J. Craig Thorpe Leads Rail Artist Workshop

J. Craig Thorpe with his painting of Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 No. 557, which help raise funds to restore the locomotive.

Noted railroad painter and illustrator J. Craig Thorpe will lead a three-day artists’ workshop at the Station Inn, Cresson, Pa., August 23-25.

Thorpe , the event’s artist in residence, “will bring a career’s worth of experience painting for Amtrak, General Electric, museums, tourist railroads and private commissions,” the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society said. “Among his recent Pennsylvania-based paintings are scenes showing Reading & Northern Railroad’s 4-8-4 No. 2102, East Broad Top Railroad’s narrow-gauge 2-8-2 No. 16, and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum’s PCC Car No. 1713 wearing its 1970s-era Pittsburgh Steelers scheme. Thorpe will guide artists through exercises and demonstrations, coaching them to experiment with and refine their skills at interpreting the railroad scene by honing technical skills.”

Open to artists of all levels, the event, R&LHS said, “is designed to blend working experiences with insightful discussions. Participants will visit nearby attractions such as the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona and the Everett Railroad in Hollidaysburg to select indoor or outdoor subjects. These outings are designed to capitalize on the region’s rich cultural and industrial heritage.”

Thorpe, who grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and now resides in the Seattle area, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in industrial design. His interest in railroading, R&LHS noted, “stems from formative days spent with his grandfather riding trolleys and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad commuter trains, as well as from his association with the East Broad Top Railroad as a promoter, artist and informal docent. His 206-page book Railroads, Art and American Life, published by Indiana University Press in 2023, is an autobiographical review of his approach to painting the past, the present and the possible. During the weekend, he will discuss those themes and encourage artists to develop their own style.”

“Artists should bring materials that they are comfortable using—pastels, colored pencils, ink, graphite, watercolor, oils—it’s up to them,” said Thorpe. “I want to use the drawing times to help students do sketches—walk around, comment on and help people in their actual production of drawings or a refined painting,” offering guidance on composition, form and lighting aspects. Discussion sessions will center on “where the guests are in their own development of railroad art, what are their points of focus, and what do they want to do that they don’t know how to do.”

The Station Inn, a railfan bed & breakfast founded by Tom Davis in 1993, is located at 827 Front St., Cresson, Pa., with its front porch facing the former Pennsylvania Railroad, now Norfolk Southern, main line. Owners Alex and Leah Lang purchased the Inn in 2022 and started an artist-in-residence program in 2023. Group meetings during the artists’ weekend will be held in the Inn’s Yard Office Lounge event space. Accommodations range from private rooms to dorm-style quarters. Individual private-room packages start at $600, dorm-style quarters at $450. Local artists who commute from their homes can register for $275. Packages include workshop fees, all admission fees, Friday dinner, Saturday and Sunday breakfas, and Sunday lunch.

For further information or to register, see August 23-25: Artist Workshop Weekend with J. Craig Thorpe – The Station Inn or contact the Station Inn at  814-886-4757.