.... in print

By CRYSTAL FREEMAN
GANNETT NEW JERSEY

Normally when people think of eggs, either Easter or breakfast comes to mind.

However, once you meet the Egg Man, you may think of eggs a little differently.

Alan Traynor, also known as the Egg Man, was originally an artist on the side strictly as a hobby, but that all changed in 1991.

"A friend from New York was coming to visit me in Florida for Easter in 1991," Traynor said. "I decided to try to paint an egg for her collection. I kept breaking the real eggshells that I had blown out. Just as a joke, I wrapped up the broken eggshells and gave them to her saying "Happy Easter. I tried!' And she laughed and said, "Why don't you paint me a wooden egg?' And that one sentence changed my life."

Traynor went from an entertainment manager at Walt Disney World to painting eggs for a living in 1993.

"I've never regretted that decision," Traynor said. "I've painted over 39,000 eggs and I am still going!"

Although Traynor is not a resident of New Jersey, his annual appearances at the Solstice Gallery have been making him quite popular along the Jersey Shore.

"In May of 2003, my very good friend Pook Pfaffe fulfilled her long-time dream when she opened up the wonderful Solstice Gallery in Beach Haven," Traynor said. "I am very proud to say I was the first artist she asked to be represented at Solstice Gallery, and in July of 2004 I decided to come up and do a "visiting artist' event. It was a great success, so its been an annual event ever since."

"Traynor's eggs range from holidays to beach themes and everything in between. He explains that when he does bring his collection from Florida to LBI he has to be careful with which beach scenes he chooses.

"I live in Florida, and one of my favorite subjects to paint is the beach," he said. "Of course, in Florida we have palm trees and of course New Jersey doesn't. So I am careful to bring lots of beach and marine eggs to Beach Haven that don't have palm trees."

Upon entering the gallery, the sheer volume of eggs is awe-inspiring.

"They are all painted completely by hand, with no transfers and no shortcuts," he said. "So the painting can take from one to three hours per egg. Then there's a coating process to make then smooth and shiny as glass or ceramic. This involves about 15 layers of clear polyurethane, which takes several more days."

But after all that painting, Traynor said he never keeps a single egg and can't choose a favorite.

"Like any artist, I feel like my creations are my children," he said. "I enjoy the process as much as the result. So my favorite is always the one I am working on at the moment, and I'm happy with whatever I am painting."

However, there have been times when painting an egg has been a little difficult for the Egg Man.

"Years ago, when I was doing custom eggs, I painted Big Ben and Parliament on a 4-inch tall egg for a good friend of mine," Traynor said. "She had taken a photo on a trip to London and wanted the image recreated on an egg. I can tell you, the Parliament building has 176 windows facing the river and I painted every one of them as realistically as possible."

Traynor says he does make mistakes, but he learns from them.

"People ask me all the time, "What do you do if you make a mistake?' I say, "Easy! Wipe it off and paint over it and try not to make the same mistake again," Traynor said. "I see what I do as the gradual elimination of mistakes. With practice, an artist learns to avoid mistakes they've made in the past. So, the simple result is the more you do it, the better you get."

Even though Traynor has been doing this for so long he is still amazed by the reactions of customers when they first meet him and see his eggs.

"A lot of people dont believe that they are unbreakable," he said. "I tell them that it is OK for them to pick them up, but they are so afraid to touch them. Sometimes when they do realize that it is unbreakable, they will tease their friends by having them drop it thinking it will break. But they all learn to love them."

Traynor also said that with each return to Beach Haven, his eggs have grown more popular.

"We get a lot of repeat customers every year," he said. "It's hard because once you buy one you just have to continue the collection. And that's why it is an advantage for me. Like other forms of art, you can only have so many paintings, but because my eggs are so small you can easily fill up a case with hundreds of them."

Even though Traynor has created more than 39,000 eggs, he doesn't see himself retiring any time soon.

"I've been doing it for 16 years," he said. "I hope to keep it up as long as my eyes and hands don't fail me. Plus, what would I do for fun?"

The Egg Man will be at the Solstice Gallery in Beach Haven until Monday. More information is available by visiting www.eggmanart.com or by calling the Solstice Gallery at (609) 492-0033.

