Sarah Emma Edmonds II: "Transformation"

Finally, I've gotten back to the second in my series about Sarah Emma Edmonds, the Canadian-born woman who took on a male identity prior to the Civil War, and as the war began, enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry as Franklin Thompson. At present, I'm calling it "Transformation", but that's just a working title.

This piece relates to the period when Emma left her home in Canada and worked on developing her male persona, hiding in the woods by day and travelling only under cover of darkness until she felt confident in her new role. I'm seeking an air of mystery and tension as I begin this piece, and those goals helped direct me to choose an apricot-colored acid-free mat board surface -- I believe the color is called Taos -- large enough for the composition I have planned. So far I'm working primarily with an Imperial Violet Prismacolor pencil, though I've also just begun adding a little Tuscan Red to see how that works on one of the darker tree trunks, and a little light green in the sky sections. It's all an experiment at this point, but I like the quality of surrealism I'm seeing.

Miniatures

Before I begin my posts of the stages of my latest piece in my Beyond the Battlefield series, I wanted to let you know about three miniatures that I have had accepted into an exhibition that will open this week. The show is the 26th Annual Miniature Art 2010 Exhibition at the Council for the Arts, 159 S. Main St., Chambersburg, PA. The opening reception will be held from 4 - 7 pm, Friday, November 5. The show will remain on display through January 8, and gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am - 2 pm. (They do recommend you call 717-264-6883 to confirm hours during the holidays.)

Miniatures are something I decided to challenge myself to do, given that most of my work is very large -- my "regular" minimum size is generally about 16" x 20" and most of my work is much larger. Working in miniature is a real change of pace: controlling the pencils strokes at that scale to create a smooth surface, getting details as needed, determining an effective composition. All three of these pieces are images of various locations on the Gettysburg battlefield, and they are approximately 2 1/2" x 4" in size. The first piece shown above is entitled "Pennsylvania Monument in November"; it's done on a vellum finish bristol board. The next two, "Seeking Shelter from the Sun" and "Trostle Farm in October", are both done on a surface I've been experimenting with -- PastelMat, this one a sienna color -- and have nearly fallen in love with! Unlike traditional, sanded pastel papers, it's not gritty; it has a smooth, almost suede-like feel. But it grabs the color in a way I've never experienced on regular papers, making excessive layering unnecessary. It also seems to erase quite well. I'm anxious to try this surface for larger works as well and have found that it is available in both small tablets and large single sheets from Dick Blick.

To see more of my miniatures and other categories of work, please visit http://www.civilwarfineart.com/.

Time to regroup!

No image today -- just trying to catch up, get back in the flow.


It's been a trying couple of months. My 86-year-old mother passed away on August 17 after nearly a decade of struggling with Alzheimer's disease. We hated to see her go, but we also didn't want her to linger any longer in that condition. Since her wishes were to have her remains cremated, and since at this point in her life it was mostly family who would be attending any memorial service, we opted to wait until just this past weekend -- to gather family from across the country -- to have her interment and Celebration of Life. We were quite pleased to have all her living family members in attendance, and know that both of our parents would have been happy with the gathering.


On September 2 I was in a car accident, struck by a driver who ran a red light and slammed into my car at about 45 mph. Neither I nor my 9-year-old granddaughter -- who was in the car with me -- were seriously injured, but the car was totalled and as a result, I was forced to keep my Gettysburg gallery closed for several weeks.


On a happier note, this past weekend my recently-posted image of Frederick Douglass -- exhibition title "Impassioned" -- was awarded Best of Show at Midwest Color 2010, a biennial colored pencil exhibition which is being hosted this year by District Chapter 120 of the Colored Pencil Society of America and is on display at the New Union Center for the Arts in Oberlin, Ohio. Because the opening reception took place this past weekend at the same time as my family gathering, I have not yet attended the exhibition, but hope to see it before it closes November 5, and am extremely honored to receive this award!


I've tried to keep busy with my artistic pursuits as well, since my last post, and will have new images to post later this week.

New Print, Battle of Gettysburg Series

When I last posted, I had optimistically thought I would have time to post this the following day. That didn't happen, but at least not too many days went by before I had a chance to add this image. This scene, titled A Ransom for Gettysburg, depicts the events of June 26, 1863, when Jubal Early arrived in Gettysburg to make his demands on the borough council for cash and supplies. After attempting to meet with the Burgess (Mayor) of Gettysburg, Robert Martin, and learning that he had already left the area, Early makes his way south from the Diamond to the Baltimore St. home of Bourough Council President David Kendlehart. For a full description of this scene, please visit http://www.CivilWarFineArt.com/images/ransom.htm.

