WIP - Historical event art - Quantrill's Raid

Occasionally then I do story paintings. In this case the eyewitness account by my ancestors of Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, KS on August 21, 1863 that sparked off the American Civil War.

Conceptualizing:
Conceptualizing a scene you've never witnessed is a challenge. Finding that single iconic image that will incorporate the event. I start very similarly to a writer in that I start putting together a visual outline of my story. I list or sketch out the characters, location, date, etc. that I know about the event. It is from these sketches that I determine perspective (view), size of canvas, and importance of elements in the painting.

background - Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, KS on August 21, 1863. This event became part of "Bleeding Kansas" which triggered the American Civil War. This painting is the rendering of my ancestors eye-witness account of the raid. Although to young to fight the boy is drafted by the local freight wagon driver to leave his boyhood behind and take over the duties of delivering the freight so the driver can help and fight his neighbors in this guerrilla war. The deep ideological differences that erupted in violence on this day and split the nation still exist in the people today.

In this sketch you can see the wagon and people, Lawrence, KS in the background, etc. This sketch will mean little to anyone but the artist, but it really is critical in keeping your focused on your vision.



References:
References like this map of Lawrence, KS in 1869 are very helpful. This is close to the view of Lawrence I used. I want to be historically accurate as possible for this paint. This event took place at dawn, at specific location. Landmarks in existence today will be different then in 1863. What did the clothing, vehicles, landscape look like. What technology wasn't invented yet, like barbed-wire, metal buckets, guns, etc. There is little photographic records of this event and period. Paintings and drawings are interpretations, and are not necessarily accurate. The more research you do the more richer both the painting and your artistic experience.









Perspective:
Starting with a blank canvas I just place and size my sketches in accordance with the image in my head. Perspective is my focus. Get everything to fit on the canvas with some plan to compensate for required disproportionality (sometime you intend to make things bigger than life). As I develop individual elements I have to pose them in relation to the viewer's perspective, but at this time I'm just fine with stick-figures and area outlines. It's critical that you transfer your planned perspective.









Composition:
Now that I have the basics of my story (raid, kid, fright driver),I start developing elements. Artwise the sky is the most important single element in my painting because it will establish my color palette and establish my light source. The sky is the interactive artistic element that unites the story elements in the painting. It will unite the scene; the background clouds, the middle ground smoke, and the foreground tree are all in the same sky. The sky is revisited later in the creation process as it creates the mood and drama of the painting. But at this time my colors are anything that is close in the box. I work on the unity first and then colors. In this painting sky is also an important story element as the raid happened at dawn.







Telling the Story
After I've placed my horizon and my basic characters, then I start adding outlines of elements that I need to tell my story. Why are the characters there and what are they doing? I don't worry about colors, detail, pose, or anything else but composition placement. At this point most paintings (including this one) start taking on their own personalities; how you imagined it would look is different than it does. It's this painting personality that ends up determining my other mechanics: color, pose, etc.












Light:
At this point than most of my story elements are incorporated and I start thinking about light. Light is essential in my painting (or any painting)to establish mood and drama. I want an epic feel to this painting. Color mixing is an art in itself. Color and light are normally developed in overlays of glazes and paint. Color, light and mood foundations are started here but will be continually developed as the painting progresses.













Pose:
We have establish the story elements but now we have to pose them. How are the characters in my painting able to convey action and reaction? This is a detail of my original compilation sketch; how the element would look to the paintings viewer. In this sketch then the figures are climbing into the wagon. By the time I was working on canvas (see pose 2) I had already changed the positions of the figures. Eventually then the pose of the figures also changes in order to focus the story. I want to portray more defense than aggression, so I lowered the driver's arm and changed his pose. The boy is barefoot and doing chores (youth and naivety). As I research costume then figures will change; I have the antique shotgun that research shows is more likely the driver carried to use as a model, rather then a sword. Pose is determined both by the viewers perspective but also the required communication with the action of the story (get your faces looking where they should).




Story:
I've added elements to enhance the story. A dropped bucket of chicken feed tells why the boy was there and portrays the change in life (chores are abandoned for adult work). Likewise the driver is laying down his whip and taking up arms. As you fill in elements in historical work then you need to research each element you add. Barbed wire fencing was not yet available, horse tack, landmarks, clothing, tools, weapons, etc. will all need to be research.


At this point then I'm about 1/3 the way through the painting process. The story line, scene, light, etc. are all established and just need to be developed. But you should now have a good idea of where I'm trying to go with this painting. It's still too early to see if I can pull off the image I'm trying for, but check back for updates.




Update1 - Shadows
Pose and shadow work to emphasize dawns streaking light and bring eye-movement and a sense of action into painting. Color and detail is developing in overlays. Light is used to highlight abandoned chores and figures.


















