Note Type
Antony Hayton, Exhibit DirectorNote
Roy McLendon (1932-2024)
Midnite Sail
Oil on Upson Board circa 1972
Image size 24" X 36"
Most likely the second artist in the group, Mr. Mclendon moved to Gifford Florida from Georgia in the 1950s. His nearby neighbor was Harold Newton, who he watched when he painted outside his house. Roy had enjoyed painting as a child and soon began painting landscapes. He continued to paint right up to his passing earlier this year. He had one of the widest ranges of subject matter of any of the Highwaymen, he painted still lifes, figures, cabins, and animals. Some of his paintings are vignettes of everyday life in rural coastal Florida, such as women washing laundry outside or people fishing. He later became friends with Alfred Hair, but he did not adopt Hair's speed painting techniques.
This impeccably done moonlit scene of a sailboard on the Indian River is a scene that he painted commonly over the years, sometimes as a fiery landscape, other times during daylight hours. In later years he enjoyed painting on canvas and painted meticulously, taking his time to create his highly sought-after works. A sincere, kind, quiet gentleman, he mentioned to me last year that he simply"loves to paint".