My Dad wanted a Christmas card based on the Ogerita trolley car I just finished. So, I Christmased-up the trolley for him. The card’s here on my Zazzle store, in case anyone else would like one.
Tag: kansas city
Ogerita
Here’s something completely different.
This is the Ogerita, a gas electric trolley car that ran on the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway, known as the Strang Line, from 1906-1908. The railroad was owned by William B. Strang Jr., a land developer in Johnson County, KS. The car was named after his niece.
This image was created in Adobe Illustrator using historic black and white photos as references. (Thank you to the Overland Park Historical Society for those reference images.) Period news clippings mention at the railroad painted their trolleys vermilion, so that’s the color I used. I also consulted David Holland, an amateur railroad historian and my father, for additional references and explanations of how it all looked. (Thanks, Dad. I finally drew a train car like you’ve been wanting me to do for years.)
A print can be purchased here.
Edit: I had previously stated the car was named after his wife. It was actually named after his niece.
“Hey, Kansas City” Art Show
Friday I took pictures of the “Hey, Kansas City” art show at Paper Birch Landing. I think I got the whole exhibit here, but please forgive me if I missed one or two. Cell phone camera shots, so sorry for the quality. The show runs until the end of the month. Go to my previous post for more information on that. Of course, all these images are copyrighted by the artists who created them. I think just about everything here’s for sale. So, contact the gallery if you’re interested in purchasing.
Art Show Reception Tonight
Tonight I’ll be attending the opening night reception at Paper Birch Landing. The night opens the “Hey, Kansas City” show that I helped judge last month. The reception is from 6 to 10pm and there will be wine, art, food, music and poetry. The show runs all month. I’ll also be at the “Artists Speak” event next Thursday (August 18th) from 6 to 8pm.
The gallery is at 3740 Broadway Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64111. It’s south of the Uptown Theater behind Woody’s. Normal business hours are Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm.
Happy City Illustration
This is an illustration of several happy skyscrapers from the Kansas City skyline. It’s an illustration for the August issue of 435 Magazine. The buildings are cartoon versions of real buildings downtown. If you’re on the Liberty Memorial hill looking towards Union Station, you can see this view over Union Station’s roof. I needed tall, skinny towers grouped tightly together, which is why I chose this group of buildings. 
Plaza Art Fair Illustration
Here’s a spot illustration I did for the August issue of 435 Magazine. It goes with an article about an art fair at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. The image in the frame is one of the iconic plaza buildings. 
Actually, I made two versions of this image. The one that they ran (above) was a version of this larger image (below).
Here’s the tear sheet:
Sly James Illustration
Here’s an illustration of Kansas City Mayor Sly James that I did for the August issue of 435 Magazine.
Karen B. Jones - Illustrator 