Two Posts in One Day!

These two pieces both relate to my Civilians of Gettysburg series. As we work our way into the 150th anniversary era of Civil War-related events, I want to be fully prepared for Gettysburg's own anniversary in July 2013. To that end I've been working on pieces related to things the local civilians would have seen and experienced during the Confederate invasion and the three-day battle. Since I'm committed to taking these events in chronological order, the things I'm currently working on in this series relate to the days leading up to the battle, as opposed to the battle itself. These two pieces both relate to the June 26, 1863 entry of Jubal Early and his Confederate troops into the borough of Gettysburg. The first is entitled "The Lesson" and relates the experiences of a local girl, Nellie Aughinbagh, and her near close-encounter with Confederate troops, due to her insistence on finishing a bonnet she was working on with her instructor, Mrs. Martin, in the Martins' Middle Street home. The second features the cupola of Christ Lutheran Church on Chambersburg Street. When the Confederates entered the town on June 26, one of their objectives was to round up all of the African Americans they saw and attempt to send them into slavery in the South. Naturally, the black population of Gettysburg had been taking measures to evacuate before this could happen, but there is a story which involves a woman known only as "Liz" who didn't quite manage to escape in time, and sought refuge in the church cupola until it was safe to come down.

Tomorrow I'll post the image I've recently completed of Jubal Early himself, the leader responsible for this particular upheaval.

Long Time, No Post!

Despite the fact that I haven't been posting, I have been working -- diligently! Other than research and rough sketches, I'll confess that I haven't done much with my next "Sarah" piece. But I've been working on many other pieces while I'm manning my Civil War Fine Art Gallery in Gettysburg, PA.

In mid- to late-June, I participated in The Gettysburg Fringe Festival in multiple ways. First, I hosted several receptions at my gallery for visitors as part of History Meets the Arts June 18 - 20. Also, I participated with the En Plein Air painters group again this year, completing a variety of works, including those shown above, top to bottom: "The Angle" and the Codori Farm, Round Barn Cupola, and Henry Culp Farm. These pieces are all fairly small, approximately 8" x 10", and were done using Derwent Inktense watersoluble pencils.

The next two posts will show other work I've completed in the past two months.

Final, Frederick Douglass

It's hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since I last posted. I guess there's been a lot going on: The Civil War Collectors Show in Mansfield, OH, then back-to-back Saturdays of teaching a class on colored pencil techniques for the Botanical Art and Illustration program at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, followed by a workshop on paper and other surfaces for use with colored pencil in North Canton, OH and finally a one-Saturday class for a drawing group in Sewickley, PA about using solvents with colored pencil. A lot of teaching can add up to not much time for creating! But the teaching has been a very enriching experience so I don't believe I'll stop teaching anytime soon.

I was pleased to learn that a colored pencil drawing from my Gettysburg Today series -- entitled Ever-Vigilant -- was accepted into the Adams County Arts Council's 7th Annual Juried Exhibition, which will be on display at Schmucker Art Gallery on the campus of Gettysburg College, June 18 - 27. (To view the drawing now, please visit www.CivilWarFineArt.com/GettysburgToday.htm. )

Next Friday, May 28, marks the opening of my seventh season in Gettysburg at my gallery, Civil War Fine Art, located at 333 Baltimore St. I'm anxious to get back into the gallery and hope to see you there!

Next month, from June 18 - 27, I'll be participating in the Gettysburg Fringe Festival with the Debut of my Civil War 150 Project (see sidebar for explanation). I'll also be involved with the Plein Air Paint Out during the Festival, along with many of my friends from the Daily Painters of Pennsylvania blog (www.dailypaintersofpennsylvania.blogspot.com). The Festival is a wonderful cultural event; I strongly encourage you to take a look at all it has to offer at www.gettysburgfestival.org.

As you can see above, I've finished my 24" x 24" colored pencil painting of Frederick Douglass. I am now working toward having limited edition reproductions made. I'm pleased with how this piece turned out; I like the looseness and energy of the strokes, the range of color, and the expression of the eyes. So now it looks like I'd better get back to considering the next edition of "Sarah".