The Old Depot Gallery
The Finest in Railroad Art by Robert Frascella
About the Artist
Robert (Bob) Frascella has been working exclusively in soft pastel since 1997 focusing mainly on scenes that depict the glory years of American Railroading.
Pastel is pure pigment compressed into solid sticks, which can be applied directly to the media. The artist works mostly on sanded paper (similar to sand paper), which provides sufficient "tooth" to secure the dry pigment to the paper. Pastels can be blended and applied in both a transparent and opaque manner. Pastel is considered permanent and when properly cared for will retain its original colors indefinitely.
Bob is self-taught and has not had any formal art instruction. His painting of "Old No. 8" was featured on the July/August 2004 cover of
The Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette, nationally circulated railroad theme periodical. His painting "Wildwood P-RSL Perfection" appeared on the cover of the Summer 2013 edition of The Keystone, the official of the publication of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
Bob accepts commissions and offers his current works for sale. In addition to originals, he also offers Giclee prints of his work on high quality, heavy weight paper suitable for framing. All of his works are produced upon professional and museum grade acid-free papers and are considered archival.
Bob draws much of his inspiration from the noted railroad artist, Howard Fogg. Howard’s objective was to make the railroad fit the scene without overpowering it. Bob subscribes to the same philosophy and believes that the scene should also tell a story.