This painting was made possible by the generous contribution of an outstanding photographer, Seed Lynn, whose collection of sensitive black and white photos of this year’s Highlander Homecoming is viewable here. I began this painting on the Hill at Highlander during the gathering but I was almost immediately rained out so I had to gather and select images of attendees to populate the hill. I found some in my photos and the rest in Seed’s terrific portfolio of the event. Thank you Seed!
I started the scene in a monochrome brown underpainting and laid out the basics during the afternoon. I had a notion to add groups of people in the foreground and others climbing to and from the top of the hill.
The next step was to square up the drawing on the buildings back at the studio and apply a first coat of colors. I got to this point about a week later and then turned to other works for a while, so this had time to dry and rest.
I had an idea of some figures to include but not how to group them, so I did some sketches on paper, cut them out, and experimented with different arrangements. I also realized I needed more variety of people and postures. So, as I experimented with this, I put out word for the photographer whom I had encountered on the hill. Getting a reply took time, as these things always seem to do. But what great images to spark ideas from! In the meantime, we had visits from friends then I attended a terrific conference about Black Mountain College at UNC Asheville.
I next did some basic painting in of the figures I selected of which only 5 or 6 survived the revisions.
Progress on this phase was stalled by illness and work on other scenes. By the time I returned to this piece, I had come back to Gulfport. We spent several days on trips to the auction house and repacking the remainder of the contents of Jeanne’s home. I enjoyed working on the figures. Some were left in a very crude blocked-in state. I refined others to have better likenesses or gestures. In the future, I hope to blend figures more often into my landscape work. After the figure work was done I pumped up the hillside with a glaze of green I mixed using the last of my zinc yellow.
I finished the Highlander painting and delivered it at the board meeting this past weekend. Co-executive director Ash Lee was on site for the event and is in the center of the group in the foreground. Allyn, the other co-ED, was not, but I added him in to the right of Ash. This experience reminded me of how much I liked doing figure scenes back at Millsaps at CS’s and other joints in Jackson.
Chris, Allyn, Ash-Lee, and me