Stephen Shoemaker: The Paintings and Their Stories

North Carolina artist Stephen Shoemaker and writer Janet Pittard have teamed up to present a selection of Shoemaker's paintings and drawings and the stories behind them. Known for his dramatic railroad paintings and scenes of life in the Blue Ridge mountains, Shoemaker shares the thought processes involved in creating his artwork, reveals his sources of inspiration (which often include events in local history or personal experiences) and points out clues and symbols appearing in his art. Together with 48 images, several of which were created especially for this publication, and occasional short poems by Pittard, the lively storytelling sheds light on an artist's development as well as the unique culture and history of the mountain region served by the train called the Virginia Creeper, which ran from Abingdon, Virginia, to Elkland, North Carolina (now Todd), from the early 1900s through the mid-1970s.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Cut at Devil’s Stairs deletefront cover Milepost from Cut at Devil’s Stairs Acknowledgments “To Be a Train” Preface The Virginia Creeper Series The Virginia Creeper’s Route Virginia Creeper Derailing the Virginia Creeper Lost and Found Tracks and Tricycles Backstreet Station Water, Water, Everywhere Pine Medley and Harry Lee Miller Potbellied Stove Another Satisfied Customer Another Satisfied Customer Buddy Blackburn and the Goat Wagon Free Enterprise Snap Till You Drop, Another Buddy Blackburn Story Snap Till You Drop The Carnival on the Old Ball Diamond The Old Ball Diamond Snow Days at Barr Hill Snow Days at Barr Hill Whose God Is Their Belly Lilly Dell Walker Shoemaker (1872–1966) Pappy’s Garden J.C. Brown Marjorie Brown Apple Tree Pappy and Me The Future Holds the Past Pappy and Me “The Future Holds the Past” My Favorite Christmas Christmas Memory Summer Days War on Wilton Avenue Elkland Station—Todd Elkland Station—Todd In Range A Life and Death Situation The Last Ham Biscuit The Last Ham Biscuit Virginia Creeper at Lansing Riding the Ties Virginia Creeper at Stikes Hollar New River Landing New River Landing The Ride of My Life The Ride of My Life, Another Buddy Blackburn Story Band Practice Band Practice The Flying Maestro (Becky Burgess) Gert’s What Might Have Been The Diner from Gert’s My First Car “The Ticket Window” The Ticket Window “Crossings” Virginia Creeper Crossing Sign 503rd MP The Boy Who Got What He Asked For Cooper Farm at Brownwood Remnants of the Past Barn on Railroad Grade Road “A Barn on Railroad Grade Road” Big Horse Creek at Ripshin Big Horse Creek at Ripshin Skull from Big Horse Creek at Ripshin “Secrets” Dog Creek Mill Dog Creek Mill Bread of Angels Bread of Angels Cut at Devil’s Stairs (mural) Cut at Devil’s Stairs Cut at Devil’s Stairs (painting) Halfway Rock “Halfway Rock” New River Crossing Taking in the Scene Tuckerdale Church Imagine This Barlow Knife The New Beginning The Long Goodbye Feathered Friends From the Artist: Stephen Shoemaker From the Writer: Janet Pittard Margie’s Tree Index

About the Author :
Stephen Shoemaker is an artist from West Jefferson, North Carolina, and a co-owner and designer for the Appalachian Mint, LLC. His studio is in downtown West Jefferson. Janet Pittard began her writing career after retiring from the North Carolina Governor’s Office with thirty years of service. She is the author of two books and more than 100 articles for Our State Magazine. She lives in Raleigh and West Jefferson, North Carolina.

Review :
“Shoemaker and Janet Pittard capture the flavor of the trains and small town, Blue Ridge Mountain life on a fare more personal level… Collectively, the paintings and tales that go along with them make the reader feel as if he or she were a classmate of Shoemaker growing up in West Jefferson… While old timetables tell enthusiasts when the trains ran and railway history books trace the significant events in a given rail line’s service line, it is books like this that fill in all the interesting and colorful details.”—The Michigan Railfan