About John

JOHN COKER — A LIFETIME OF RAILROADING & ART

I began work as a brakeman and fireman for the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in 1973. In 1981 I went to work for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and was promoted to engineer in 1986. During the long winter layoffs I developed my artistic talents.I have taken several art classes but am predominately self-taught. I became a full-time artist in 1995 but have worked some summers at both railroads since then. I moved to the Southwest from Los Angeles when I was 18 and fell in love with it. I have traveled extensively in the region. In addition to my lifelong fascination with trains, there is so much more to the West I hope to portray in my work. I now live in Bayfield, Colorado in an 1890 home, hauling firewood and water in my 1939 Chevy pickup when I'm not painting.

EXHIBITIONS

Pagosa Springs Arts Council - April 2004
California State Railroad Museum Exhibit — 1999
Colorado Railroad Museum Exhibit — 1997
Museo Cultural de Santa Fe Exhibit "El Tren" — 1999
Durango Arts Center Juried Exhibitions - 1996, 1987, 1986, 1984

ARTWORK IN PUBLICATIONS

Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette - numerous covers from 1992 to the present.
RD Publications - Cover: Second edition of "Chama, Cumbres, and a Little Chili"
Cover: Second edition of "Durango: Always a Railroad Town"
Illustration: "The Southern"
Illustration: "Rio Grande Southern"
Illustration: "Rio Grande Southern II"
Illustration: "Gunnison"
Illustration: "The Chili Line"
Timber Times - Cover: "Hidden Treasures"
Cover: Second edition of "Mallets on the Mendocino Coast"
Cover: Second edition of "Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods"
Heimburger House - Cover: Second edition of "Nevada County Narrow Gauge"
Challenger Press - Cover: "Sunset on the Rio Grande Southern, Vol. I"
Timber Times - Cover: "A Logger's Lexicon"
Sundance Books - Cover: "Uintah Railway, Vol. II"
Sundance Books - Cover: "Florence &Cripple Creek Railroad"