A Time Line of Events-Childhood-Education

For clarification, I thought, perhaps, a time-line would enable my reader to get more of a grasp of the journey of this artist, Hermon Adams.

Childhood-Age Fifteen: Hermon received his first paints at a very early age, and does not recall a time when he did not draw or paint. He was a night owl and filled his nights with his favorite snack: sweet pickles, cheese, bread, and milk along with reading the encyclopedia. He gained a vast knowledge doing that, but was most interested in mythology. His grandmother, Mary Gillespie, an avid reader, told Hermon and his sisters wonderful stories that helped stretch his imagination. Hermon also had a love for horses and sold his first painting of horses, running through the water, at age 15. By that time, he had worked summers on the Prassle Dude Ranch in Raymond. He also trained horses at a ranch in Teague, Texas. He has a working knowlege of the horses anatomy from these early experiences.

Education: There were no art classes in high school. But that didn't stop Hermon from doing what he loved. His buddies, would gather at his house and watch him paint and draw. Then everyone put in his two cents and critiqued what Hermon had done. (The painting that I remember, when his den was filled with his friends and family, was of Tarzan climbing a huge tree. It was a commissioned piece for his friend he called "Perkins." Hermon did a self-portrait as Tarzan's face. It was quite novel. Apparently, Tarzan was Perkins' hero, and he was known for wearing his leopard bathing suit, while swinging through the trees giving a fantastic Tarzan yell!)
Hinds County (Junior) Community College: Hermon studied painting and art history, and had good guidance and encouragement from his teachers, in particular Mr. Walsh.
University of Southern Mississippi: Hermon studied sculpture there and the other required subjects to get his Fine Arts Degree in Advertising Design. While at Southern, Hinds did a show for Hermon in Raymond. He had several pieces of sculpture in various mediums, including plaster cast-Andrew Jackson bust; built-up plaster-a horse; cast cement-a stylized Greek sentry, "The Sentinel;" and a free-form metal piece that looked like a large clam. Some of his paintings were also abstract, because that is what his professors at Southern taught. "Chaos" was a rather large piece with shades of burnt umber, reds and oranges in geometric shapes. Hermon's next door neighbors bought this piece for their den. "The Apartment" looked like lit-up windows in a long and narrow taupe building. Hermon's sister, Mary, liked that piece so much, that he gave it to her. Hermon's showing was written up in the local newspaper.
While at Southern, Hermon worked a full quarter, day and night, on his Senior project, doing several extensive book illustration projects. Using photography, with his sister, Pattie, himself, and me as models, he did mock-ups of five book covers for Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars Series, framing the books in a nice display. (That is another whole story in itself.) He did a black and white painting of a horse-drawn chariot pulling Hector behind, and printed it for the book cover for the classic, The Illiad. Hermon did a series of stylized pen and inks of the book's major points, and using a two-color press, printed several copies of a sample page. The drawings had been done on heavy poster board and made a very nice series of paintings, which we displayed in our house for several years. They remind me of the work seen on urns from legendary times of Greek and Roman figures. Last but not least, Hermon drew a series of illustrations for a children's version of The Illiad. It was the most professional looking of the displays of the Senior projects in the art department. Hermon made a "C" on his project, while a classmate did a map of the state of Mississippi and its products! She had done it the night before and she received an "A!" Her display was completely unprofessional and somewhat sloppy looking. What an injustice! There was no comparison whatsoever. I tried to convince Hermon to go to the Dean and appeal his grade. But he wouldn't do it. He said it didn't matter what his grade was; he knew that what he had done was far and away better than anything there. He had put his all into it and that was enough for him. He also recognized the criteria for the project grading system; he didn't have "boobs!"
Wedding, Temp Jobs, and the Army: This will be my next blog, along with some photos of older pieces of interest. Have a great evening. Sheila