The Voices from the Past series is a collection of audiobooks based on the first-hand accounts of women in American history. Previous albums have used period portraits of the authors, but there weren't paintings of any of the authors that were featured in "The War in Our Front Yard."

However, this picture was taken in 1865, when Susan Bradford was about 19. Her journal entries and letters were were a big part of this audiobook, and so I was able to use it to paint a portrait of her.

I copied skin tones from John Singer Sargent's portrait of Mrs Charles Inch. Every art project should be an opportunity to study something, and I like to try to copy elements of other artists' work to learn more about their technique. 

And here's the final CD cover. The background image is Capture of Ricketts' Battery by Sidney E. King.