MASTER PAINTER OF RAILWAYS

WILLIAM G. HOBBS

Canada's Favourite Train Artist 

1927 - 2012 His art lives on ! 

How will history remember Hobbs? In his words "I love to paint, if you love to paint, you cannot be kept down...you must paint"


KILLARNEY

This painting depicts a typical Canadian Railway Station scene with the train coming down the rails to pick up the grain from the elevators on a beautiful summer day.  

     Morden, Manitoba

     William Hobbs is Canada's most famous train artist.  The demand for his paintings was so great, Hobbs was painting nearly every waking moment.  It took months to create one single painting.  Hobbs studied art in England, Canada, and the U.S. for many years.  Each painting was carefully planned and researched with extreme enthusiasm.  He painted in layers of paint like the old masters. You won't mistake his snow for cotton candy.  It takes a long time to paint snow.  Hobbs was obsessed with painting snow and did much of it with a brush with one hair taking the canvas outside and into many different lights to try to get right.   You have to see snow for years to understand it.   Some paintings even have a little gravel from the real location on the canvas and in the right light, you'll be taken back in time to the wonderful era of trains.  He always hoped you'd enjoy this website with a cup of coffee and time to relax and enjoy the journey into his art where you catch a train and go into the station. 


Teacher's Lesson on Historical Significance of the Railway featuring Hobbs' paintings may be found in 

Courage and Conquest: Discovering Canadian History 7th Edition – Northwoods Press (donnaward.ca) 

Courage and Conquest: Discovering Canadian History 7th Ed (learninghouse.ca) 

 "I must save the history of this wonderful place.  When I stepped off the train in 1959, I had never seen open spaces like the prairies where trains define the landscape.  The light forced me to paint.  I had to capture it.  I had to preserve it.  You have to live here 20 years to understand it.  I only know after nearly 50 years on the prairies. I have almost captured the storms, the light, the skies, and the snow.   Trains and painting are my life.  I must paint all the stations west of the Hudson Bay or the history will be lost."  William Hobbs 

Railfan & Railroad February 2021 | White River Productions

 Railfan.com or phone 877-787-2467 to get the new issue mailed to you.  I think you will enjoy it and really learn a lot too!  Read the captions under the paintings too; they are VERY interesting. You can also email the magazine to get a copy: orders@whiteriverproductions.com

Canada's Favorite Artist William G. Hobbs

IF YOU EVER ORDERED A PRINT FOR YOURSELF OR A LOVED ONE --READ THIS -- AN ENTIRE ISSUE OF AN AMERICAN  MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO CANADIAN TRAINS -- ONLY ONE ARTIST IS FEATURED -- WILLIAM G. HOBBS --ANY CANADIANS INTERESTED IN TRAINS AND HOW "WINTERS MAY BE COLD AND UNFORGIVING, RAILROADERS THRIVE"  WILL LOVE THIS ISSUE 

Railfan & Railroad February 2021 | White River Productions -- SEE NEW ARTICLE BELOW you can order just this issue to add to your Hobbs collection.  It's a beautiful magazine devoted to Canada Railways.  Go to :

Railfan & Railroad February 2021 | White River Productions

 Railfan.com or phone 877-787-2467 to get the new issue mailed to you.  I think you will enjoy it and really learn a lot too!  Read the captions under the paintings too they are VERY interesting. You can also email the magazine to get a copy: orders@whiteriverproductions.com

Yes, you can get an online version but the printed is really nice, 

just ask them to send you February 2021.  Hurry before they sell out and they will mail it to Canada. 

http://railfan.com/this-month/

Hobbs Most Recent Press -- Please consider purchasing this issue to add to your Hobbs art collection.  The magazine ships to Canada or perhaps you would enjoy a subscription to enjoy year round railway stories!  The feel of a magazine with such high quality paper and beautiful  pictures is so much more meaningful than the internet version.  You will enjoy a bedtime story with no annoying internet distractions and no power supply or bright lights to keep you awake.  Or if you prefer the internet version that is available too.  Sometime travel is fun, but there is no plane that transports you back in time like a great story.  Sounds like the perfect end to a day to relax and kick your feet up!