One of the last great American train stations built, Union Terminal is a Cincinnati icon and one of the most widely regarded examples of Art Deco. It’s an eye-catcher from any angle, but renovations a few years ago offered one local artist an interesting new perspective.
“Intrigued with the multiple processes of renovation, I resolved to capture the daily routines at the terminal,” says Marlene Steele. “I set up in the morning to capture the morning light on the east-facing facade, towering in the background of that day’s activity.”
Each day began the same way: a board, a simple lawn chair, and an early start. “I set up on a nearby overpass and started drawing around 8:30 a.m., planning the composition to the dimension of a half sheet,” Steele explains.
She worked on a MiTientes sanded pastel surface in a middle value, allowing her to quickly establish structure and build luminous layers of color.
But this wasn’t a static architectural study. It was a living, shifting scene. “The choreography of the various construction trades was remarkable,” Steele says, recalling the workers’ fearless trust in a variety of cranes and lifts to accomplish access for cleaning and repair.
And then there was the light.
“Painting became a race against the sun,” she says. Construction crews began cycling off for lunch around 11 a.m., and when they returned, the entire mood had changed. “A completely different sun position would present itself when the teams reassembled. Assessing views from a different vantage point was an option.”
Still, time always won. “As the sunlight passed over the building, my opportunity for that day’s composition passed,” Steele says. “I felt truly challenged as I packed up, realizing that my exercise documented another day in the process.”
She continued the series through the months into autumn, working en plein air in pastel before enlarging the compositions in oil back in the studio. What remains is more than a documentation of a building under renovation — it’s a record of fleeting light, coordinated labor, and the discipline of showing up, day after day, to chase both.
