Inktober 2020 - Women I Admire - Harriet Tubman

The Brodess Farm

The final painting of the Brodess Farm in Dorchester, MD, Harriet Tubman's childhood home. The painting is 10"x20" in oil.
$250

Brodess Farm Pleinair Painting

Pleinair painting that is to be detailed and colored of the Brodess Farm in Dorchester, Maryland. It was cloudy and cold and kind of dreary. This is the childhood home of Harriet Tubman. The original structures have long since been demolished and the only thing there is a small house that is privately owned. There is a small section where you can stand and view the area and take pictures, but you're not allowed on the land. not much has changed since Harriet Tubman lived and escaped from here, as far as the landscape is concerned. I thought it was fitting that the day was cloudy, which is kind of fitting for the atrocities that went on here.

Harriet Tubman: Into the Darkness

Here is the 98%, completed painting of Harriet Tubman: Into the Darkness. This painting took a ton of research and time; from going to Maryland where she was raised, to doing sand studies to see how sand adheres to oil paint. I took sand from both the Richmond Slave Trail and Brodess Farm where she was raised, and ground it into the paint. I'm a huge Maxfield Parrish fan and used his glazing techniques to make the lights brighter, and the darks pushed back. This has been an exhausting journey, but I made some wonderful friends in the process, and learned more than I imagined. I still have some minor additions (more of the rocks, a few branches, and light touches here and there), but I'll most likely finish those up in early 2020. I look forward to seeing the future of this painting.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

So I've started pressing the sand into the canvas. I've blurred out the painting until I'm finished with the entire thing. I will add a darker layer of paint over the sand and rocks once it hardens to the canvas.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

Another progress pic that's not really showing the pic in progress lol. I have to make sure the sand from Harriet Tubman's childhood home will stick to the canvas, so I'm doing different studies in linseed oil on a smaller canvas with dirt, to see if it will adhere. Unfortunately, the painting will not be finished by the 15th, but that's okay. I'd rather it be right than to half-ass it.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

This will be the last pic I post before completing the painting hopefully before the 15th (it all depends on drying time). I have more colors and details to put in the travelers before adding one more layer of trees, and then applying more sand. 
#johnpriceart #harriettubman #workinprogress #blackhistory#nationalparkservice #harriettubmanundergroundrailroad

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

Ok, one more for the day. I have more detailing to do, but way off in the background, the group is being chased by slave owners. They are maybe slightly less than a 1/4 inch.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

Here is the first of maybe 4-6 layers of color that is glazed over Harriet Tubman. Though the man's bag looks purple, it will be a brownish/blue color once it's finished. I may post one more pic in the next day or two and then hold off any more pics until it's done.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

I'm just wrapping up the detailing, and then I will begin putting in the colors. Because it's evening, the colors will be somewhat muted.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

This is the part that people rarely see, when you make a major mistake. Some of the paint was so thick that when it dried, I was unable to add more layers so that it would look natural. You could clearly see the outline of a tree go through one of the bodies of the travelers. So I had to take a razor and scrape that off, sand it down, and apply a brown base layer over it to cover up any indentures. Then, I had to reestablish the dark areas so that I can detail them out. It was a step back, but necessary. The goal is to finish this by June 15. I think I'm ahead of schedule, but we'll see.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

More Detailing ...

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

I've blocked in the lights and darks. From there, I will begin to detail each individual and really push the dark areas.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

More work on the Harriet Tubman Painting. Off in the distance, I've put in the base layer of the slave owners. They will be darkened in, but I needed an outline to know where they were positioned, especially since the background is so dark. The most difficult thing is to make the travelers have a natural appearance. We see so many idolized paintings of Harriet Tubman. It was winter, so I imagine she kept herself warm.

Harriet Tubman Work In Progress

Started the base layer of Harriet Tubman and the travelers. There will be several layers of paint on each person before I put the color glaze on them.

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

Now that the background is completely dry, I have placed in our travelers. Wednesday I get surgery, so I'll be down for a day or so. By Friday, it should be dry and I'll begin to detail each individual. 

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

Harriet Tubman painting with a light blue glaze over it.

Harriet Tubman: Into The Darkness background video

I did a video of the progress of the Harriet Tubman: Into The Darkness painting. Unfortunately, blogger isn't allowing the video to be posted here. I've posted videos throughout the years on blogger, but this one exceeded the limit. If you would like to see the video, you can click the link to the Fine Art by John Price fan page and view it. 

https://www.facebook.com/landscapesbyjohnprice/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Harriet Tubman - Work In Progress

So I know the posts of the trees seem kind of redundant, but I can only work on 3-4 trees every other day and each tree needs a minimum of 2 layers of paint. If one overlaps with the next, it smears the work that was previously done. I have a few more background trees and then on to the glazing. Once I've finished the glazing, I'll begin painting in Harriet Tubman.

#johnpriceart #harriettubman #blackhistory