This is an update to the saga of the painting we have been discussing earlier. 
In early August, I took the painting “on the road” so to speak to a reenactment in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I worked on it at for a couple of days while in the public eye and gleaned additional criticisms that I could fix right on the spot.
I really enjoy working in public. It is why I set up my easel and paint at many of the reenactments and trade shows. Art is not best created in a vacuum. Art teachers assimilate visual and oratorical influences from their students and colleagues through classroom work and critique sessions. I miss being in that rich open environment of a classroom and find this method of taking work to the field or into the public eye, very helpful. The public becomes my ‘extra eyes’ and sparks dialogue, influences my perspectives, and helps me see my errors…or forces me to articulate a reason if I reject the suggestion.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing this painting develop. It is now a finished painting – ready to use on the cover of the magazine and make prints for those who wish them.
Happily, the original has already been spoken for.
Kelly E. James 