Sunday, January 1, 2012
John Austin's steam railway paintings
Another recent book by a railway artist is this recent collection of 100 plus paintings by John Austin (born in 1949). The subject of this one is strictly Britain's former steam railways, which were magnificent, and so are these paintings. You can see why he has won the Guild of Railway Artist’s “Picture of the Year” award in 16 out of the 17 years since the award was launched in 1993. His style will appeal to those who prefer sharp relief to soft impressionism.
Like John Chapman, he includes a relevent autobiography and it is the period of his formative years that he chooses most for his representations. Drama is the keyword - the title is pretty accurate - but there is a lot of technical detail too, which isn't fully appreciated in book pages of 30 cm wide: you wish instead they were full size reproductions. Still this is an absorbing collection, well worth getting. 112 pages, 27 x 30 cm, hardcovered with jacket.
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