Witness Tree at Devil's Den

I've been in a bit of an artistic funk this year -- I keep working but often find I am not as satisfied with the results as I would like. In an attempt to break out of this negativity, I decided to create a small landscape based on a portion of the Devil's Den area on the Gettysburg Battlefield. I had recently read an article indicating that the tree depicted here is one of the few remaining "witness" trees -- meaning, a tree that is confirmed to have been present during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, and that is what spurred me on to choose this particular location.

Recently I received some very good news regarding this painting, done in colored pencil on PastelMat: it is one of only 101 works selected for the exhibition, America's Parks Through the Beauty of Art. In addition, it was chosen as one of the Top 50, and will be part of a travelling
exhibition, moving from Missouri to New York to Wisconsin, beginning in March. Folow this link to read the juror's statement: http://www.outdoorpainter.com/whats-current-and-whats-coming/americas-parks-exhibition-begins-tour.html. While I realize that being pleased with our own work is what's important, not the opinion of a juror, this was a welcome "shot in the arm" for an artistically-uncomfortable year!

2012 Christmas Cards

These two images represent the new additions to my line of Civil War-themed Christmas cards. The top one is Windows of Gettysburg IV: The Brafferton Inn (historic Codori House); the bottom is part of a series I've created for the Shriver House Museum in Gettysburg, and is entitled A Christmas Surprise. My entire line of Christmas cards is now comprised of 17 cards; you can see the complete line at:
http://www.civilwarfineart.com/CivilWarChristmasImages.htm

And purchasing has never been easier, because now each individual card's page includes purchase options through PayPal!

Basil Biggs, Step 5

Shortly after I photographed this work-in-progress at its last stage, it occurred to me that it just wasn't realistic to have so few people on the streets during the time this scene would have occurred. This was early afternoon on July 1, 1863, as the morning's casualties from the battle to the north and west of town began working their way to the makeshift hospitals in town, but before the Union retreat to Cemetery Ridge would have really gotten into gear. Civilians would have been off the streets at that point, but injured Union troops would be in evidence. So in this stage I've begun to indicate them. I feel like I'm finally getting some momentum going with this composition and hope to maintain it so that I can complete this piece sometime in September.

Back to Basil - or - Basil Biggs, Step 4

Despite the fact that this piece isn't as far along as I had hoped it would be at this point, I guess I have made some progress since I last posted about it in -- I'm embarassed to admit! -- October of last year. But research on the buildings which would have been standing on the south side of the first block of York Street was painstaking and time-consuming. Still, I wouldn't have felt right continuing on it without being thorough and as accurate as possible about the setting, so I'm glad to have given it the time it needed. Maybe now I can move along a little more quickly!

Completed and Sold!

I did complete Sunset, Peter Frey Farm in late June, and it and another small landscape sold in early July to a gentleman from Pittsburgh.  I enjoy these Gettysburg landscapes and am now experimenting with using Neocolor II (Watersoluble Wax Pastels) on some larger versions, as they lay down much more quickly than the Inktense pencil/colored pencil combination.

Lots of catching up to do

I've had almost no time for posting recently, since we're into the heart of the tourist season in Gettysburg. So this week, now that we're past the big annual reenactment, I plan to post a lot of things I've been working on in the intervening weeks. These are the last three plein air pieces I created during the Plein Air Paint Out, part of this year's Gettysburg Festival -- Pennsylvania Monument; Barn, Henry Culp Farm; and Gettysburg Railroad Depot. The railroad depot piece, the largest of these three, I completed within the timed, 2- hour Quick Draw event held within a one-block radius of Lincoln Square in Gettysburg. About 20 minutes into this painting, I'd realized I'd bitten off a little more than I could chew, because the detailing on this building is absolutely incredible. But I just kept plugging away, and much to my surprise, did actually manage to finish it within the 2-hour timeframe. All three pieces are done in watercolor and ink.

To see more of my plein air and other Civil War-themed work, please visit www.CivilWarFineArt.com.

Plein Air Paint Out at the Gettysburg Festival

The Plein Air Paint Out at the Gettysburg Festival began Friday with a great battlefield tour by our knowledgable guide, Bob Prosperi. So far I've painted Friday, Sunday and Monday (today it pretty much poured, all day, but thankfully this is really the only rainy day forecast for the entire ten day Festival). These paintings are all quite small, and rendered with watercolor pencil. The third painting featuring the General Warren statue on Little Round top has a little bit of ink line work added in the statue and the rock area. Hopefully I'll get out tomorrow morning to do some more!