Buttercups and Cannon: Day 8-Mixed Media Day

Monday, May 8, 2017

Mixed media day!  I was excited to begin work on a fun new project that combines history and nature with images and words from the battlefield.  I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while and was anxious to get all of my “stuff” out and get started. Mixed media is fun to work with as it gives the artist so much freedom to explore avenues of expression. I set up out on the back patio of the park headquarters building where the staff was kind enough to give me temporary studio space.

For this project, I began with a blank canvas treated with gesso.  Then I combined copies of old battlefield maps, diary extracts, bits from letters, and quotes – all layered on the canvas. After trying several layouts, I settled on the one that I felt gave a good representation of battlefield and nature.  These words and images were gleaned from research at the park library.  This is the first part of my final project to be donated to the park.