66 August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com
RandallSexton:I grewupontheEastCoast,so
I’dtakentrainsfromcityto city,likeBostonto
NewYork,butI’dneverbeenona sleepertrain
before.It’sanawesomeexperienceto betraveling
withpeoplefromalldifferentwalksof life,
feelinga littlebitlikeyou’reinanaquarium,with
theworldoutsidegoingby.I lovedspendingtime
withtheseotheramazingartists,andas a first-
timerinmanyof thesetowns,I sawthemwitha
freshperspective.InLaJunta,weweregreetedby
a welcomingpartythatincludedthemayor,who
wasarmedwithgoodiebagsforallof us.I think
wewereallsurprisedbyhow warm and fuzzy the
receptionmadeusfeel.
ShelbyKeefe:Dependingonthetimeof dayand
whatroutewewereon,therewerea lotof people
usingtherails,includingquitea fewlocals,espe-
ciallyonthesectionsfromLaJuntaandRatonto
Lamy.It feltlikea friendly—andverypractical
—wayto movefromonecityto anotherwithout
traffic.If youdon’thave a lot of money, you just
getonthetrain.
AimeeErickson:Myfavoritepartwasjustthe
visualsof it.A trainis unlikeanyothertravel
experience.It’snotlikebeingonanairplane
becauseyoucangetupandwalkaround.And
thewindowsareenormous.You’rejustabove
theground,soyouhavethesebeautifulviews
of landscapesyouwouldn’totherwisebeableto
access.I’vecrossedthecountrya coupleof times
bycaranda coupleof timesbybicycle,and
beingona trainis sodifferent—justthetempo
of it.Seeingthepassingscenery,youreallygeta
senseof thescaleof thecountry,thescaleof the
landscape.Youhavethis constant flow of ideas
forcompositions.
Keefe:Havingthisexperiencegavemea wide-
openideaof what’spossible.Andbeingableto get
onandoffthetrainto paintwassofun.Thetrain
woulddropusoffin theevening,wewouldspend
thenightin a motel,andthen,afterpaintingall
day,wewouldgetbackonthetrain.It allfelt
reallyseamless.Andit’sanamazingthingfor
anartistto do.LikeAimeesaid,thevisualsare
incredible—lotsof decrepitudethatweartists
loveto paint.Infact,thatbecameourlittlesignal;
whenwesawinterestingrun-downsubjects,we’d
yell“Decrepitude!”Andthatwasthecueforall
of usto getourcamerasoutandtakepictures.
Wealsotooka lotof movies,andwe’rehoping
to makea video documenting our experience at
some point.
Jason Sacran painting in Las Vegas, New MexicoShelby Keefe and Randall Sexton in Winslow, Arizona