B.R. artist’s Final Four painting headed to the NCAA Hall

A little more than a week after painting courtside during the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans, Baton Rouge artist Christopher Turner is still reveling in the excitement of the experience. “It was just amazing to be working ‘behind the scenes’ at a major event on a national scale. I’ve done big concerts before and I’ve painted at Tiger Stadium, and it was all of that times ten,” Turner says. Turner’s painting—which he created as the Final Four teams practiced for the last time before the games began—depicts all four teams’ mascots, the Final Four logo and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which hosted the games. One subtle detail of note, Turner says, is a prediction he made in the painting. “The painting is basically a parade float with the four mascots on it; and if you look closely at the back of the float, you’ll see the Kentucky mascot with the championship trophy,” Turner says. Two days after Turner completed the painting, the Kentucky Wildcats won the NCAA title by beating the Kansas Jayhawks. The painting is now headed to the NCAA Hall of Champions Museum in Indianapolis, and Turner says he hopes to make the trip north to see it soon. Check out a four-minute video of Turner painting at the Final Four and further discussing the experience here. —Steve Sanoski