Blog

This blog page is where I will write down my experiences and thoughts about things relating to Art , History, and the American Civil War. Quite a combination! And I hope you enjoy what the posts to come. But I must say that I have very little experience as a writer, and am a little nervous about that. But, after a time and with a lot of posts published in my rear view mirror, I hope I can become better at it.

  • Confederate Cemetery in Ohio - Confederate Cemetery in Ohio While I was attending other business, I just happened to come upon a Confederate Cemetery in Columbus Ohio. I never knew that this place existed, especially in such an unlikely place in the middle of a large metropolis in the North. I doubt whether the locals even know of it’s existence, […]
  • Sketch drawing of General Elon Farnsworth - Sketch drawing of General Elon Farnsworth. I wrote about an earlier painting of Farnsworth at Gettysburg in an earlier post. Even thought there are some things I like about it, I am not totally satisfied with that painting. I feel I can do better. Here is my updated sketch. I just want Farnsworth on horseback […]
  • Painting of General Farnsworth at Gettysburg - Painting of General Farnsworth at Gettysburg The past week was the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. This prompted me to pull out a painting of General Farnsworth at Gettysburg I did a few years back. It depicts the moment the Union cavalry engaged the well positioned 15th Alabama on the last day of […]
  • Battle of Cedar Creek Civil War Reenactment - Battle of Cedar Creek Civil War Reenactment Sometimes I like to attend Reenactments to obtain reference photos for my art. One of the best I have seen was in 2015, when my wife and I went to the Battle of Cedar Creek Civil War Reenactment. The Battle The Battle of Cedar Creek took place in […]
  • Using Photoshop to transfer a sketch to canvas - How I use Photoshop to transfer a sketch to canvas. There are many ways of transferring a sketch to canvas for painting. I used to use a grid system, since my painting area is always larger than my pencil drawing. But since I have a computer and a printer, I am now using Photoshop to […]
  • The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm painting - The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm painting I am in the process of creating an oil painting of The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia. This took place during the Petersburg campaign of 1864. The artwork would be part of my series on Ohioans during the American Civil War, of which I wrote about in an […]
  • Ohioans in the American Civil War - Ohioans in the American Civil War I have the good fortune of having a chance to display some of my art in a local gallery early next year. I thought it might be nice to have some sort of motif to tie the pieces together. Therefore, I am concentrating on producing paintings that depict Ohioans […]
  • Civil War Monument – La Grange, Ohio - Visiting the Civil War Monument in La Grange, Ohio Just this last weekend, as my wife and I visited my son and his fiance in their new house, we passed through a small town name La Grange, where there stands a large Civil War monument dedicated to soldiers of the nearby area who served in […]
  • Influences: The Attack upon the Chew House by Howard Pyle - The Attack upon the Chew House by Howard Pyle The Attack upon the Chew House is a painting by Howard Pyle, a noted American illustrator known mostly for his depictions of pirates, medieval characters, and Revolutionary War themes. He also founded the Brandywine School in Wilmington, Delaware. The painting was done for Henry Cabot Lodge’s […]
  • Medal of Honor for capturing the enemy flag - Medal of Honor for capturing the enemy flag As I was doing my research on the Civil War Medal of Honor recipients from Ohio, I can’t help but notice that many of the citations read “Capture of Flag”. I wanted to look into this a little deeper as it seemed such a small action as […]