Empire State Express Art:Orig:NR:OC:Famous Train Start Price USD 6,000.00 Current Price USD 6,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 10,000.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, August 15, 2008 End Time Monday, August 25, 2008 Location Nicholasville, KY See more about 'Empire State Express Art:Orig:NR:OC:Famous Train' Description 'Empire State Express" size 30 x 48 Painting is better than these pictures make it look. The Empire State Express was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the modern New York Central Railroad). It became the world's first high-speed passenger train on September 14, 1891, when it covered the 436 miles (702 kilometers) between New York City and Buffalo in just 7 hours and 6 minutes (including stops). The train averaged 61.4 miles-per-hour (98.8 km/h), a new world speed record in rail travel, with an officially-recorded top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h), though observers claimed to have clocked the train at 112 mph, or 180 km/h.[1][2]In short order, the train would gain worldwide celebrity, and its route would later stretch to 620 miles (998 kilometers), with Cleveland, Ohio as its western terminus. In addition to its other notable accomplishments, the Empire State was the first passenger train to maintain a regular schedule speed of over 52 mph (84 km/h), and the first to make runs of 142.88 miles (230 km) between stops (between New York City and Albany: the longest scheduled nonstop run ever attempted).December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated a new, all-stainless-steel streamlined (Budd) train, powered by a streamlined J-3a Hudson (4-6-4) steam locomotive. Passengers on the inaugural run were very surprised at the low turnout at trackside en route, before they learned later that same day that Pearl Harbor had just been bombed by the Japanese. I have always sold through galleries and privately, my original works sell between $3000 -$20,000. This Work of art is valued between $5000.00 - $8000.00. The frame is worth over $500.00. -Van Cordle I consider myself to be a natural surrealist and although my paintings may at first bring to mind such terms as "photo-realism" or "super-realism", but they are in fact, quite painterly. Although they have been tightly rendered to give the illusion of reality, they are unlike the photo-replicative paintings of most photo-realists. When and if I take photographs, I use them as sketches to be used and surpassed, not as goals to be reached. I am inspired by the simplicity and nostalgia of old neon signs. When I discover one that gives me an idea or has what I’m looking for in a painting, I photograph it from different viewpoints, do study sketches to determine angle and composition, and then draw it out on the size canvas that particular image calls for. I'll start painting basic values and hues until the entire canvas is covered. Next, I come in with thick paint using brushwork to sculpt and mix color. I always have the effects of light hitting the canvas in mind and to create depth and atmosphere, I use glazes of various thickness and color on top of thicker paint. Glazes create an atmosphere where solid pigments of color are suspended in space. As light passes through and bounces off the thicker paint on the bottom, it also bounces off the suspended pigments, illuminating the glaze, and allowing you to see the color underneath. I use thicker more opaque paint on things that are closer to the viewer. Light stops or bounces off the thick paint but goes through the glazes surrounding the object. This creates a kind of 3-d effect that can be heightened by use of perspective and color. Even objects close to the viewer have varying degrees of depth and thickness of paint. The time when ordinances were such that sign makers had more creative license has long since passed. Many of these great old signs which are an art form in and of themselves have disappeared and are disappearing every day. My paintings are a way of preserving a part of history in an artistic, exciting, and contemporary way. They are an avenue by witch I can experiment and continue to grow as an artist. Each painting evolves as new and different from the one before. The neon series has been featured and shown in over 40 galleries, exhibitions, and juried art shows since 1987. My work has received the attention of the news media as the subject of articles and special features, Works hang in private and corporate collections across the country. Temporary site showing more of my work: http://www.freewebs.com/vancordle Go here for Prints and more Artwork:   http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/van-cordle.html http://www.redbubble.com/people/van1021 http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?artid=43215 http://www.deviantart.com/#order=9&q=Van+Cordle   Place a Bid!