Hi there! I thought I might use this forum to tell a little about how I create my Lionel Paintings! First let me say that I still love painting them even after almost 25 years. I can't believe it has been that long but it has. I have loved every minute of it and one of the best things that has come from these paintings has been the many life long friends I have made in the hobby! I will always be grateful.
A few months ago Bob and I visited our good friends Joe and Annamae Sadorf. Joe has a wonderful postwar collection and was kind enough to work with me and set up many scenes with his postwar trains. This is how I start. First I come up with the concept then set up the trains and accessories and take many photographs paying special attention to light and shadows on the boxes, trains etc. This is my starting reference but I have changed many things when actually creating the paintings. The most important part of the paintings, for me, is their emotional impact. I want you to feel a good feeling and remember a happy time when I try to chronicle the history of some of the memories that depict such an important part of this American Icon. Lionel Trains are a large part of the American fabric in so many ways!
So back to the painting.... As you know many of my paintings depict children enjoying their trains. My first love has always been painting children so it's only natural for me to want to add the human touch to a lot of my paintings. I use to use my children as the models but they grew up so I work with friend's children and grandchildren. I do a lot of commission paintings for clients of their children/grandchildren these day as well. When I was working on 1955 MEMORIES I was going through all the 55 catalogs and when I saw the little boy on the cover of the "How to Operate Lionel Trains and Accessories, set booklet" I knew I found the right boy!! He fit perfectly into the painting and painting him adds another dimension to the memory! It seems to all come together when I find just the right child or the right title for a painting.
If you are at York please come by the Orange hall to visit and maybe one of my paintings will spark a special memory for you!
