1, 2017 by The Johnster

[Giles]

Plus one for 'The Fighting Temeraire'!

[Giles]

I'm also extremely fond of Eric Bottomley's work - he is technically very good, and deals with light very nicely. I have one small painting of his (it was all I could afford) - an S&D 2-8-0 in the snow.

 

Jonathan Clay also does extremely nice loco portraits.... both these Gentlemen are the nicest people you could care to meet as well!

[Rob Pulham]

 both these Gentlemen are the nicest people you could care to meet as well!

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Eric has a large O gauge railway in his garage too.

[runs as required]

I like to use this thread to pass on some fascinating tips after having the good fortune to meet and talk with Christine Pulham of the Guild of Railway Artists at the Stainmore Railway Company’s June 2017 Model Railway Show at Kirby Stephen.

Christine was quietly supporting her husband who was demonstrating a computer controlled modelling machine, yet her subjects were all around – the NER Fletcher 2-4-0 was across the platform, her well known painting of cleaners working on Worsdell J21 and Fletcher 2-4-0 outside KS shed (51H now demolished) hangs on loan in the station shop.

 

She is not at all the flamboyant artist we, the public expect with flashing eyes and beret - never mind cross-dressing like Grayson Perry.  Christine even dislikes the smell of painting in oils!
Instead she gently explains that she sometimes uses water soluble oils which also are far quicker drying.  

What impresses me is that she paints on stretched canvas mostly in acrylics. I suppose I’d expected a textured paper stretched and taped down to a drawing board with a T square or parallel motion to achieve the precision and ‘hard’ straight lines of loco lining etc. required by her clienteles’ notorious rivet counting tendencies.

And some of her paintings are on big 40” x 30” stretchers (hard to control), though her engaging detail paintings such as the leading wheel leaf spring of the Fletcher 2-4-0 are 20” x 20”.

 

She never uses programmes like photoshop though still uses a long obsolete image programme to rehearse compositional decisions such as adding and positioning figures.

 

The comment that stayed with me the most was “wheels are the most difficult bit”.
She explained that doing them and re-doing them, over and over until they looked right with their spokes, lighting and flanges was the only way. She had no short cuts.

 

Most people who have tried painting in acrylics know that the medium can look both lurid and at the same time somehow flat and lifeless too - as compared to say post impressionist oils or a gifted water colourist’s representation of light.
Of Christine’s paintings I’d like to single out De-light at Holbeck for the masterly way she overcomes thes shortcomings of acrylics. Her use of light and shade (chiaroscuro) is Caravaggio like in its drama.

Then there are those difficult wheels – lots of them - all drivers with crank-pins, spokes and counterweights. And how the orange of the flanges contrast with the dark blue gloom of the old Midland shed.

You can go on fishing for romantic detail in the shed’s decline such as the suggestion of coloured glass in the broken cast-iron ‘Derby’ window frame,

 

Christine Pulham's work stands apart from the run-of-the-mill front three-quarter view of a coloured up photograph

dh

 

http://www.railart.co.uk/gallery/pulham.shtml

http://www.railway-models-and-art.co.uk/gpage2.html

Edited June 27, 2017 by runs as required

[Rob Pulham]

David,

 

Thank you so much for the kind words, Chris very much appreciates them and that you have taken the time to share them with fellow members. She feels slightly humbled.

[Western Star]

Christine Pulham's work stands apart from the run-of-the-mill front three-quarter view of a coloured up photograph...

Absolutely.

 

My Son considers himself to be very lucky to have two "prints" of Chris's work.

 

My favourite to date is the wheels - just a superb and accurate rendition of a common sight of a part of a working railway.

[bluebottle]

 

Edit: Click to enlarge

Edited August 15, 2017 by bluebottle

[Rob Pulham]

For those of you following this topic and who have liked or commented on my good lady's paintings, there is a chance to see some of them in the flesh from next weekend - Railart 2017 opens next Saturday at Kidderminster Railway Museum.

 

This year's exhibition is a bit special, in that it 40 years since the group that went on tot become the Guild of Railway Artists held their first exhibition at the Guild Hall in York.

