Herman Trappman, who does the graphics for this magazine, The Florida Frontier Gazette and I have discussed the problems of historical interpretation. Since I have been specializing more in historical illustration the last ten years, he asked me to write about what is involved in doing a historical painting or illustration.
Two areas I have to be concerned with are technique and reference. The technique would involve the artistic side of the project like the composition and the style of the painting. The reference side would involve how the objects would be depicted.
Reference is very important to provide for credibility. You’re concerned not just about the aesthetic value but the importance of historical accuracy. There is more of an emphasis on being precise in detail, than in other art work, because you are showing the work to a different kind of audience. The illustrator usually has to do all the research and artistically depict the image . With an illustration there is a time deadline.
To give an example of the thought process I’ll discuss what it took to do some historical illustrations for The University of West Florida Archeology Institute. The Institute was changing out part of their exhibit area. They wanted to show more artifacts based on the British period of Pensacola,1763-1781. For this exhibit they wanted four illustrations to highlight certain artifacts.
The first thing was to develop roughs showing concepts. The rough is very important. Its role is to make sure you’re on the same page as the client. It’s to help save time. You don’t want to spend a lot of time developing a concept if it doesn't match with the client’s vision.
One illustration, shown on the cover, was to depict the trading post at the village. The first decision was whether I should show the outside of the trading post or the inside. In this case I made two roughs showing Indians with their trade goods outside the trading post and another rough showing the inside of the trading post. Even though this process is to save time it still takes time to make a rough. I find the more detail you have the better decision the client can make. Having stick figures and a crude looking building doesn't cut it.
I didn't have any descriptions of any trading post that was in Pensacola during this time period. There is a description of buildings by Lord Adam Gordon, Colonel of the Sixty-Sixth Regiment of Foot, who stayed in Pensacola from late August through part of October of 1764. Colonel Gordon stated, "The houses too are all framed of wood, and covered with palmetto leaves, the sides either plaster or bark of trees, and scarce a chimney to be seen."
After the roughs were presented the decision was made to have the people shown inside the trading post. Now I had to finalize the drawing. I had to give clear detail to what trade goods were shown, that had only been indicated in the rough.
Some of the larger items like saddles were easier to display in the background, but some objects like a juice harp, ribbons, and trade knife were small and would be hard to see if shown on the back shelves. I decided to put them in the foreground around a chest like they were being taken out to be viewed and I put the beads on the trader’s hand.
Then I needed to decide how to portray the two Indians and trader. I didn't have any description of any traders in town. There is an unknown source who has been quoted in the book "The 14th Colony-British West Florida 1763-1781" as saying, "The manners and the way of life of the white people differ greatly from those in other provinces, particularly in respect to clothing. They are very plain. Their dress consists of a slight waistcoat of cotton, a pair of trousers of the same, and often no coat. If any, it is a short one of some slight stuff. In winter, a kind of surtout, made of a blanket, and a pair of Indian boots is all the additions. The women also dress light and are not very expensive." So, I depicted the trader with a basic style of dress of the day.
Col. Gordon, said about the appearance of Wolf King’s Creek tribe who were in Pensacola in 1764, "they pluck all their hair off their beards, and value high foreheads, -- what hair remains they plait or braid behind wearing a variety of things mix with it, such as strings, shells, and feathers; some wear pieces of metal and shells to their ears, which are almost always cut and slit in uncommon shapes, others have rings in the gristle of the nose, and others large broad bracelets round their arms and wrists." For the hair style and some adornments I based my depiction on this quote, I also based it on the painting of the Creek Chief Tomochichi and other members of his tribe being presented to the Lord Trustees of the Colony of Georgia in 1734 in London.
Another illustration I did documented the Creek Indian band that came down with Wolf King in 1764. I based this image on the eye witness account by Lord Adam Gordon. When the group left the fort, Lord Gordon observed: "When they come down it is always on horse back, and when they return they carry their kegs of rum, which they call taffy, upon their own backs, on horse back, as well as much of the other presents."
One problem was to decide on which side of the fort they were coming from. Lord Howard said they had camped in the woods by a brook less than half a mile from the fort. The problem was there was a creek on either side of the fort. My rough showed the Indians passing by the west gate since I thought I had seen reference to the brook being on this side in another source.
The archeologists believed the Indians had camped on the east side of the fort. I couldn’t find my source, so I went with the east side of the fort. Luckily, I didn’t have to change much. I just reversed the image in my computer and made some minor changes on the buildings.
Of course I did a lot of research on how the Indians would look. I researched not only their hairstyles and clothing but also their saddles, the terrain, and how the barrels were tied on their backs. I portrayed Wolf King leading his people. I also decided to put a British coat on him. There is no description of this, but based on other historical accounts, it was common for military officers to give clothing to Indian leaders as gifts, I thought it was possible that they may have given him an officer’s coat. From the artistic side this gave me a chance to put a warm color in the foreground to help enhance the focus of interest.
On another illustration I did for this series I needed to put in a rooster and some chickens. To most people a chicken is a chicken. But there are many breeds out there. I had to determine what breeds existed at this time and would probably have been used by the British settlers. I decided to go with the dorking breed. Through my research I found that the dorking is considered as one of the oldest breeds of chickens in American and was commonly found on farms prior to the Civil War. I also found that the re-created 1627 pilgrim village "Plimonth Plantation" used chickens.
These are just some of the areas that I had to research before I even started the final paintings. Once the research is complete and I am comfortable with the historical accuracy, everything comes together. The finished product has all the elements necessary for both historical and artistic value.
