Trainman Graphics - About Me
Welcome to Trainman Graphics. This site is dedicated to all who want to see my work, to those fellow artists trying to make it in the art world. Probably most importantly, to the real trainmen and women who spend their lives running the trains which has inspired me to pursue my talent. It is in their debt that I will forever be for giving me the chance to make my dreams come true now and in the future.
To them I say thank you. And lastly, to my mom who's love supported me and encouraged me in all those art contests. A most special thanks to my father, now deceased, who carried me to see the trains, near and far. And for the times and places he took me in stories about a time long past when steam locomotives ruled the rails, something I know will never have the chance to sit on his lap and hear again. It is in his memory and with love I continue these pursuits. Thanks Daddy.
Hi, my name is Taylor Edwards, I am from Morehead City, NC. I live on the coast of NC, on the South Atlantic Ocean. The open ocean is less than a mile from my home. From this I get my love for maritime art and intrigue of the legends told of this area when pirates and privateers commanded the waters and surrounding islands. Sometimes at sunset or on a blustery January day I believe the ghost of those ships and men can still be seen if one opens their minds and hearts to the ever changing tide. It is this feeling I try to convey in my work.
My father was from Clarkton, NC, in the southeastern part of the state. Probably nothing is known of this small town to those not familiar with it. Those passing through from Raleigh heading towards Myrtle Beach might have been there, as well as those traveling up from South Port to Lumberton and Charlotte. They do have a Tobacco Festival in the fall, and grow some of the best peanuts to be found anywhere.
However, this small town of about 500, does have the distinction of being on the straightest railroad line in the United States. As well as one of the top three in the world, for the line that runs through the middle of the town and in front of my grandmother's house. It is situated about halfway between the historic town of Wilmington, NC and the main CSX Transportation Classification and interchange point of Hamlet, NC.
Growing up, many summer nights were spent in that house on South Railroad Street waiting for the sound of an approaching train. Every sound was listened too more closely than sonar on a submarine in wartime, because it could be the early warning of an incoming train. Once that air horn was verified by my brain off I went running... leaving the supper table more than once heading toward the front door or side door, whichever was closer to be at the ready to see the trains as they slammed through town without even slowing down. There was not much time to get by a window at night to see them go through, and more than once did I sleep on the couch by the front window in the living room so when a whistle was heard my sleepy young eyes would be fully open. At the ready to see locomotives roaring by, the noise deafening and the sparks from the wheel's fireworks on the ground, the smell of diesel fuel encompassing the house. And last but not least the shaking, shaking of the ground outside and the house, rattling... rattling of the plates in the hutch and everything not bolted to the floor or heavy enough to take the pounding. The trains seemed to go on forever, longer by far than the town they were passing. I wondered there where all those cars were going, about what they carried, and where they have been. In my half slumber I wonder if some of the memories I have of those warm nights were only dreams I had later in the night. It really did not matter if they were or not because when you are 5 or 6, the world is a lot different than it is once we leave those easier, dreamlike times. This was the late 1970's and early 80's, before anyone outside the government had heard of the Internet and email, or JPEG’s and bitmaps. We had video games, Atari 2600and PacMan a few years later, but at the time adventure was sought firsthand, and being a kid with a love for trains, it was a great time to be me.
Seaboard Station at Clarkton, North Carolina in the early 1970's.
I since left that era. Just like everyone and like the seasons I have changed as well. My Grandmother passed away in December of 1978, and being only 5 when she died I remember a few things about her, like when my sisters and I would want to play upstairs in her house, she would get mad at my dad if he told us to stop. My Dad told me, years later, she said that she didn't get a chance to see us too often, so when they were there they could play on the stairs, as long as we did not break anything.
I went on to finish High School in June of 1991, from there I left Tobacco Road for service in the US ARMY. After getting a medical discharge due to a reoccurrence of Asthma as well as a stress fracture on my left leg... I returned the day after Thanksgiving of that same year to pursue my love of art. I attended college at Pitt Community College after working several years in a printing company learning the ropes. In May of 1997, I graduated with a degree in Commercial Art and Graphic Design, and now presently pursuing my career in graphics and artwork specializing in the field of transportation art.
So things come full circle. I have followed my lifelong love of trains, so deeply rooted in family history. Now I want to share that love with others, and someday be able to support myself and my family doing what I love best. No, I will probably never be rich or famous, my work never appearing in TIME or published in book form... hung on the walls of the Guhgenhiem. But that is ok, for the lifetime pursuit on one's dream, and achieving it, staying true to yourself and not putting a price on your name, to me at least is more valuable, more priceless. And to have the ability to create those feelings for others through my artwork, to be able to share those feelings I had as a child, the excitement and innocent fun, the warmth of family... is the greatest gift of all.
Check out these web sites!
The National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame, Inc.
The Trainman's Lament
Please do not use any images on this web site without permission.
Copyright 1999, Daniel T. Edwards
If you have any questions, comments about the web site, or find any broken links, please email the webmaster.
