Historical Art at Jekyll Island’s Island House
On July 8 Time Past Studio opened at Jekyll Island’s historic “Island House.” Local artist and re-enactor William Temple placed his historically themed artwork on display upstairs in the hundred year-old shop. While creating new works, Temple also has oil and watercolor paintings, limited edition prints, poems, and poetry books on sale to the public. Visitors to the store will be entertained by the artist as he performs period music and relates the stories surrounding each of his rigorously researched paintings. Temple limits his prints to just 300 of each work and selects unique subjects from history artists have never before captured. Each painting and print comes with a detailed point-in-time historical write-up describing the events and persons depicted. Each painting involves up to a year of research. Temple participates and performs at living histories and re-enactments around the country; if you are visiting Jekyll Island and the Golden Isles, don’t be surprised if you encounter him as one of his various historical characters. Bring the camera!
Temple began drawing and painting at the age of six. As a child he discovered the applications of perspective and the subtleties of tin and shade before he actually learned the terms. Combining those disciplines with a predilection for historic subject matter ultimately led him to creating his current pieces.
Following service as an infantry troop in the Vietnam War and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Central Florida University, Temple worked for 34 years as an illustrator, graphic designer, exhibit builder, painter, and art director for the federal government. Temple worked for several national agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, Secretary of the Air Force’s Office, and Department of Homeland Security at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia. During that time Temple was fortunate to work in a variety of mediums and in two- and three-dimensional formats.
In 1997 Temple launched Time Past Studio as a business. Period poetry and music were quickly added to his product line. Since historical accuracy is the benchmark for this genre of painting and writing, his focus on detail has required him to immerse himself in the subjects he paints, marketing to re-enactors who are often the inspiration for many of his works. In a very real sense, Temple often feels he is living in the events he creates.
Tags: , golden isles artists, historical artwork, history re-enactors, island house, jekyll island arts, time part studio, william temple
