Industrial Paintings
It is getting more difficult to find gritty industrial sites. They are still around but getting on to the property is another matter. Everyone is so worried I'll fall into a big open furnace of 2000° molten metal. Worrywarts. So mostly I settle for painting interiors from source photos taken a few years ago. The giant Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock is the easiest working steel mill to see and paint en plein air. It is situated in a valley near the Monongahela River with nearby hills that provide great vistas that overlook the sprawling steel complex.
One of my new paintings is Moving Steel. It was done from a photo taken at a nearby factory that makes railway components. The ladle was full of molten steel right before it was poured into molds. In this painting I wanted to show the extreme contrast of the heat against the dark environment. The dust and smoke obliterate the background making for a poetic moment in a rather harsh place.
Atmospheric Mill
53 x 47
Dump Truck
30 x 40
Moving Steel
36 x 36
Forging the Steel
44 x 30
Snow Trucks
30 x 40
Steel Glow
48 x 60
Molten Metal
30 x 48
Morning Break
36 x 60
Weirton Works
30 x 50
Tapping a Heat
18 x 24
SteveYoung
9 x 12
White Hot Steel
30 x 40
Weirton Works
30 x 50
Vertical Pour
24 x 18
Strip Unloading
9 x 12