"Firefly" by Scott Thigpen Now Available for Purchase
We are thrilled to announce the second in a series of paintings inspired by the Mulberry Gap experience, and created by artist, mountain biker, and friend @sthig.art.
“Firefly” captures a magical summer night illuminated by fireflies at Mulberry Gap as new and old friends gather around a campfire talking about their day in the woods and on trails.
This limited edition artwork will be ready to be shipped to your home in just a few weeks! There are 20 signed and numbered (12” x 18”) prints available for $100 each. 10% of proceeds will benefit our local Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team and North Georgia Mountain Bike Association.
A NOTE FROM THE ARTIST:
I've often been to Mulberry Gap many times and ridden the Pinhoti trail system- both for leisure and in the grueling Cohutta 100 and TNGA races. While the trail system is fantastic, nothing beats the magical experience created by the Mulberry Gap staff and guests onsite, often described as a “Summer Camp for Adults.”
When Kate reached out to me to paint the following piece, she asked me to evoke the spirit and camaraderie so many guests experience while onsite. She envisioned a night scene during summer, with new and old friends gathered around a campfire talking about their day on the trails. If you've ever stayed at Mulberry Gap during the hotter part of summer, you've seen the woods illuminated with the bio-luminescent fireflies; and it’s likely brought you back to some pretty magical moments as a child.
After many iterations, Kate and I arrived at this look and called it "Firefly." This painting will remain special to me because one day during production, I took a break one day from working on it to go on a bike ride and suffered a heart attack. Having a brush with mortality became a stark reminder that we have a limited time on this earth, and surrounding yourself with the things you love is extremely important. My goal was to pour that love into this piece, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it.
Scott is an artist working for Sony Animation. He and his wife Heather live in Austin, Texas, and are originally from Birmingham, Alabama.
Watch the Process!
The print style is called a “giclee” method. “Jih- clay” and it’s a method of archival inks that last for hundreds of years OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT. Do not put the pictures in direct sunlight as it'll stain them pretty bad (like anything exposed to sunlight that's an ink or paint).
Giclée (/ʒiːˈkleɪ/ zhee-KLAY) is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers.[1] The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on a modified Iris printer in a process invented in the late 1980s. It has since been used loosely to mean any fine-art printing, usually archival, printed by inkjet. It is often used by artists, galleries, and print shops to suggest high quality printing, but is an unregulated word with no associated warranty of quality.
Meet the Artist: Scott Thigpen
I am a concept artist for the film and animation industry. I was fortunate enough to work for Dreamworks' Shrek and an illustrator for the Wall Street Journal, Snapple, Coca Cola, and McGraw Hill Books. My wife Heather and I (and our four fur babies) live in Austin, Texas; however, I grew up in North Alabama and am no stranger to the north Georgia mountains.
Painters and drawers tend to sit on their tush all day, leading to minimal exercise and an ever-expanding waistline. In (2009), I picked up an old rickety bike that I could barely ride due to being relatively out of shape. Over time, I upgraded to a proper mountain bike and started riding with a group, albeit slow and permanently dead last (DFL). One afternoon, I saw a group event at a "mountain bike getaway at Mulberry Gap" in a bike shop. I had no idea what it was but liked the outdoors and decided to go.
With little endurance or fitness, I spent forever trying to climb the very steep gravel climb to Bear Creek. While grueling, it was the best experience ever especially diving into the first section, which is more like a roller coaster than a trail. After a day of trying to tackle Pinhoti 1 and 2, I made it back to Mulberry Gap and was treated to some of the best food, best times, and fantastic service the staff provided.
I loved Mulberry Gap so much that I came back as often as possible. Multiple trips up to the north Georgia mountains led to mountain bike racing, then completing the Trans North Georgia route in 2011 and finally using their location as a training ground for the 3000-mile Tour Divide Race from Canada to Mexico, which I finished in 2013, on a rigid single-speed.
Mulberry Gap has and always been and will forever be dear to me. When Kate Gates asked me if I'd do a series of pieces of the scenery surrounding their beautiful location, I jumped at the chance to do so as I have always wanted to express what was in my head while riding through the Pinhoti trails that region on the southeast.