Details
Scenes within scenes, detail. Detail is built in layers. Here you can see I have started adding fine detail like expression, and costume detail to my figures. Have started adding a tarp to wagon and changed the sword into a shotgun (or will be, takes a few layers). Details add interest and story to painting.












Detail2 - Lawrence Burning
Continuing to work on my details; here the burning of the city of Lawrence, I intentionally use different disciplines in my sub-scenes to more closely interact like natural sight. Here an abstract of the burning city allows detail to be created by the viewer, while still appearing impressionistic in the overall painting.

The realistic foreground is countered against the abstract with impressionistic work. Disciplines are mixed to give maximum utilization of the painting to provide different views (sub-pictures), eye-movement, and natural perspective.

In the impressionistic middle-ground, then known landmarks of the period are added; the planning for the University of Kansas (scaffolded building), the windmill, Railroad bridge, Ferry, Plymouth Congregational Church, chalk quarry and other geography of the area.






Mood and Drama An overall view of the details so far. Lot's more detail to finish but I'm now shifting my focus to mood and drama. When developing details I focus more on developing the mood, and drama of the scene and in getting the elements to look seated, then I do on tiny detail. I can't get an overall epic proportionality of the event if I rely only on impossible to see detail to tell my story. Even if the paintings viewer can't see the expression on the drivers face or bodies of people in the town from a distance, I still want them to have the overall impact first. Details fill out the painting and reward interested views, but are just intended to be the lyrics not the melody of the painting.








The Finish: Thought I'd add title and descriptions that will be on original.




Title: Bleeding Kansas - A life and Nation Changing Event
Oil on Canvas, 28" x 34" (unframed)
Artist: Mary Ellen Anderson
Original and Prints available for sale Originals and Artist Edition Prints
POD Giclee and Fine Art Prints

This painting is inspired from the oral history that has been passed down in my family of my ancestor's eyewitness account of Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Kansas during the American Civil War. I have endeavored to be as geographically and historically accurate as possible, while still taking the necessary artistic license to tell the story.

At dawn on August 21, 1863, 12 year old David Anderson's life and world changed forever when war came to his home, just outside of Lawrence, Kansas. Although too young to fight in the guerrilla war that became known as "Bleeding Kansas", David was drafted by the local freight man to take over his delivery route, so that the driver could fight in this war of neighbor against neighbor.

Leaving his childhood behind, David climbed into the freight wagon and in an actual 'rites of passage' successfully delivered his cargo to Salt Lake City, Utah. This triumphant arrival occurred just as the local Methodists minister's daughter was crossing the street and young David was immediately smitten. Her name was Rose and David called her his "Rose of the Valley". One thing leads to another and the former Irish Catholic boy returned home a man, with a new career (freight driver), a new bride and a new religion, changing forever not only his life but the lives of all his decedents including myself.

War changes all of us forever but rarely in the way we expect. Ideological differences that you assume war will settle still exist today and are even compounded by the scars of events like this raid. But inevitably in war boyhoods are lost, and futures are changed forever.

--Mary Ellen Anderson
WIP fb gallery on this painting: http://tinyurl.com/lve3pwa.

Selling and Buying Art - Does your wall art match your sofa pillows?

Selling and Buying Art - Does your wall art match your sofa pillows?


Often time’s artists and gallery staff scoff at decorators that want art that matches their sofa pillows. It seems so silly that someone would want to furnish and decorate a room around a $20 throw pillow, but that’s not what’s going on here. That pillow represents the decorator’s artistic view. A decorator is creating a new original artwork, the actual room or setting. That pillow is a memory-aid to this work-in-progress. It keeps the decorator focused on the colors, themes, space and light of their vision.

Artists that fail to understand the true needs of the decorators are missing an opportunity to serve them. As artists, most of us love collaborations on our works-in-progress. We're all more receptive to advice and change during the creation process, and so are decorators. Decorators as artists have the same creative spirit as painters, photographers, or any other artists. They want to explore their medium, be creative, and get feedback. Help them wade through the overwhelming selection of artwork, frames, etc. that are available to them. Help them avoid the newbie or common mistakes. These can be great opportunities to get a following and for custom or commissioned work. Even the decorator may not be used to thinking of themselves as an artist. Help them see that artist in themselves and what they are really looking for; it’s more than a color match.

Sofa pillows should make you excited because someone is going to show you a WIP. Try to understand it just as you would any other piece of art; ask questions and get involved in their vision (did they take any cell-phone pictures of the space?). Treat pillow-carrying decorators as you would want your own artistic efforts treated; with respect and appreciation. Even if your work doesn't have a place in this particular WIP, then just the understanding you show for that decorator’s vision will bring them back the next time. It also gives your real insight into what’s selling. Decorators are artistic peers; as artists their visions is MORE valid then yours because it’s their artwork. As a professional, you offer your experience to help them achieve that vision, not defeat it. If you talk someone into something they hate then they (and anyone who listens to them) will never come back.

