Friday, November 1, 2013

GETTYSBURG LANDSCAPE By Cecelia Lyden



oil/stretched canvas
11x14
www.cecelialyden

My plein air group painted on the Gettysburg Battlefield this past Saturday. I was there from 10:30 to 1:30. I spent the first hour or so wandering, getting stuck on one way streets, finally choosing a scene in front of the Pennsylvania Monument, schmoozing with the other artists, setting up my easel, paints, etc. I spent the next hour and a half shivering in the windy cold, cleaning my canvas after the wind had blown it on to my palette, recovering from the shocks of a cannon being fired off about 50 yards from us[ two or three times] and getting distracted by scores of tourists and a couple of motorcycle "gangs". The noise belied the beautiful "tranquil" setting. All I accomplished was the sketch below the painting, which I finished in the warm, peace and quiet of my studio.