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With brush strokes as masterful as they are rich, Christopher Still dissolves the boundaries of time, opening up a portal to ages past while binding us to the present and future.

Tarpon Springs Artist Paints Florida's Legacy
by Mary Kelley Hoppe

"We're looking at the same sun the Timucua Indians looked at thousands of years ago," says the Tarpon Springs artist, who was chosen in a national search to paint a series of eight historical murals and two waterscapes for the newly renovated House of Representatives chamber in Tallahassee.

Florida got more than it bargained for from this native son.

Each of the massive four by 10-foot historical murals alone is remarkable; woven together the tapestry spans 30 million years, guiding the viewer from the ancient world of Florida and its beautiful landscapes and first inhabitants through European settlement to modern day. More remarkable still is that he pulls it off, managing to collapse and connect symbols, artifacts, man and natural environment in a seamless symphony of images with the deft hand and vision of someone who is equal parts storyteller and artist.

"One of the hardest things about history is there's virtually no way to teach it except in a linear way, but history doesn't happen in this neat little line." Presenting it in a visual collage enabled Still to eliminate the boundaries and reach out to people with little knowledge or appreciation of Florida's past. That was important to the Clearwater native, whose father taught history at Clearwater High School.

The series begins at dawn In Ages Past, when saber-toothed cats, mammoths and herds of bison roamed the land, and introduces Florida's earliest inhabitants. Members of the Timucua tribe are fishing and gathering food at the mouth of the river. A young woman turns to discover a fish has fallen from her basket and a crab is scrambling to escape. On the horizon, a Spanish ship appears, a strange apparition that will forever change her way of life. Fossils and artifacts nestled on the frame of the picture represent several prehistoric Florida cultures.

In A Patriot and Warrior, the proud fierce Seminole warrior Osceola points to a ship destined to remove Indians to a reservation in the west, while the other hand grips a knife planted with determination into a symbolic U.S. document.

A steamboat traces the serpentine curves of the Oklawaha River in The Okeehumkee on the Oklawaha River. It is now the late 1800s, and as they pass by giant cypress trees, passengers are enthralled by white-tailed deer, magnificent plumed birds and massive alligators. But on closer inspection, troubling signs are evident. Exotic water hyacinths have been introduced to the rivers and begin an ongoing invasion. Herons and egrets, so admired for their plumes, were nearly hunted to extinction. And while tourists idly plied the waters, life was changing for the pioneers, farmers and former slaves who lived and worked here.

A New Age whisks us to the present. Children frolic on a dock, while opportunity and technology bloom in Florida. A space shuttle launches in the distance, while a WWII medal resting on the frame recalls the millions of patriots who trained in the state, many of whom later returned as tourists then became permanent residents.

While Florida's natural environment is celebrated in each work, the final two murals spirit the viewer and artist beneath the waves. In The Spring of Life, Florida's past and present are gathered together in her beautiful springs. Crystal-clear waters scatter light like azure diamonds while harboring schools of fish and manatees that flock to the warm waters each winter.

Manatee frolic in In The Spring of Life.

"I had the opportunity to sit on the bottom of a spring for a couple of hours and got knocked over by a manatee," says Still, who learned to dive years ago so he could infuse his works with authenticity gained first-hand. Using a pressurized, airtight box outfitted with a small canvas, oil paints and brush and sealed glove, he produces underwater color sketches that serve as visual cues for his work in the studio.

For Beyond the Seven Mile Bridge, last in the series, Still made numerous dives from a base camp six miles off Key Largo at Carysfort lighthouse, the oldest iron-screw pile lighthouse in the Florida Keys. He also enlisted the help of several scientists as technical advisors, among them Dr. Randy Runnels of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in Tampa.

"Artists can always claim artistic license, but Chris doesn't do that," says Runnels, who befriended Still at an art show more than a decade ago. "Here you have an artist who really tries to make everything scientifically accurate. Chris literally immerses himself in whatever he's dealing with."

Beyond the Seven Mile Bridge took eight months to complete. Larger than the previous murals, the five- by 13-foot painting celebrates the magnificent sea life of the coral reef.

A giant lobster with tentacles outstretched probes the water from his coral perch, while schools of fish flit about and a sea turtle swims into view.

Runnels marvels at the exacting details and images. "You basically have to explore his paintings," he says. "I've looked at this painting dozens of times and I'm still amazed at the new things I see."

Runnels also recalls the lengths to which Still went to learn about his subject, spending long, cold nights on a platform outside Carysfront lighthouse sleeping on a grate while waves splashed underneath. Spurred by safety concerns, the Coast Guard nixed the idea of sleeping inside the structure, leaving Still and Runnels to battle the elements just as a cold front was coming through.

It's par for the course, quips Runnels, for someone as naturally curious and dedicated as Still.

Still received a full scholarship to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before moving to Florence to apprentice in traditional fresco painting techniques. Following a European fellowship and further work at the Pennsylvania Academy, he returned to Tampa Bay in 1986 to "explore his home state with new eyes."

The artist's paintings can be found in museums and private collections including the Florida Governor's Mansion and the Smithsonian Institute. He lives and works in historic downtown Tarpon Springs. Readers can view his work online at www.christopherstill.com.

Images supplied by Christopher Still

© 2004 Bay Soundings
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