I decided to dust off my painting supplies and try painting a figure study. I have several sketches or doodles I've done over the years and decided to do this one. This is being done while putty and or glue dries and to also warm up for the next APG (Artist Preservation group) project.

The subject The subject will be a drummer from the 4th Maryland Independent Company, 1776. In august of 1776 the commander of the company, Captain James Hindman contracted with a Philadelphia tailor to provide 100 coats and 95 waistcoats. Included in the reciept were the details for the drummer's and fifer's coats. They were to be made from "3yds red knap...1/4 ditto of brown cloth for facings,...1 3/4 yards of shalloon," and for the whole, "2 gross of hooks and eyes." Based on the this the coats appear to close by the use of hooks and eyes as there is not mention of buttons on the reciept. This is the type of information that really helps in putting together an interesting reconstruction.

Below is the original sketch with the reduced version that will become the final painting.

The sketch is reduced to the desired size and the image is reversed. The reduced image will be put on tracing paper and transfered to the board the figure is to be painted on.

The drum was tough to do so I drew one on the computer using Google SketchUp. The program is best used to draw buildings in 3D which can then be rotated to any angle.

Here is the painting with some of the colors blocked in. It has a way to go yet.

Back to sculpting for a bit.

Gary, you are a man of many tallents! Keep us posted on this, I want to see how it turns out!

Jay H.
OKC

Yeah me too

Stephen Mallia

Gary truly is a talented man. Can't wait to see what he does for our APG auction.

Mike Stelzel

Mike, Thanks I really appreciate it. The Fairchild painting will be done in oils which will no doubt de a totally different animal than gouache. I just wanted to shake of the dust so to speak with this piece, so I'm not expecting anything great to come from it.~Gary

Gary,
You should always expect great things. Good luck with the painting and keep us posted. I've attached a drawing I did for a book illustration set in the Crimean War. Lots of fun creating a character from scratch!

Pete

Pete, Thanks buddy. I like the illustration. Was this piece a commission, or are you doing it for a friend?~Gary

Your paint job is really good and interesting.
Thx for posting

JP

Gary,
WOW I sure wish I could draw and paint like that "not expecting anything great". It would give me a huge improvement.
Cheers
John

Thank you for all the kind words. I have not done a flat piece of artwork in sometime, so there's somewhat of a re-learning curve.~Gary

Very little more progress. Gouache has some beneficial properties I'm sure, I've yet to discover them.

Really really need to get back to sculpting.

Hey Gary,

Very nice work, wish I could make the time to improve my drawing. You are a man of many talents it would seem.

Regards Callum.

Gary, Your in progress drummer looks super! I admire your talent. Wish you would consider doing a 54mm of the drummer once you finish the flat art. I like the pose as well as the color. Great job!

Best of Everything, Terry Martin

It's been a long week so here's a quickie update on the drummer before I get back to sculpting.

Gouache is a tricky medium to work with as additional layers of color "activate" the layer(s) underneath when they get wet. The coat is mostly done and the breeches and waistcoat are getting close.

The face needs a little more work to bring the colors together as they are a bit stark.

Gary, there's no denying that you're a very talented man. Thanks for sharing

Stephen Mallia

A little update on the drummer. These two scans are probably the closest in terms of color to the actual painting. I have a little shading to do on the uniform. The drum and grass and ground are the only big things left to do.