The artist painted railroad vine into his painting in remembrance of his
For the last two years, Tarpon Springs modern artist
extraordinaire Christopher Still has been creating
a 96-inch by 96-inch oil on canvas painting titled
Beautiful Historic Tarpon Springs, the painting that
appears on the current Tampa Bay Magazine cover. Still’s
masterpiece will be installed in the newly renovated lobby
of AdventHealth North Pinellas hospital in Tarpon Springs.
Known for its exceptional patient care, safety scores and
leading edge technology, AdventHealth wanted Still to
create a piece of art to represent its philosophy of care and
the area’s history. To do so, Still spent time researching
both the health organization and his hometown to be able
to incorporate images of both into this monumental work,
which symbolizes the coming together of the hospital and
the community it serves.
Since many of the early families in Tarpon Springs had
ties to Kalymnos, Greece, Still traveled to Kalymnos. With
the help of Tarpon Springs mayor Chris Alahouzos, who
connected him with the priest of the Metropolitan Church
there, he saw the Epiphany Cross used since the 1870s,
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which he added to his painting.
In another image of a family having a traditional picnic
on Anclote Key, Still worked with AdventHealth North
Pinellas CEO Jason Dunkel, his wife Katelyn and their
four daughters as models, since his practice is to use
individuals, artifacts and other such objects in his work
to represent the culture and history of the area. He paints
from life as he sees it to achieve a lasting testament to
the many memories and thoughts he has had during his
search for discovery.
Prior to proceeding to the final painting, Still prepared
a full-size charcoal of his vision for approval by the
AdventHealth CEO. Portions of the work were from
studies he made during his planning stage, such as
the details of the Anclote Key Lighthouse. Still is the
ultimate student who looks for what others may not see.
For instance, while in Kalymnos, he sketched a sponge
diver underwater using underwater paper to be able to
capture the feeling that an early diver might have had
before the use of modern diving equipment.
F
mother ‘s love of wildflowers.
Christopher Still painted studies such as
this one of the Anclote Key Lighthouse to be
part of his completed masterpiece.