But here is the final reason why you want your art to match the sofa pillow, because just as the pillow is the overall connector on the WIP stage, then your art will hopefully become that connector to the finished project. It is you art that now says what the space is about, and connects the furnishings; your physical art has replaced what was just an artistic vision in the decorators mind into a new original work that’s incomplete without it.

What is Giclee? What makes it a Fine Art Print?

Giclee Prints

What is GICLEE? What makes it a Fine Art Print?

Giclee – pronounced (zhee-klay) - The French word ’giclée’ means a ‘spray’ or a ‘spurt of liquid.’ Giclée is a process not a brand or a product. When a print is created using the Giclée process, it is most often referred to as a Giclée print.

What is a Giclée Print? The term "Giclée print" represents a modern advanced elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from the highest resolution digital scans possible and printed with archival quality inks onto various high quality substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The Giclee printing process provides a higher degree of color accuracy than any other means of art print creations.

The prints that results from the Giclée process are considered reproductions if there is a traditional fine art original (oil, acrylic, pencil, pastel painting or drawing) that was digitally captured, thus creating the original digital master file. The colors are rich, seamless and amazingly vivid. The archival inks, papers and practices allow them to last for generations. This will allow you to pass them down generation after generation to your contemporary art admirers. Giclee prints will exceed your expectations in quality, color and presentation.

Giclese are not mass edition reproductions such as a quality lithograph that easily runs into the tens of thousands and posters (usually cheaper paper and ink are used). The owners of open and limited edition Giclée original reproductions, know that they have the highest quality reproduction possible. They are almost indistinguishable from the original and with proper care will last for generations.

Giclee is an exciting new medium for both artists and art print buyers because it has unparalleled quality, longevity and the much sought after desirability of custom art printing.

The Giclee Process
Giclée is a process that results in a print that is called a Giclée art print. It is a new type of original that is reproduced on-demand from a master digital image file that is the digital scanned version of an original piece of art. The art is scanned, digitized, and color proofed with systems that are tightly calibrated to create true fine art print representation of the originals, all under the original artist’s supervision.

Professional grade large format printers are used with archival pigment inks. This printing method results in an extensive color gamut allowing the prints true colors to be representation. They look stunning and will last for years. Whether you choose giclee prints on paper substrates or canvas, the quality remains outstanding. Just like the ones found in art galleries & art museums.

A Giclee Print is simply the closest replication of original artwork that is currently possible. The result is brilliant, eye-catching prints that you’ll enjoy viewing every day in your home or office with your family, friends, employees and colleagues. Your art will be admired by everyone who sees it and you’ll feel good that you made a smart decision, buying quality art prints at an affordable price.

Giclee Advantages
Fine Art
These fine art reproductions are no ordinary pieces and make exceptional gifts. Giclee art reproductions are the closest prints possible of the original art and also the most affordable way to own and collect fine art. Fine art is a sharing of the human experience. Art is very personal, moving and memorable. These fine art prints will make you or the recipient feel like they are the most important person in the world. You'll be remembered for giving a personal gift unlike any other. Just think how great it will feel every time you or they proudly show off their unique gift to their friends and family.

YOUR CHOICE – GICLEE SIZE, PAPERS, CANVAS, FRAMING
Another tremendous advantage of Giclee printing is that they can be custom printed in many different sizes and onto various paper or canvas substrates, while maintaining the highest quality. This gives the artist and art print buyer the ability to customize prints for their own specific needs and desires. What all of us want is to have a wide selection available and choose our own configuration of an art print. We want quality art prints that are affordable. We can choose exactly what we want, without being limited to size and type of art in stock at stores and gallery.

Giclee Longevity
What distinguishes Giclees from other print methods is that much attention is paid to using archival materials and practices. Now Giclee prints can be created using pigmented inks and papers developed specifically for fine art prints. With this in mind, giclee that are properly cared for can last a lifetime or more.

Collectable - Giclee’s in Museums, Galleries, Famous Artists
Giclee prints are widely accepted at many museums and galleries. Many museums in the United States and abroad have mounted exhibitions of Giclée prints or purchased prints in their permanent collections. Those include the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Guggenheim (New York), The Museum of Fine Art (Boston), The Philadelphia Museum, and The Smithsonian Institute. Many distinguished photographers and artists, produce works that are Giclee art prints. There have been recent auctions of Giclee prints that have fetched tens of thousands of dollars.

Why are our Giclees better?