Photo and article by: Kim Hall/Celebration Independent

Alan Traynor, known as The Egg Man to collectors, has painted more than 39,000 wooden eggs in his career.

Thousands of art lovers and more than 120 fine artists, sculptors, painters and furniture makers flooded the streets of downtown Celebration for the Spring Art Festival March 31 and April 1. Artists exhibiting their work competed for juried cash prizes totaling more than $20,000.

Alan Traynor, a former stage manager for Off-Broadway and Broadway shows in New York City and for Walt Disney World, is known as The Egg Man to collectors. Celebrating his 16th anniversary as an egg artist, having first painted a three-dimensional wooden egg for a friend 16 years ago for Easter, he exhibited hundreds of his painted eggs at the festival.

"I got started painting wooden eggs because a friend of mind collects eggs," he said.

He was hooked almost immediately to the new art and left his job at Walt Disney World two years later in order to pursue his painting career full time. To date, Traynor has painted more than 39,000 wooden eggs.

Dressed in a painter's smock and a hat made of a stuffed chicken sitting on a nest, Traynor painted his wares throughout the Spring Art Festival, drawing large crowds to see the to-scale wooden eggs displayed on the shelves around and to watch his delicate technique. The hat, he said, is more for shock value.

"No one ever forgets me, I'll tell you that," he said with a smile.

Themes featured on the eggs range from music to weddings to seasons and more.

"My favorite aspect of painting is the variety that I'm able to do," he said. "My favorite subjects are beach scenes, so it's kind of an escape."

from the Southwest Orlando Bulletin
March 20, 2004

An Unusual Specialty
Williamsburg resident Alan Traynor, known internationally as "The Egg Man," paints wooden eggs in a variety of designs.
Alan Traynor of Williamsburg is known internationally as "The Egg Man." His full-time occupation is painting wooden eggs in a variety of designs. Painting and drawing since childhood, Alan never expected that painting eggs would become his full-time occupation.
"The egg is my canvas," Alan said, adding that throughout the world the egg is a symbol of fertility and rebirth. His journey to painting eggs began in a more traditional way.
"I've always had a natural bent toward drawing and painting, and, even as a child, I had a knack for it," he said.
Both of his parents were actors in community theater in St. Louis, and, as he grew older, he helped with costumes and set designs. He worked for many years as a theatrical stage manager on tour in St. Louis and New York.
"While in New York, art was just recreation," Alan said. "I'd come home after a show and paint for a while to unwind." After he sold some paintings at the prestigious Greenwich Village Arts Festival, he felt inspired to continue painting. He was recruited by Disney to coordinate show entertainment for their convention division, and he moved to Orlando in 1989.
In March 1991, Alan had been at Disney for two years when he decided to paint an egg as a gift for a close friend who collected painted and carved eggs. He tried unsuccessfully to paint on actual eggs, and the friend suggested he try painting on wooden eggs instead.
"That one sentence changed my life forever," Alan said. "Two years later, I was painting eggs for a living."
That was more than 10 years ago, and, at last count, he had painted designs on more than 31,000 wooden eggs, painting about 2,500 eggs per year, according to his computer log.
Alan sells his hand-painted eggs at craft shows around Florida; twice a year in St. Louis, where he has a loyal following; and to collectors around the world. He also paints eggs weekly as a resident artist at Café Tu Tu Tango, and it affords him the opportunity to talk with people from all over the world. With Easter approaching April 11, Alan has many special orders to complete.
"Some people carve eggs, decorate them, and put jewels on them, augmenting the natural beauty and shape of the egg, but I don't know of anyone who paints eggs as much as I do," Alan said. "I still enjoy painting eggs now as much as I did with my very first one. It makes me happy to do it."
Alan admits he is always discovering something new.
"After I painted the first 50 eggs or so, I thought I'd run out of ideas but that's never happened. There is no limit to the techniques, designs, type of paint, or ways to put a picture on the surface of an egg. I still enjoy my work so much, and I love the responses I get from the buyers. I feel like I have found my niche, and I can see it continuing for as long as I am able to do it."
About creativity, Alan says, "I love it so much that I usually lose track of time, and it flows very easily. That's the way to tell if you have found your true calling. You lose yourself, you feel peaceful, and you truly love what you are doing. The blessing is to be able to share it with other people."