Hello everybody,

I would like to share some pictures of my diorama I finished a while ago.

It's a representation of men of the 13th Alabama Regiment at the battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) during the American Civil War.

The 13th Alabama was part of Colquitt's Brigade from D.H. Hill's Division of Jackson's Corps. They were placed during the fighting on the left flank in the Sunken Road which would also be known as Bloody Lane, due to the many casualties during the fierce fighting.

The figures are part of the beautifull Shenandoah vignette "Behind the split rail fence".

I did a lot of research to paint these guys and had a lot of fun during the process.

I was quite pleased with the outcome of the figures and last month I entered it in a local show. Boy, one of the judges (a member of our great Belgian figure club ) gave me a judging that left me well below ground level, according to him all the figures were "incompetently shaded and highlighted". First, I was a little lost, but the next day I was awarded a Silver medal for it. So now I don't know what to think of it, is it good or not? I don't know. That's why I'm asking for your help, let me know what you think about it.

All of your comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.


The finished piece:



Some close-ups:















So there it is, let me know what you boys and girls think about it.

Kind regards

Bart

Wow, Bart, a great title for an impressive work! Your Painting of the figures is very well done, the different greys look superb!! Perfect work!

Frank

From what I fcan see from the pictures, it appears you have done a good job.

I wouldn't really worry about what that the judges think, some of them are only mediocre painters, the important thing is that you are happy with the results.

Cheers
Roc.

Dear Bart, I think it looks terrific! Maybe one of the judges just didn't care for it and all the rest liked it a lot! Listen to the silver medal, not the guff. Keep competing!!!

An aside - you may want to work on the resolution and focus of your camera, if possible. The resolution looks pretty low and that makes the images fuzzy. I only mention this to try to be helpful and because for some time (when I was using another digital camera) I had the same problem and really didn't understand why the pictures were all turning out that way. Also - do you have a tripod? Give up trying to hold the camera still enough to take clear photos. Maybe a few of us can do it, but I sure can't.

All the best,
Dan

Bart,

Vanuit de niet zo geweldige foto's kun je zeggen dat er inderdaad wat te weinig verschil zit in de hoge lichten en de schaduwen. Maar nogmaals dat kunnen de foto's zijn.
Sommige figuren zien er gewoon goed uit. Goed geschilderd,met genoeg verschil in schaduw en lichten. Dus ik denk toch dat de jury geen gelijk had, en de zilveren medaille gewoon verdiend is. Het is ook geen klein stukje maar een zeer groot stuk.
Proficiat, je hebt het verdiend.

Marc

judgement of figures is always subjective to some extent your painting of the figures looks ok to me particularly the faces

That is one really nice vignette, and I like the way you gave them different shades of gray. Don't ever worry about what's said about your figures, the medal said it all. Congratulations!
God Bless
Cory

Bart, The first thing that club should do is not let that clown judge. I would think to say that someone's work is not at a high enough level to warrant gold, silver, bronze whatever is enough. While it may disapoint a painter to hear that, it's not as harsh. I guess the judge had pieces there that were COMPENTENTLY painted.

Moving on to your diorama. I think it looks good. I especially like the variety oof colors you have painted the uniforms rather than put them all in gray or "butternut". Your research efforts are commendable, especially in replicating the battle flag of the 13th. While the battle honor SEVEN PINES! is correct, the the flag was edged with a 1 1/4" orange bunting border not white. Keep up the good work, you've done well here.~Gary

Great composition Bart,Good work my friend!
keep up
christos

Frank,

thank you for your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece.

Best wishes

Bart

Rocco,

I'm glad that you like it. I was very content with the outcome of it.

You are right about some of those judges. It's better to rely on the comments of family (thanks Dad), fellow clubmembers (thanks Ed) and my fellow Planeteers. :lol:

Best wishes

Bart

Hi Dan,

thanks for your comments. I'm glad that you like it. It enjoyed it very much.

Thank you for your advice about the pictures. I know I should invest in a good digital camera. I'm still using an old camera and then I scan the figures to my computer. So most of the picture's quality is lost.

Your comments are very much appreciated.

Very best wishes

Bart

Marc,

thanks for looking.

The pictures are not taken with a digital camera but with an older Minolta camera and then scanned to my computer. So that explain's the poor quality.

In real life it looks OK I think, but we all have different opinions I guess.

Regards

Bart

Hi Peter,

thanks for looking and commenting.

Very best wishes

Bart

Hi Cory,

thanks for your constructive critiques. I do appreciate it very, very much. It was really enjoyable to paint all those different colours. I think it helps to tie everything together.

It's nice to know that you enjoyed looking at it.

Best wishes and keep safe.

Bart

Hello Gary,

thank you very much for commenting. Coming from you they do mean a lot to me.

I tried to vary the colours of the uniforms as much as possible. I used several books and movies for reference and I also found a large amount of information on the internet.

However you're right about the flag. I found an image of it on the internet, but it wasn't that obvious what colour it was. So I assumed it would have been white. but clearly the border should have been orange. Would this have been bright or dark orange? I would like to change it to the right colour, so if you could help me that would be great.

I once again thank you for your sincere comments..

Very best wishes

Bart

Hello Christos,

thanks you for looking. I'm glad you liked it.

Take care my friend

Bart

There should be more of this stuff on pf

Hi Patrick,

I'll do my best. The next one is already on it's way. :lol:

Thanks for looking mate and happy painting.

Best wishes

Bart

Bart, Given the smaller scale I would make it a dull orange just to be on the side of caution. On the higher parts of the edge of the flag you could add a little ligther highlight to punch it up a bit.~Gary