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A poster type photo, showing steam in the 30’s when engines were colourful and bright and carried with them an aurora of speed and might, which I have tried to portray through the direction of steam, air streaks and showing off the engines mighty chest

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More shading work, a steam engine stands in the yard awaiting the road ahead. I tried to capture as much detail on the engine in this image as much as possible. Fine lines and sharp edges to maximise definition.

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Grown out of the Thomas phase and the reality of steam became more ever present in my life. John Austin, a popular railway illustrator from the north, single handedly made me fall in love with art itself. One day I strolled past an art exhibition and in it was one of johns most famous pieces, steam at snow hill. Before then, I had always questioned how people were moved and touched by art. How just a painting would be so emotional. I gazed upon the piece before me and I nearly began to cry. My childhood dream all rapped into one painting, everything I adored, awed and was inspired by was sat in front of me. I was in awe of how a man with a paint brush could portray the sound speed and power of a steam train on a sheet of canvas. It felt like the train was really moving in the piece and everything it symbolised was alive. This piece changed my perspective on art, and john’s art has always made me strive to capture the feeling and emotion of what I’m drawing in my work

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I have two true railway artist inspirations that help me find my own style and that inspired me to draw in the first place. Edmund Ward was the first illustrator in the Thomas the tank books. I was read these as a child and his clever use of facial expressions, the beautiful Colours, and how the scene told a story in itself fascinated me. I had a book of all his work when I was younger, and I took it everywhere I went. It made steam trains, which are a big, heavy, dirty machine, into friendly, characteristic living things. He personified how much steam trains are just like humans, and his art really just made me smile.

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I produced this after my Warwick piece. I tried to blend in the surroundings, give the scene a backdrop and try to represent the beauty I find in a steam engine and the beautiful places it can take you.

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Drawn in lockdown in Ireland, this was drawn out of my want to be back in my birthplace of Warwick. My grandfather used to sit me on the wall in one of the villages outside the town and watch the trains go by. I’m disappointed in my mix up of angles in this illustration, and this was before I had taught myself depth and blending

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A typical signal gantry like the one in the signal box illustration. A 2D take, trying to capture its detail.

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From a place I visited as a young child, Bodmin is a picturesque area of cornwall known for beaches, fishing towns and steam trains. Here is the signal box at the station, where everything that happens on the railway goes through. I tried my best at shading, trying to portray a quiet still scene.

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Early attempt of my Thomas art which didn’t sit right. The curvature of the boiler showing my faults

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A pre-developed sketch

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Trying to capture moving wheels in motion is something I have always struggled to attempt, in detailed and cartoon form. This is my best sketch

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Detail sketching

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Attempts at shading, something I would love to master

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Thomas the tank started my railway journey, and this photo was aiming to try to portray what I saw through awe filled eyes when I was younger. Speeding wheels and motion, a big happy face on the front. So friendly, yet so powerful

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An engineering drawing lacking the depth, detail and meticulous and thought out parts involved in the production of a steam engine

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I’m fascinated by the detail and perfection found within engineering drawings. Every measurement key to fitting each part of the jigsaw. This is a finished piece after many attempts. I found improvement in my ability go deeper, expand what the eye can’t see and define it with a sharp drawing