original painting by Brooke Harker.
As a child I remember dangling from my father’s arm in the hobby shops as he had lengthy conversations about trains. I would tug at this hand with the thought that he would move and we could carry on with our day. His fascination with trains and passion for photographing them wove through my memories as a child. I remember him pulling the truck to the side of the road on countless occasions so he could take photo after photo of trains. I attended shows with him where he sold his train photos and other models he had collected over the years. I didn’t understand then what he was doing…I just felt annoyed to have to wait for him. I didn’t understand the fascination with trains, but I did appreciate that he cared about something so much. He found joy and appreciation in something most of the world overlooked or saw in an ordinary way. As an adult, long after I realized that my father’s love of photography had supplied me with cameras my whole life, I got curious about looking at his train photos again. I wanted to make a few sketches for him as gifts. In this process, I found myself blown away by the compositions he captured. I spent hours with him looking at thousands and thousands of photos. I knew then that in addition to cameras, exposure to my father’s eye for perspective and composition had seeped into how I looked for composition when capturing cityscapes to paint. I am blessed to have such an amazing father. This painting was a birthday and Christmas present to him over a couple of years since I took that long to finish the painting after I first showed him the beginnings. My tardiness with gifts always makes him laugh.
Brooke Harker
