Irwin Schuster was born on Treasure Island (1935) and raised on St. Pete Beach, attended Pass-a-Grill’s Sunshine School, Disston Jr. High and St. Pete High before graduating with a B.S. degree in Industrial Design from the Architecture Department at Georgia Tech. First employment was as a product design engineer in electronic missile guidance systems. Grounded in engineering practices and working in consulting design offices in Philadelphia and the Boston area, the creator of Merritime Models and Your Boat Art is still a practicing graphic designer, self-employed for the last 30 years, and now lives in Tampa with his wife Bette, and
nearby family.
Mr. Schuster has been a contributing editor to the Nautical Research Journal, Secretary and Editor of the USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild, is Secretary/Editor of the Tampa Bay Ship Model Society, Newsletter Editor of the Florida Maritime Heritage Association, member of the Traditional Small Craft Association, occasional contributor to several nautical periodicals and volunteer researcher-curator to the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez.
Illustration:
A love of boats supported by professional computer graphics has led to an illustration style that depicts maritime subjects in a straightforward, documentary technique allowing ready comparison of historic forms, as well as customization of contemporary boat designs and classes. The drawings shown were created for educational purposes by museums, just because, and as portraits of specific boats for their owners.
Artist’s Statement:
I am compelled to draw, design, write and build by some internal force that I cannot explain. Maritime subjects have been an interest for as long as I can remember. In short, I do this stuff for myself, for education and historical preservation, and I hope other boat lovers like it too. For me, it is the functional forms in two dimensions and the sculptural qualities of boats in three dimensions, that raise my sails – and great respect for the designers and local builders who created the original vessels. Historical accuracy is important, as is “artistic license” in presentation.
– Irwin N. Schuster
Models:
The boat models and dioramas displayed have been built from scratch starting in the early 1990’s. Some are the result of extensive and serious research conducted in the Northeast, and some were created (obviously) for fun, portraying types and specific vessels in a “viewer-friendly” way. They are generally, but not exclusively, wood, and some employ computer generated sails. These have been shown in model shows in New England and the Tampa Bay area.
