OK, I'm a sucker for one particular Groudle Glen Railway engine. When I saw this painting of the best steam engine in the world on eBay, I managed to resist, for a couple of weeks. Week three, and £25 later, it was mine.
The watercolour may be slightly "naive", as the art world might say, but there is a lot right about it. The proportions of the loco, and the perspective for a start. Distorted round parts are a mark of the less-than-able artist painting or drawing a steam engine. OK, hiding the wheels helps, but I don't think artist John Beckett has done a bad job. At least the rivet counters will have fun with the bufferbeam! I'm pretty sure the scene is near Lime Kiln Halt too, where a track comes down off the hillside.
I can't find anything about Mr Beckett online, so I'm guessing he's a talented amateur rather than an important, named artist. To me, this doesn't matter if I like what he has produced, and I do.
At 42cm x 34cm, and very nicely framed (the price is worth it for the frame alone), should I ever own somewhere suitable to hang it, at least finding wall space won't be too much of an issue.
2 comments:
Did the size of the domes change at some point?
Not as far as I know, although I don't think the current one is original as it wasn't on the loco when displayed at Kirk Michael and later in the Midlands. Sea Lion and Polar Bear's domes have always looked different to me, as does Brown Bears.
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