Artwork by Mitch

[Mitch]

A number of folks here have requested a few more samples of my rail related artwork.

 

Enjoy!

 

Mitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Suica]

These are wonderful. Great work!

 

I especially love the Super Chief one.

[Kabutoni]

Very nice! You really have your light effects down right. I'm envious of your skills! :)

[Mitch]

I was influenced in light and dark patterns by the works of Edward Hopper. The real trick in portraying this the contrast of warm and cool colors, and colors against their opposite. "Never add black or white. Just change color."

 

Warm and cool....Orange, yellow, some greens and some reds are warm. Blue violet and some greens and reds are cool.

Contrasting colors...red against green, orange against blue, yellow against violet.

 

This by the way can be applied to painting models. I've never been a fan of specific "formulas" in creating prototype colors. One must take personal experience and layout lighting conditions into consideration. Plus the fact one is looking at a scale model from a scale distance.

 

Mitch

[cteno4]

Mitch,

 

Very nice work! When did you start painting? Was this something in the background all the time or blossomed later in life?

 

Love the light!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Mitch]

Here's a Youtube clip with a little more of me and my work:

 

[Mitch]

Mitch,

 

Very nice work! When did you start painting? Was this something in the background all the time or blossomed later in life?

 

Love the light!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

This is the question most often asked of me. It started as soon as I could hold a pencil. At about 18 months. My father was a commercial illustrator who had as one of his clients the Illinois Central commuter service. We also lived in the area served by the line. My mom would take me to the station in the evening to pick him up. After dinner my dad would teach me to draw the trains I saw. I learned to draw in perspective quite early. My entire school career was spent drawing and painting. The underlying situation was that the best friend of my uncle was an engineman on the Illinois Central and was a knowledgable fan. He taught me all about the culture of railroading. By the time I was 15 I had my own railroad watch and developed a desire to work on the railroad so this is where things became intertwined. After high school I attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago for one year. Then during the Viet Nam era, in 1969 due  to man power shortage I hired out on the C&NW Railroad, then the Milwaukee Road. In passenger service a good number of runs had all day off between trains in Chicago. So I would go to my father's studio and work. There were eras between railroads where I had been "freelance" as a painter and illustrator. I even taught art for a while. The last railroad I worked for was the South Shore Line, the interurban that runs east from Chicago into Indiana. I was first the art and advertising director, then after they went bankrupt I left and returned to free lance work. In 1988 after my first wife passed away I hired back in on the line as a trainman. In 1991 I was promoted to engineman. All this time I kept on painting. I left in '99 to once more return to free lance work where I am to this day.

 

My first wife had a masters of fine art degree and taught at the college level. She brought me from commercial art into the realm of fine art. I've had several mentors over time that helped me with color and composition along with my studying Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell.

 

Mitch

[cteno4]

Cool, so the rr was actually the sideline! Hopper and Rockwell do show! Nice blend of fine and commercial art as well, you have a nice niche to play in. Nice to have two things you have enjoyed and excelled at and now can combine in a unique fashion.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

[Ken Ford]

Hi, Mitch! Being a Shore Line fan, I've been following and appreciating your work for years.

[Mitch]

Hi, Mitch! Being a Shore Line fan, I've been following and appreciating your work for years.

 

Hello Ken!

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. If you get into The Loop we should have lunch at Miller's Pub, the only authorized restaurant for fans that remains downtown.

 

Mitch

[Mitch]

Cool, so the rr was actually the sideline! Hopper and Rockwell do show! Nice blend of fine and commercial art as well, you have a nice niche to play in. Nice to have two things you have enjoyed and excelled at and now can combine in a unique fashion.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

 

Jeff and the crowd,

 

Yes I can say railroading was a sideline. It was also a social outlet. There's truth about being a guy in uniform. I considered my 30 years in railroading as "performance art." It was my desire to do a portrayal of what I thought the image of a railroader should be to the public. Freight was just fun. In pool freight service working a time freight we would only have to make 1 pick-up or set-out, and then ride. Switch engine jobs (referred to as "patrols" on The Milwaukee) were challenging like a chess game. When I worked in the yards in Milwaukee as a switch tender I got the idea to wear an old uniform cap with a fake cardboard badge that read "svidgetender," as if in a funny language. I carried a ping-pong paddle with a green side and a red side. I'd hold up the red side until I got all the switches lined, then turned the paddle to green and blew a gym-teacher's whistle. Everyone had a good laugh during a very sad time in Milwaukee Road history.

 

Mitch

[Ken Ford]

Hello Ken!

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. If you get into The Loop we should have lunch at Miller's Pub, the only authorized restaurant for fans that remains downtown.

 

Mitch

You're on! I'll drop you a line.

[Mitch]

You're on! I'll drop you a line.

Looking forward Ken.

 

Mitch

[Mitch]

Happy Holidays kids!

 

After receiving my Kato "N" scale set of Hankyu 9300s from Takarasuka, Japan (via ebay) I set to work thinking of my first poster painting. This is a rough color sketch of what I was thinking of doing.

 

Please be honest, I can take it. Anything from "Great" to "You might as well wrap fish with it" will be fine. Remember this is only a sketch and not the final work.

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by Mitch

[Martijn Meerts]

I like it. I've always liked the more rough sketches style rather than the crazy details, probably why I always like concept art books of movies and games and such :)

[Kabutoni]

Ooh, I like it! Would it be okay to share this with Mr. Kato on his Facebook? I'm sure he'll like it as well :)

[Mitch]

Toni and the folks...As this is only a conceptual and not complete, and I want to make prints for sale I don't want to spread this around just yet. I'm sure you'll understand. I have one more coming up in a few weeks. If everyone is favorable I'll do the full oil painting and publish it.

