“Crow Battle” 12 x 36” Oil on Canvas

The Crow Indians were long-time enemies of the Sioux, and many stories are told about fierce battles between the two.  The name the Crow Indians call themselves is Apsaalooke, meaning “Children of the Large-Beaked Bird”.  It is actually a mistranslation of their name which caused them to become well-known as Crow.  As often happens, that name stuck.  In thinking about fierce battles and legends involving crow birds in Native American culture, the image of a tipi filled with the motion of crows in flight took root for me.

I love to incorporate a sense of motion in my artwork. I have just put a painting on display at Roma’s Restaurant , Spearfish, which shows the Louvre in motion.  While visiting there, I was mesmerized by the patterns of people moving… like a kaleidoscope, with arms linked, moving in various directions, up and down stairs and across broad expanses of floors…in a variety of colors.  It impacted me and I had to paint it!