The Joy of Being a Veteran in a New Field

This painting first inspired me in the 1980s. Winslow Homer painted it in 1865 shortly after the end of the Civil War. He was an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly and had been sent to the front lines to document Union troops. This experience became a moving and formative part of his early career as an artist–I can only imagine the tug on his emotions, since I haven’t experienced war myself.

I was especially intrigued by the title, Veteran In A New Field. Homer was referring to a soldier turning from reaping death to reaping the harvest, a time of peace after the horror. I was inspired by the idea of being a veteran artist, having acquired my 10,000 hours of practice, and facing a new field of possibilities.

A few years ago, my niece, knowing about my attachment to this art, sent me a full size print of the painting. I’ve hung it in the room where I work. It is directly in front of the door as I enter. It is the first thing that inspires me everyday. And then I look around…and find an abundance of JOY.

When these two unfinished paintings are placed side by side,

they seem to have a common purpose!

There are the delicious brush strokes that I can’t believe–I DID THAT! (Or, as some artists refer to them, they are ‘happy accidents’.)

There are silly musings in my workspace. Flights of fancy. And creative exploration.

Any place where I settle in to work acquires collections of ‘stuff’. It is my hobbit-hole and I am surrounded by tokens, gifts, nostalgia, and many things “precious“.

The crown jewel of my workplace is, of course, a freshly started painting or project. Promise and potential. Something to live into.

Winslow Homer’s painting, Veteran In A New Field, was painted just a few months after Appomattox–the final engagement of the Civil War. The painting is often seen as an emblem of postwar American society. After carnage, chaos, and disruption, the hope is that the veteran can return to home and family with a renewed sense of purpose.

These are troubled times. I find joy each time I return to my field. I wish you the same.