Creatively titled “Medicine Man” (yes, I was tired at that point!) this painting depicts the Apache Medicine Man, known by his adorned hide cap. It is interesting how similar customs and traditions vary according to tribe and region of the country, or the world for that matter.

Settlers West American Miniature Show is Saturday, February 11th, and it promises to be a great event! The Reception begins at 5:30 and the Drawing is at 7:00. This painting hangs with my other there, “Vantage Point”. If you’ll be in the Tucson area, don’t miss the show!

I’ve had a lot of fun with this painting. It’s the biggest oil I’ve done, 60″ x 48″ although that’s small in comparison to the scenics and murals I used to do – sometimes 30′ high. That was a different life and scenario though. I premixed color then from a palette of one gallon cans of acrylic paint. It did take me quite awhile after the mural phase of my life to adjust to painting small paintings like this one!

“Shades” is based on research gained from an artist’s rendezvous I attended last summer. My model is Jay Red Hawk, a Lakota Sioux from South Dakota. Jay is quite knowledgeable about the history of the plains Indians and their encounters with the white man over time.
He has been playing & making Siyotanka ( Northern Plains Courting Flutes) for 22 years that are traditionally hand carved. He has performed with those flutes in many venues, including the ’92 “Good Red Road / Sacred Hoop Concert; as a soloist with the MN Orchestra in ’95; and has recorded music for 20 documentaries, including “Dakota Exile” (PBS) which won a Grammy for sound.” He has also been in movies and documentaries, as has his horse Lady who is now 25 and just officially retired. Jay also is the Founder/Director of the Plains Horse Archery Association.  He can be found on Facebook.

“Warrior” is one of the paintings I’ve done from the pictures I took at The Artists’ Ride this summer. Juwan Lakota was a great model, very proud and self assured. I wanted to portray that in my painting. I can imagine that he would have been a great warrior of the plains, had he lived in an earlier time.

As I understand it, the painting of a man’s face and body among the plains tribes during the buffalo days was said to be a form of mental conditioning. The process drew on the natural powers of the universe to enhance the individuals own personal power and gifts. Each tribe had some tradition as to the use of color and design, but each warrior would paint himself with personal protective designs and colors before they engaged in battle with an enemy. It was believed that prayers said were taken into the paint and when applied, the power of the prayers were conveyed upon the wearer. The combination of color and motif was very important to the individual, who saw it as his ‘medicine’, his personal protective spirit. Red was the accepted color of war.

The base for red paints was varied. Some red was derived from red clay. A brownish red paint could be made by baking yellow clay over ashes until it turned red. Red paint was created from berries, dogwood bark or beets. Because of the ceremonial uses many tribes had for red paint, the bright vermilion red paint offered to tribes by European Fur Traders was highly sought after at a very early date.

This warrior also wears a feather with a red spot, which was indicative of his killing an enemy.

Warrior” is an oil, 36″ x 24″.

Juwan Lakota was a great model. Now having his permission, I can give you his Facebook page. He is interesting in more modeling, or related work I am guessing that honors his Oglala Lakota Sioux heritage. Movies too, perhaps? Artists of all persuasions, take note! Juwan is also interested in poetry and is studying Sociology and Native American Studies in college. He’s a multifaceted guy.

I posted an image of this painting in March but was never quite happy with the piece. I redid it recently and do like it better. I thought you might be interested in seeing the redo. It is still called “Story Teller”, and is an oil, 18″ x 12″.

This is the original painting.

And below is the redo.

I just received word that this painting won the People’s Choice Award at the Clymer Museum of Art Exhibit and Auction, May 20 & 21. Of course I was thrilled! “She Loves Their Stories” is an oil, 24″ x 24″.

In many cultures, the willful Magpie is seen as a messenger, a harbinger, a being that can travel between the dark and the light, the good and the bad. The wily magpie is also seen as one that stands in the doorway of new realms, bringing word of other events and places. This wise woman is thrilled by a visit from her magpie friends, enjoying the stories they have to tell of their forays into other worlds and realms. They bring good news.

Her dress speaks of a past raid on another tribe and the procurement of new horses for the People. This particular dress does exist and is on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. It is attributed to be Sihasapa Lakota (Blackfoot Sioux) circa 1890.

I have wrestled some with whether I have “the right” to paint Native Americans, much as I love the subject. The interplay of historical subject, sacred story, beautiful design and artistic treatment of clothing and everyday things are too much to resist as an artist. But – I am thinking that I may try to tell those stories in a way that may give me a little more ownership of the subject. This painting is the first of those. I believe there had to have been some some positive encounters between the Native American and the white man during the terrible years of the early reservation period. This is my version of one of those presumed encounters. “Like Kind” is an oil, 30″ x 30″.

A friend of mine who lives on the Cheyenne Reservation told me a beautiful story about lying in the field near the Rosebud River watching the clouds roll by. He was so still that a magpie came and sat on his knee!

Magpies are one of my favorite birds, and in the Native American cultures they are seen as beings that can travel between the dark and the light. They also are known to be the bearers of news from other events and places. While I didn’t recreate my friend’s story exactly here, it is my own version of that great story. This piece is 18 x 12, and will be in my showroom – 176 at the Western Masters Art Show & Sale beginning tomorrow in Great Falls, MT. at the Heritage Inn.

I did this painting for the Settlers West Miniature Show in Tucson on February 12th, although it opens for previewing before that I believe. Settlers West is a beautiful gallery! I called this man Cowboy, as he is a  Native American cowboy from the late 1800′s. I enjoy upsetting the stereotypes when I can. Someday I want to do a large painting called (creatively) Cowboys – that depicts the many men that did shape that part of our history – white men, but also blacks, Mexicans, Native Americans…

This is a small painting, 12 x 9. I didn’t get my images in to the gallery on time, so as yet, my paintings don’t appear on the web page. My fault and loss. It looks to be a wonderful show! I hope some of you will get there to see it!

It is with some emotion that I post this painting. It is one that I finished just before Thanksgiving. This is the second time I have painted this piece, something I never do. But, the first one I did for Tara Bowman at Montana Trails Gallery, and it went there not long before the explosion. It was one of so many things lost that day. Afterward, it kept coming to mind again, and I felt I needed to do it once more. For the longest time, it wouldn’t paint, and then suddenly, this woman appeared. Her face is more serene than the first one. I think Tara may have had a hand in it. I would like to think so.

Under a Painted Sky ll is 30 x 30 and is dedicated to Tara Bowman.

One can only imagine that the Statehood Ceremonies as they came to be in the territories were very exciting – full of promise and hope – for most. This Sioux boy stands under an American Parade Flag, the kind that was used during Wyoming’s Statehood Celebration. His perspective, even as a young boy may have been a little different than those celebrating in the streets.

This painting is an oil, 18″ x 12″ and is available at Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson.