My next painting will be of Colonel Lucius Fairchild of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. It will be a huge step up from the drummer I just completed as it will include a full background with officer tents and other things associated with an army camp. I originally was going to do the painting in oils, but decided to stick with a water based media instead.


Here is the drawing of Fairchild drawn out on tracing paper. This will be transfered to multimedia artboard for painting. I still may add some more camp furniture and possibly a few smaller figures in the background. As the painting will be a portrait piece I do not want to make it too busy. At the same time I do not want the camp to seem deserted.

Hello Gary,

very nice to see the first step of your next painting...keep it going, I will follow to see your next step !!!

Markus

Looks great, Gary. I am looking forward to watching your progress.

Kreston

Looking forward to the finished product (and watching it unfold, if we could be so lucky)! Thanks for posting it.
Bob

Looks very interesting Gary,looking forward to see the first steps!
best regards
christos

Markus, thank you. It will be a while before I post the next picture(s) as I'm only going to post images as I have or make time to take them.~Gary

Kreston, Thanks, I'm happy to be a part of this exciting project.~Gary

Bob, So am I. It would be great to skip over whatever frustrations lay in wait for me, and fast forward to the finished piece. ~Gary

Christos, i appreciate it. I'll post as many in progress stuff as time permits. Unfortunately the waterbased medium i'm using requires several applications of paint to achieve the final painting. In the early stages a lot of the colors are blocked in and looks a bit messy.~Gary

This is the second underpainting I did for this project. I had to start over as I did not get the results I wanted the first time around.

Here the sky has been started and the trees blocked in. I want the background to be a bit hazy and lighter than the forground to help create the illusion of distance.

Hey Gary,

Looking really nice, the APG should be happy to get it.

Joe

Looking very nice Gary! Keep us posted.

Jay H.
OKC

WOW,
Looks Terrific so far.
Cheers
John

It's very interesting to look over your shoulder on this one, Gary. Looking good so far!

Joe, Thanks. I'm sure they will. There was a nice display of the items we're raising money to restore at Chigcago this past weekend. The oppourtunity to do this is more rewarding than any award IMHO.~Gary

Jay, Thanks. I'll be scanning the painting during the process.

John, Thanks. I appreciate it.~Gary

Pat, Other than art books and pouring over my Troiani and Rocco books I have, I'm flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to painting. While I did go to art school for a short time, I have very little experience with painting full scenes like this.~Gary

looks good so far