 

I do hope that some of you find time to call in while it's on.

 

[BobM]

Hi (No copyright infringement intended here at all........this remains firmly with artist images reproduced for illustration purposes only)......

 

Can just about recall similar memories such as this (standing at the end of platform 5 at Birmingham  Snow Hill) as a nipper (sadly perhaps?) I was 8 when steam disappeared off the mainline....

 

cannot (although have memories of seeing steam in platform 7 from the top of the steps) recall scenes such as this though, 'Kings' had just gone as I became 'switched on' to steam loco's.....

 

 

Have to contend myself with looking at prints of this fine artists work....now have both prints hanging in the hallway here at home...superb work!

 

Recommend a visit to the Rail Art Exhibition Kidderminster....

 

Regards

Bob

Edited August 28, 2017 by BobM

[Rob Pulham]

We have had an excellent weekend, the B16 has progressed nicely and we attended Kidderminster Railway Museum today, ostensibly to collect three of Chris's painting that were on exhibition there with the exhibition closing today.

 

However the Guild Council also met and having presented a portfolio of her works to them, Chris was elected a full member of the Guild of Railway Artists. A great achievement for any artist but I think more so because she's a lady painting what is largely a man's subject. - A very proud moment for me and I only fetch and carry for her. 

[runs as required]

Congratulations to Christene; very well deserved.

Thank you for thinking to tell us.

 

dh

[Rob Pulham]

Thanks David.

[Shovelto]

Found this interesting 1888 painting by Vincent van Goch in a gallery in Avignon last month. It's called "Railway wagons in Arles"

[Anglian]

Now that demonstrates painting. There is a remarkable economy in this work. 

[shortliner]

 

It is not often that I'm moved to utter the expression "F*** Me!", but the sheer work that has gone into that painting, almost defies any other comment

[AberdeenBill]

Now for something different...      "Locomotive crew" by A I Koernakov

 

Bill

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

Very atmospheric Bill,  thanks for posting it.

[Bernard Lamb]

I must declare an interest regarding this painting and this artist.

I have been involved with a book that was published last week entitled East End Vernacular by a chap who goes under the pen name of The Gentle Author.

It features several artists who worked in the East End of London in the 20th century.

Given the number of railway lines in the area they are quite prominent in many of the illustrations. Sometimes, as here, as a subject, at other times just glimpses  in the landscape. Some of the scenes include buildings that would make interesting subjects for modelling.

The artist in this case is Doreen Fletcher who has a particular interest in local vernacular buildings.

Bernard

[Shovelto]

i wonder if any of you know the work of Hans Baluschek? There are a number of his works in the Bröhan-Museum in Berlin. I find them quite moving in their frank portal of working people.

 

[bluebottle]

i wonder if any of you know the work of Hans Baluschek? There are a number of his works in the Bröhan-Museum in Berlin. I find them quite moving in their frank portal of working people.

 

His "City of Workers" figures in post 46, page 2 of this forum.

[Shovelto]

His "City of Workers" figures in post 46, page 2 of this forum.

Thanks, I have only recently joined this thread an have not yet searched back through time!

[Andy Kirkham]

Here's an oddity that I once came upon in London's Geffrye Museum.

 

 

"Oil on canvas painting depicting the platform of a railway station, painted by Lilian Gladys Tickell in 1930"

 

I'm sure almost everyone will recognise the station roof as belonging to Bath Green Park, although I don't thinks the industrial background fits that location. The locos are unmistakably Great Western and No 203 falls within the numbers allocated to the 517 class, but it it is not present in my copy of Casserley & Johnson's Locomotives at the Grouping, so it would have been withdrawn long before the picture was painted.

 

I wouldn't care to make a guess about the origin of the coach on the right.

Edited October 21, 2017 by Andy Kirkham

[BobM]

Hi Guys.....

 

This is a further piece of from Philip Hawkins that I would dearly love to have as a print, as it recalls childhood memories of looking north from the end of platform 5 at Birmingham Snow Hill Station....Oh my.......!  What beautiful work eh?

 

 

No copyright infringement intended for illustration only

Regards as always,,,

Bob

Edited October 21, 2017 by BobM