Trains LIVE — Railroad artist J Craig Thorpe — 6-14-2023 — Take a look at a railroad painting. What do you see? A train? A scenic setting? History? An image you’d really like to hang on your living room wall? That is what meets the eye. What if in looking at this painting you could peel back the image and experience what the artist was thinking about as the painting was rendered? Today we have that opportunity. J. Craig Thorpe, who has been painting railroading images since 1985, now has available a new book on his life as an artist — Railroads, Art, and American Life: An Artist’s Memoir. In this episode of Trains LIVE, we spend some time with Thorpe in Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago Union Station. Our discussion explores Thorpe’s railroad imagery, his philosophy about painting railroad subjects, and his passion for trains that can be traced to younger years in Pennsylvania. During our chat, Thorpe also shares his belief that railroad art can project a vision of the future in hopes of persuading the viewer to believe in a project or concept.
Trains LIVE — Railroad artist J Craig Thorpe
Trains LIVE is a regular video segment, recorded live and unscripted from Kalmbach Media. The series began in July 2022.
Trains LIVE features Bob Lettenberger, Trains associate editor, Kalmbach Media staff, and guests talking about railroads and trains in a casual, behind the scenes format. On Trains LIVE we will ask the questions you would like to ask and take you into places not normally open to the public. Trains LIVE also takes you on the road to museums, trackside locations and other railroad-related venues. It is unscripted and presented every other Wednesday at 2 p.m. Central time.
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