If we want to discover the mystery behind “Tracks,” the artwork on display in the Gallery in the Memorial Union, we must first hop aboard an old locomotive and take a ride with the artist Stewart Buck.

Buck is a local artist whose work is focused on painting and drawing trains.

We board the train in Ames, where Buck grew up. This is where his father introduced him to model trains, which quickly grew from a hobby into a passion.

“My hobby of trains and my passion for art converged into what you see today,” Buck says.

Buck’s art binds together a visual record of railroad ties, rails and spikes.

The first stop of our locomotive trip is Iowa State University.

Buck began in the architecture program at Iowa State and soon discovered that he liked the drawing part of architecture much more than the other aspects, so he switched his major to art.

He later came back to Iowa State to get his master’s degree in art. He also decided to get another bachelor’s degree in education.

Now we get back on the locomotive to head to the next stop, Boudurant, where Buck has been teaching art for the past 26 years.

Buck has helped his students to realize that there is an artist in each of them.

“Every artist doesn’t have to be a good artist,” Buck says. “The neat thing about art is that art accommodates whatever kids are passionate about.”

Kris Whalen, assistant principal at Bondurant-Farrar Community School, was there when Buck first started teaching at Bondurant in 1975.

“It’s been phenomenal what he has done with kids,” Whalen says. “He takes students who didn’t realize they had artistic talent and finds the artist in them.”

Buck has turned talent into results by making Bondurant-Farrar recognized nationally for art.

A student from Bondurant-Farrar has won the Gold Award from the National Scholastic Art Competition each of the past two years. The competition starts with over 250,000 pieces of art and is narrowed down to 150 who receive the Gold Award.

After students leave Bondurant, Buck says he hopes they have learned to appreciate art, whether it be a career in art or attending a play.

All aboard as we are bound for Ankeny.

Here you can find Buck’s Streamliner Studio. People across the country have come to know Buck’s artwork because he sells prints in magazines.

“I just couldn’t part with a piece that I spent 200 hours drawing so I decided to make prints instead,” Buck says.

Over the years, Buck has switched from drawing trains to painting them, cutting the completion time to around 20 to 30 hours.

His work can be seen in a multitude of places, from Leanin’ Tree Christmas cards to the cooperate offices of various railroad companies.

Many of the trains found in Buck’s paintings are still running today.

This gives Buck the chance to not only photograph them, but ride them as well.

This first-hand experience is evident in his artwork because “to draw it you really have to know it,” Buck says.

The final destination of our adventure on these tracks brings us to The Gallery in the Memorial Union. Buck’s work will be in display here until July 16.