Audio Description: Neosho Big Spring Bluff by Doug Hall
Press play and discover Doug Hall's installation Neosho Big Spring Bluff. Hear a detailed description of the artwork, descriptions of the colors and forms in the painting, and how the artist made the work.
Neosho Big Spring Bluff, Doug Hall, 2018, Tile Giclee Installation of an Oil on Canvas
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Inside the Neosho Newton County Library is a tile giclee installation depicting the oil painting Neosho Big Spring Bluff by Doug Hall. This installation is composed of 48 tiles measuring 12 inches x 12 inches. It stands 96 inches tall by 72 inches wide. The design of the original oil painting is printed directly on the tiles. The brush strokes and texture of the canvas is visible and enlarged on this installation. It is framed by a warm brown ceramic tile border and is attached to a white wall. Grey grout is visible in the grout lines around each tile.
This vertical piece shows three Osage men walking left across large grey stones scattered on either side of a small waterfall in a stream below a rocky bluff which dominates the background. All three men are looking down, watching where they are walking.
The clay red bluff extends high above the three men. At the top of the bluff is a dense grouping of trees. On the left the sunlight shines brightly over the treetops. The golden yellow and orange tree leaves glow in the light. Shadows from the branches dapple the top half of the bluff. Lower, green and yellowing grass and moss can be seen growing on some of the jagged outcroppings and horizontal ledges on the bluff’s face. Further down, the bluff opens back into a cave of black.
Skinny young trees are growing up the entire right side of the piece. The majority of the leaves have turned from green to a golden yellow of autumn.
Each of the three men are shown wearing white shirts with buckskin breeches. Their heads are shaved in the traditional manner of the Osage and they each wear a Roach style headdress.
The man on the far left wears a tan buckskin vest over his shirt and a blanket roll on his back. In his left hand he carries a flintlock musket. He’s striding to the left, leading the others.
The man in the center carries his own flintlock musket in his right hand; his left arm is stretched out from his side for balance as he prepares to cross over the gap in the rocks where the water is rushing by. On his feet he is wearing moccasins.
The third man on the far right is partially hidden by small branches from the trees on the right side of the piece. He is standing, waiting his turn to cross the water. He carries a bow and arrows in his left hand and wears moccasins on his feet.
The stream they are crossing is narrow as it falls over several smaller grey rocks and flows down to the right corner of the piece where it widens into a rippling pool. There are large, flat topped grey rocks of various sizes scattered on either side of the waterfall. The rocks continue left up the embankment to the far side of the piece. The sun dapples down over the upturned edges in warm golden spots. Wildflowers with thin stems and white petals grow up between the rocks in the grass.
Judith Haas Smith commissioned Neosho artist Doug Hall to paint the original 30 x 40 inch oil on canvas painting. The concept behind the painting was to show how Big Spring Park might have appeared in the 1700’s. The bluff face and the stones over the waterfall in this piece help the viewer call to mind the present day stone bridge over the small waterfall that sits in front of the bluff in Big Spring Park. Smith also donated the title giclee installation to the Neosho Newton County Library. It was installed in 2018.
This vertical piece shows three Osage men walking left across large grey stones scattered on either side of a small waterfall in a stream below a rocky bluff which dominates the background. All three men are looking down, watching where they are walking.
The clay red bluff extends high above the three men. At the top of the bluff is a dense grouping of trees. On the left the sunlight shines brightly over the treetops. The golden yellow and orange tree leaves glow in the light. Shadows from the branches dapple the top half of the bluff. Lower, green and yellowing grass and moss can be seen growing on some of the jagged outcroppings and horizontal ledges on the bluff’s face. Further down, the bluff opens back into a cave of black.
Skinny young trees are growing up the entire right side of the piece. The majority of the leaves have turned from green to a golden yellow of autumn.
Each of the three men are shown wearing white shirts with buckskin breeches. Their heads are shaved in the traditional manner of the Osage and they each wear a Roach style headdress.
The man on the far left wears a tan buckskin vest over his shirt and a blanket roll on his back. In his left hand he carries a flintlock musket. He’s striding to the left, leading the others.
The man in the center carries his own flintlock musket in his right hand; his left arm is stretched out from his side for balance as he prepares to cross over the gap in the rocks where the water is rushing by. On his feet he is wearing moccasins.
The third man on the far right is partially hidden by small branches from the trees on the right side of the piece. He is standing, waiting his turn to cross the water. He carries a bow and arrows in his left hand and wears moccasins on his feet.
The stream they are crossing is narrow as it falls over several smaller grey rocks and flows down to the right corner of the piece where it widens into a rippling pool. There are large, flat topped grey rocks of various sizes scattered on either side of the waterfall. The rocks continue left up the embankment to the far side of the piece. The sun dapples down over the upturned edges in warm golden spots. Wildflowers with thin stems and white petals grow up between the rocks in the grass.
Judith Haas Smith commissioned Neosho artist Doug Hall to paint the original 30 x 40 inch oil on canvas painting. The concept behind the painting was to show how Big Spring Park might have appeared in the 1700’s. The bluff face and the stones over the waterfall in this piece help the viewer call to mind the present day stone bridge over the small waterfall that sits in front of the bluff in Big Spring Park. Smith also donated the title giclee installation to the Neosho Newton County Library. It was installed in 2018.
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Doug Hall with his painting Neosho Big Spring Bluff.
Doug Hall while painting Neosho Big Spring Bluff.
Doug Hall watches as Paul Whitehill installs the bottom tiles of the
tile giclee installation inside the Neosho Newton County Library.
tile giclee installation inside the Neosho Newton County Library.
A plaque is located to the left of this installation. It features a photo of Doug Hall painting "Neosho Big Spring Bluff" in his studio.
The plaque reads: "Neosho Big Spring Bluff" by Doug Hall The Neosho Newton Country Library is proud to have this tile mural of the Neosho Big Spring Bluff as conceived and painted by the artist Doug Hall. His presentation is how the area probably looked in the 1700's when the Osage Indians lived around these hills and wetlands. They called this place "Neosho" which translates to English as "murky waters." What we know as Big Spring Park was a swamp in the 1700's and probably long before that. No doubt the first to trail down Big Spring Hill were deer, beaver, bear, and buffalo. Out park was probably a buffalo wallow. The original oil painting for this mural was commissioned by Judy Haas whose Grandmother, Maude Stewart Haas, told her stories of Indians camping on these grounds just as Judy's family lived there for generations. Doug Hall's family has lived in Neosho and Newton County for generations also. Doug Hall was born, reared and schooled here. He has kept his Log Cabin Art Gallery and Studio here. He is honored and humbled that his work has been chosen for this library, in his hometown and during his lifetime. Painting has been the driving force of his life. He has become nationally known for his historical reality of Woodland Indians and landscapes of the 1700's. He is proud to have this special recognition and we are grateful to him with our eyes and with out hearts. |