Featuring the artwork of D. Tom Conboy

Rural Rails Crossing is a collection of my thoughts about the experience of painting rural and railroad scenes. Watercolor is my medium of choice, and my painting style is impressionistic. I am not trying to render a photographic image of the place, but to capture the "mood" of the location.




© 2012 T&J Creative Works (All Rights Reserved)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Treloar Elevator

The town of Treloar, Missouri is located along the Katy Trail. The Katy Trail was once the rail corridor for the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad. The Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad was also known as the 'MKT' or simply the 'Katy.'

Treloar features several old structures that really have a lot of character. I took a photo of a group of old grain elevators while I was biking through the area back in 2004. I also discovered a 1962 photo of the railroad depot in Treloar. You could also see a boxcar sitting next to one of the elevators in that 1962 photo.

The depot and the tracks are long gone, but as of 2004 the elevators remained. I have not visited Treloar in a few years, but recent photos of the elevator complex show several of the support structures that were present in 2004 are now missing today. I am glad I was able to photograph the area before these structures were removed.

The painting above was completed from the photo I had taken back in 2004. I originally was going to include the entire complex in the painting, but I did not find a suitable composition. I decided to focus the painting on the main elevator which displayed the sign, "Marthasville Feed & Supply Co." Overall, I like the painting, but I am still not fully satisfied with its composition. I will probably go back to Treloar and paint the elevators on location, although it will not include those original structures that gave the elevator complex its character.

D. Tom Conboy

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