Because of our product

Mary Ellen Anderson Fine Art prints are produced using the latest technology, under the original artists supervision and simply astound our clients. Is it the original or only a print? These prints are made from superior Giclee technology, and creates reproductions heretofore not thought possible. Look, touch, see for yourself. Thanks to this new production technology, we can produce domestically a better product at a better price then our Asian competition. Seeing is believing.

Because we use only the best materials available

We use only top quality materials all made in America. No inexpensive, under performing materials from China.

-Archival poly-cotton canvas and paper
Created on high quality artist’s canvas our canvas prints can be mounted with a gallery or museum wrap that can be hung on the wall with no frame or you can have it produced with the intent to frame.
-Pigmented inks
Our prints are made using aqueous pigmented inks rated at 200 years.
We don't use solvent inks for they emit harmful VOC (volatile organic compounds) into the air that may be harmful to your health.
-Superior coating
We offer only one coating surface which is somewhere between gloss and semi-gloss. In our opinion it is the surface that offers the best saturation and contrast but without the drawbacks of high gloss. It is enhanced UV, water and abrasion resistant. A machine is used to coat the canvas.

Art: Mary Ellen Anderson Fine Art Gallery is proud to ...

Art: Mary Ellen Anderson Fine Art Gallery is proud to ...: Mary Ellen Anderson Fine Art Gallery is proud to announce our newest artist, Kathy Brecheisen . Here colors of Spring abound in one of he...

Mary Ellen Anderson Fine Art Gallery is proud to announce our newest artist, Kathy Brecheisen. Here colors of Spring abound in one of her newest works "The Lilly Pond". This and other exciting works by Kathy are featured in our:
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Art: Mother nature has given us a last few days to enjo...

Art: Mother nature has given us a last few days to enjo...: Mother nature has given us a last few days to enjoy the snow. Here are some snowy favorites to enjoy. Original Oil Painting so realisti...

Mother nature has given us a last few days to enjoy the snow. Here are some snowy favorites to enjoy.

Original Oil Painting so realistic it feels like you're there.
The Cascade Mountains of Western Canada host some of the world most spectacular mountain lakes. Here bright fall foliage and clear mountain air provide a breath-taking view of the stately peaks that are mirrored across the surface of the blue-cold lake. A place of both scenic and personal reflections.

Giclee prints available. Visit Online Gallery

.....................................Wikipedia................................................
The Cascade Range (or Cascades) is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. The Cascades are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. All of the eruptions in the contiguous United States over the last 200 years have been from Cascade volcanoes. The two most recent were Lassen Peak in 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

Freshly fallen snow weights heavily on the branches of the Larch Pine trees that line the now impassible road. Light streams through trees, drawing geometrical patterns. It's so quiet you can hear the earth awakening to its new blanket. It's a world and moment where you are unprotected by man's innovations; beautiful and worthy of respect.

Holland Lake Lodge is located near Missoula, Montana. It is an entrance into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, where my brother was an outfitter. "The Bob", as it is known by locals and nicknamed by the U.S. Forest Service employees, ranges in altitudes of 4,000 to over 9,000 feet (1,220 to 2750 m). A long escarpment known as the Chinese Wall averages 1,000 feet (300 m) high from its base and extends for 40 miles (64 km). Aside from numerous waterfalls, lakes, and dense forests, the wilderness is also prime Grizzly bear habitat and the U.S. Forest Service claims that the population density of this species is higher than can be found anywhere else in the U.S. outside of Alaska. The Bob is also home to many other large mammals such as moose, elk, black bear, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, wolverine, mountain lion, lynx, and wolf. Bald eagles, osprey, pelican, and trumpeter swan are just a few of the bird species found. The dense old growth forests are dominated by Douglas fir, larch, and spruce. Forest fires have changed large areas in the wilderness complex in recent years.
Wilderness areas do not allow motorized or mechanical equipment including bicycles or hang gliders. Camping and fishing are allowed; fishing requires a state license; no roads are present and there is also no logging or mining in compliance with the Wilderness Act. Some administrative cabins constructed in the early 1920s afford refuge for trail crews and wilderness rangers. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season.

Blue, crisp, and wet cold; it was the sounds of natures melody that originally drew me to this scene. The sounds of the creek from melting snow and the crisp blues emerging after days of gray make this a painting of renewal. It's the freshness after a storm or the first signs of the coming spring. Painted en plein air outside Allenspark, Colorado accounts for the small size of the original, but this breath-taking crisp morning is now a warm and treasured memory.
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Mary Ellen Anderson is a contemporary American oil painter residing in Lawrence, Kansas USA. She is known for her oil paintings that blend ultra-realism and impressionism into a unique style that is reminiscent of Renaissance masters. Common themes are mid-west and western landscapes, portraits, and nature.


Gallery: Open Mon - Sat.
(inside the Anderson Rentals Building)
1312 W. 6th. Street
Lawrence, Kansas 66044