 

You know I want to save up for a trip to Japan.

 

And then I discovered the Keikyu. Bright red trains that sound like the violin section warming up when the train starts. What's not to love?

 

Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement.

 

Mitch

[cteno4]

Mitch,

 

Excellent! I took love the sketchy nature of it, has a nice retro feel of some poster art in the 50s and 60s in Japan.

 

Maybe mr Kato will like it and invite you to Japan!

 

Jeff

[cteno4]

Mitch,

 

Thinking about this, if you do produce a poster a smaller size might be better for the niche market and potential sales in Japan.

 

Jeff

[serotta1972]

Toni and the folks...As this is only a conceptual and not complete, and I want to make prints for sale I don't want to spread this around just yet. I'm sure you'll understand. I have one more coming up in a few weeks. If everyone is favorable I'll do the full oil painting and publish it.

 

You know I want to save up for a trip to Japan.

 

And then I discovered the Keikyu. Bright red trains that sound like the violin section warming up when the train starts. What's not to love?

 

Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement.

 

Mitch

Hi Mitch,

 

The Kato Keikyu Type 2100 8 Car set is on sale for a great price - here's the link.

 

http://banzaihobby.com/train/kato-electric-car-express-n/limited-edition-keikyu-type-2100-8-car-set

 

And nice sketch by the way. :)

 

-Junior

[Kabutoni]

Ooh! You discovered Keikyū! I think you'll really appreciate this company as well. They're famous for their high-speed operations and fierce competition with both JR East and Tōkyū, sometimes boiling down to pure hatred between the three companies.

 

Keikyū is a remarkable company on which a journey with the 'Green Limited Expres' kaitoku (快特) from Shinagawa to Yokohama (and beyond) is hard to forget. Operations with speeds up to 120kph between densely built up areas is a great experience. Especially when you're able to obtain an observation seat behind the driver!

[splifdfx]

Nice sketch Mitch !
I like the global composition, colours and lighting.
The red line of the train cutting through the greenish scenery is really nice.

 

A few suggestions :
- This might be hard because the trains drive left in Japan, but it might be better if the train actually drove towards the viewer, with the cabin's face visible ; here the train drives "back" ;
- Move the right catenary post more to the right ? It's a bit too much visible here, taking up the viewer's interest although it's unimportant (it just adds realism and perspective with its nice drop shadow on the train) ;
- Add just a bit more space between the sakura branches and the shoreline : the blue of the water will create a contrast line that will separate the red train and the reddish sakura flowers and thus ease the legibility of the composition ;
- 3Dize the monuments in the sky : I see what you want to do with these and I like the idea but perhaps it'd be better to make them not "flat-faced" but seen a bit from the side (a 3/4 view - somehow like the right portion of the temple you've drawn) for more depth in the picture and to "encircle" furthermore the main subject (the train).

I hope I'm understandable !

 

Can't wait to see more of the progress of your picture ! :)

[Mitch]

Mitch,

 

Thinking about this, if you do produce a poster a smaller size might be better for the niche market and potential sales in Japan.

 

Jeff

Jeff,

 

Thanks. That's some of the information I'm looking for.

[Mitch]

Nice sketch Mitch !

I like the global composition, colours and lighting.

The red line of the train cutting through the greenish scenery is really nice.

 

A few suggestions :

- This might be hard because the trains drive left in Japan, but it might be better if the train actually drove towards the viewer, with the cabin's face visible ; here the train drives "back" ;

- Move the right catenary post more to the right ? It's a bit too much visible here, taking up the viewer's interest although it's unimportant (it just adds realism and perspective with its nice drop shadow on the train) ;

- Add just a bit more space between the sakura branches and the shoreline : the blue of the water will create a contrast line that will separate the red train and the reddish sakura flowers and thus ease the legibility of the composition ;

- 3Dize the monuments in the sky : I see what you want to do with these and I like the idea but perhaps it'd be better to make them not "flat-faced" but seen a bit from the side (a 3/4 view - somehow like the right portion of the temple you've drawn) for more depth in the picture and to "encircle" furthermore the main subject (the train).

I hope I'm understandable !

 

Can't wait to see more of the progress of your picture ! :)

Please remember this is only a preliminary, a layout of sorts. I want the train going away from the viewer towards Umeda as this is the morning, I do realize there's plenty of rush hour traffic in both directions but me being me I wanted that direction. I have a tendency to portray trains racing away from the viewer. I was afraid everyone would think I portrayed water in the foreground. That would end up being buildings in the shadows. In the final the flowers would be better rendered.

 

In my subsequent works I'll do some close-ups of drivers, crew and equipment. I appreciate your feedback.

[Mitch]

Ooh! You discovered Keikyū! I think you'll really appreciate this company as well. They're famous for their high-speed operations and fierce competition with both JR East and Tōkyū, sometimes boiling down to pure hatred between the three companies.

 

Keikyū is a remarkable company on which a journey with the 'Green Limited Expres' kaitoku (快特) from Shinagawa to Yokohama (and beyond) is hard to forget. Operations with speeds up to 120kph between densely built up areas is a great experience. Especially when you're able to obtain an observation seat behind the driver!

Wouldn't ya know it. I was going through my studio travel agency, also known as Youtube, and found the Keikyu. There's one front outlook from Yokohama north that was more thrilling than I could have imagined. The acceleration alone, plus the high running speed won me over. I bet there's fierce competition between the companies. That red, silver and cream color got to me.

 

By the way can someone help me a little with Japanese. I'm learning by listening and repeating just like we did when we were kids. Something I often hear in the announcements inside the trains sounds like this, "Aden chuah, mah mah nehku." What does this mean? I can make out a lot of it but this one has me a little stumped.

 

Mitch

Edited November 29, 2016 by Mitch