2011 is the 150th Anniversary of the first year of the Civil War, 1861

As noted on the sidebar, this June I will be participating in History Meets the Arts, a part of The Gettysburg Festival. (For a full understanding of what this fabulous ten-day Festival has to offer, please read the sidebar and follow the link provided.) At my gallery, Civil War Fine Art, located at 333 Baltimore St. in Gettysburg, I will be featuring my Civil War 150 Project (full details also in sidebar). This year I will be showcasing more than twenty works which focus on the years leading up to, and including, the first year of the war, 1861.

For today's post I have included my painting of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. When Abraham Lincoln met her during the war, legend has it that he greeted her with, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." While that may be an exaggeration, there's no doubt that Ms. Stowe's publication of this novel in 1852 brought attention to the horrors of slavery in a more personal way than political speeches and newspapers could ever hope to accomplish, helping to galvanize the abolitionist cause, and thereby playing a significant role in shaping the attitudes that led to the war.

Sarah Emma Edmonds II: Transformation/Liberation, FINAL

As I had hoped, I did manage to finish this piece yesterday afternoon and my photographer, Emily Puls, was able to photograph it for me so that now I really do have a professional photograph of it to post, where the colors and values are properly balanced! As is so often the case when I finish a long-term project, at the moment I really can't say how I feel about it -- one time I look at it, I'm very happy with it; the next time I look at it I have many, many doubts and misgivings. It will take some time, I'm sure, for me to see this one somewhat objectively.

Step 15, Sarah Emma Edmonds, II: Transformation/Liberation

Coming down the home stretch with this, now -- I'd like to be finished by Saturday so that I can have my photographer shoot it over the weekend, for entry into a couple of juried exhibitions. It's really gotten to be exciting to work on now, since the remaining areas have little to do with reality, and a lot to do with emotion, spontaneity and expression.

Step 14, Sarah Emma Edmonds II: Transformation/Liberation

Starting to get more into the three inset panels at the bottom -- worked mostly on the far right. I'm fairly well pleased with that portion so I'll move over to the section of woods separating that panel from the middle panel.  I'll be glad when I have a professional photographer shoot this -- my photos come out unevenly lit, sometimes too light, sometimes too dark (like now). But at least I get a chance to see how the image works in a different size than the way I normally view it -- helps put some distance between me and the work and possibly allows me to see it with a more critical eye.

Step 13, Sarah Emma Edmonds II: Transformation/Liberation

The woods may be mostly done, now. The center section seems to be showing some glare, despite the fact that I didn't use a flash when photographing it --- may have just been the way the light was striking it. I think it's far enough developed to permit me to work on some other portion. The most under-developed section at this point is the lower right, so that's where I'll turn my attention next. It's starting to feel like completion may be fairly close -- up to now I've just been working on it, without a clear vision for how much more needed to happen and how long that might take.

Step 12, Sarah Emma Edmonds II: Transformation/Liberation

Closing in on that middle woods section and the lower three "inserts". This is not the best photographic image I could have gotten; I took it as the sun was close to setting so I wouldn't have to use a flash, and the left portion is darker than it should be while the right is lighter than it should be. But I'll be exhibiting and selling my prints at the Marketplace of the Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860's Conference in Harrisburg (actually Camp Hill), PA this weekend so I didn't think I'd have any other time to post. If you're in the area, stop in and say hello: we're at the Radisson in Camp Hill from noon - 7 on Friday, 8 - 5 on Saturday and 8 - 2 on Sunday.