Planes, Trains, & Fire Trucks
Character-capturing caricatures
I like to draw airplanes; my favorites are the old ones. Jet engines are useful, but airplanes just had more character in the days of propellers. I also love art and history.
When I do a new airplane design, I research the aircraft type and in some cases that particular aircraft, to discover its history. I look for a pose that really brings out the character of the airplane. I sketch it by hand (the planes I really love were all designed and built by hand, after all) but I do scan it into the computer to add color and shading. I caricature the aircraft not to make it funny but to show its personality. I try to draw each aircraft as a fond pilot would see it in his mind's eye.
With my family background in the aerospace industry, I have spent my life learning about the aircraft of the world, and I've been caricaturing airplanes for over 30 years. I can usually meet any challenge of my knowledge, and challenge right back!
Look in my on-line shop for designs that are already on mugs, t-shirts, desk clocks, or other items. I hope to expand into things like caps, clipboards, and aviator scarves; contact me if there's some other item you'd like a design on. Also, if your favorite airplane isn't here, or you want it from a different angle, or it needs to be flying over the Azores, I can help you. Maybe you want some commemorative mugs with the markings for your squadron's reunion; or a matching mug, t-shirt, and poster showing a retiring pilot's face in the Red Baron's airplane. Or maybe you need a design on some promotional stuff to publicize the airplane you are restoring. Prices for new or modified designs vary greatly, based on complexity, research time, and whether you also are buying mugs, t-shirts, or other items with that design. Call me at (303) 795-5369 or email me at designs@albiondesigncentre.com for a quote.
Trains
I am afraid I don't have the same deep love for trains as for airplanes, and besides, they (literally) have more bells and whistles, so they're harder to draw. But since I have several friends quite passionate about trains, I have been known to sketch a train or two. If you simply must have a train drawing, we can talk.
Fire trucks
I had a booth at the 2009 Littleton Fire Truck Parade and Muster, which was great fun for my little boys, who got to ride on a fire truck, spray water from fire hoses, and see an Air Life helicopter land in a simulated rescue. Having heard about the muster through the Ralph Schomp dealership, which sponsored the event, I caricatured one of the Ralph Schomp fire trucks, and the fire truck displayed in the City of Littleton building, and put the designs on t-shirts for the event. Response was very good, and I plan on being back for the 2010 parade and muster. See my on-line shop to buy t-shirts in the two designs I've done, read their full story below, and check back during the year to see what further fire truck designs I come up with.
This picture shows the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center back when it actually was the town hall, with a fire house and a jail. The building was built in 1927, and became the performing arts center in 1982 (you can see current photos at the arts center website.) The city’s fire truck was kept on the main floor, and what is now the scene shop was a jail in the basement. As you can see, fire trucks were then small enough to fit through those archways.
The truck in the picture above is probably the same Federal chemical truck that in my caricature is parked in front of the old Town Hall. The truck was called a chemical truck because the big brass tank carried water and the other tanks carried bicarbonate of soda to pressurize the water. Pressurization allowed the water to shoot a long way, which was important for the protection of several mills and other tall buildings that were around then. You can imagine the pressure needed when you look at one tall building that still exists as a local landmark just down the street from my shop: the Old Mill at 5798 Rapp Street, now a restaurant. The truck’s engine is started with a crank, and it has a dual-chain drive, just like a bicycle.
These days, the chemical truck is usually parked in the show window at the City of Littleton building at 2255 W. Berry. It was rebuilt in 2003 in a complete restoration where the frame was taken off and the paint stripped, but it has the original solid rubber tires. The new paint was baked on with a powder coat process so it should never need to be painted again. The wheel spokes were originally painted white, but are left unpainted now because it was such beautiful oak woodwork under the paint. Other woodwork for the restoration was done by local resident Wayne Sheffield.
The Ralph Schomp fire truck (caricatured as "’41 Chevy") came from Franklin, Minnesota, and only has about 2000 miles on it. It is shown in the design in front of an old fire house. The Ralph Schomp company bought it on eBay a few years ago, looking specifically for a 1941 truck because 1941 was the year Ralph Schomp founded his dealerships. It gets driven in local parades such as Western Welcome Week and the Fallen Firefighters Memorial. It is too old to be something children can actually climb on, but it is displayed as much as possible, for people to see and enjoy.