On My Drawing Board: Artistic Struggles

Monday, March 19, 2012

Artistic Struggles

Devil's Den at Sunset, step 1

As I'm sure so many of my artist-friends can relate to, lately I've really been struggling with making progress on any of my various projects. I have a number of commissions on which I'm making progress, but I've found that it's also very important to me to have my own personal project "in the works", something I'm very emotionally connected to, to keep my spirit alive. That is not to say I don't have any emotional connection or sincere interest in my commission work, it's just to say that the feeling is not quite the same as when I'm doing something of my own choosing. I'm emotionally connected to the Basil Biggs project but am finding some of my references to be lacking; I'm emotionally connected to my third -- and probably final -- piece involving Sarah Emma Edmonds but I'm finding it difficult to determine a direction for that piece. Recently, however, I've hit on some ideas and now have a vague notion regarding the composition of that piece, so I'm hopeful that I'll be posting a rough layout of it soon.

In the meantime, in addition to teaching a number of classes and workshops in OH, I've also been studying the pastel landscape work of Richard McKinley, and am trying to work with his "underpainting" concept for some small landscapes I'm doing of the Gettysburg battlefield. The image above represents my watercolor pencil underpainting with a minimum of colored pencil applied on top. But again, I appear to be "stuck" when it comes to moving forward with this composition.

I know this is just a natural part of the artistic process, but I have to say it's very uncomfortable and i'll be pleased when things start to smooth out a bit.

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What is the "Civil War Chronology Project"?

(formerly called The Civil War 150 Project)

The commemoration of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), which was held in October of 2009, is widely considered to mark the beginning of the Sesquicentennial -- or 150th -- anniversary of the Civil War era. Over the next five years, many states and local communities will be marking the 150th anniversary of battles and important events that occurred in their areas during that era, and state and local commissions are being established to bring attention to those events.

Since I first began developing my series of images inspired by Civil War-era America and its people, my goal has always been to provide a complement to the images of battle scenes and famous generals focused on by most other Civil War artists. My approach has been to get to know these people in their pre-war identities and culture, and try to move through the War era in a chronological fashion, hoping to gain some sense of what they experienced as the War unfolded and engulfed them. My work can essentially be described as homage to life in the midst of war, but it carries a contemporary sensibility in hopes of encouraging viewers to see parallels between their lives and the lives of Americans gone before us.

The Civil War Chronology Project is the title I have given to the ongoing project I have developed for myself, to chronicle the lesser-known people and events of the Civil War era beginning with the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 and continuing through the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April of 1865. I currently have created more than twenty pieces which were inspired by the incidents and people in the years leading up to, and then including, the First Battle of Manassas (also known as First Bull Run). To view the works created prior to 2010, please visit my website, http://www.civilwarfineart.com/, and specifically, my Beyond the Battlefield gallery page. Since helping viewers establish a more personal connection with the people of the Civil War era is a primary goal of mine, I welcome feedback from my audience. Thank you for viewing! ~~Amy V. Lindenberger