Tuesday, October 8, 2024

 It was chilly this morning, so I waited until about 10:00 AM before I went to the battlefield. I towed my wagon of art supplies about 1/3 of a mile along a trail to a spot in the middle of a battlefield site. I selected this site because it was accessible, level, mowed, and with a decent shade tree. In December of 1862, this one field had 30,000 soldiers engaged in combat! It's hard to imagine. In the distance of the lower image here, you can see the battlefield cemetery.

I started painting, and this is what developed from the initially blank page. the inspiration came from the trail that I was set up beside. The perspective isn't perfect, but these are exercises to help me practice. 

 

Next, I attempted a more figurative and representational image. My goal was to depict a union soldier. I have difficulty representing the human form. This image was taken by a passerby. I was able to interact with numerous individuals today because I was set up so close to the trail. Surprisingly, the woman who I convinced to take this image, stopped her car and came over to me and offered me money assuming I was a starving artist or some sort of busker. I can't tell you how much that warmed my heart. This woman was not well to do and yet she appreciated that I was out here painting.

To give you some sense of my process, I will show you a sequence of images demonstrating the progression of this painting.

When I look at this image now, I have to laugh. I'm not sure why I positioned this soldiers arms in this way. Is he waving at the tree? Is he peeing? I'm learning from my mistakes…

This was my final image today. I think I like it. The best of the three I did today. My inspiration here was that because I am at the Stones River National Battlefield, maybe I need an image of the Stones River?

I saw these seed pods in the field. I'm not sure what they are, but they look really cool. I was actually chilled during my work today. I would take breaks and go stand in the sunshine. However, there was a strong breeze that contributed to the chill.

I had some really enjoyable conversations with passsersby by today. I recall meeting individuals from Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee. I had a particularly enjoyable conversation with a guy named Steve. After he retired from a sales position, he became a mortician! Like me, now he only works part time and fills his days with other passions. His art form is photography. If I'm chatting with strangers and they ask about my vocational background, when I tell them I'm an endodontist/root canal specialist, they get quiet and typically decide to move on. After meeting Steve, I've decided that morticians are probably even more of a buzzkill than endodontists!