Civil War artilery pieces at the Civil War and Artillery show in Mansfield, Ohio.
My wife and I attended the Civil War and Artillery Show in Mansfield, Ohio today. It was a lot of fun, although we didn’t get to stay as long we would have liked because we had to be home when our new refrigerator is delivered. This was to replace our other new refrigerator that lasted 5 weeks! Still, it was a great place to view and maybe purchase military items, relics, and memorabilia, as well as meeting the experts and learning a thing or two.
Anyway, took some good reference photos of civil war artillery pieces that were part of the firing demonstrations. I always make it a point to always take photos for reference purposes. Now days, you can find many excellent references on the internet. Still, taking the photos yourself when you have the opportunity saves you lots of time looking for the right reference in the future. Another great reference source for taking photos are Civil War reenactments. I try to attend as many as I can and take as many photos as possible. I also make it point to jot down in my notes at what time and direction the photographs are taken, as well as noting the weather conditions. Doesn’t do much good if I am painting a scene that occurred during the early morning on a cloudy day, when the reference photos used were taken at noon on a sunny day! I would like to point out that I never take the photos and copy exactly from them to create a piece of art, unless it is for my own personal enjoyment. Reference photos are used to learn about the characteristics of your subject. A certain way the clothes fold when a subject is in a sitting position, or how the light reflects off an artillery soldier when cannon is fired, for example. And I also never copy a re-enactor’s likeness, unless I have clear permission from the subject to do so.