Warm Trade

Warm Trade 12x12 WC on Clayboard 13Warm Trade

12″ x 12″ Watercolor on Clayboard

I am currently pursuing a PhD in Art Education at the University of Tucson.  I do continue to paint, and have recently finished three paintings in my bead series.  Early trade beads continue to inspire my imagination.  I am drawn to the texture, color, pattern and the HISTORY!   This one was an exploration of warm tones within my composition.

Tucson is home to a major world gem and bead show.  Perfect place for me to explore beads! The Tucson Gem show is incredible, and takes over the entire city, and extends in various locations for nearly 3 weeks.  I took in quite a few of the shows, got inspired, and yes, bought some subject matter!  There is a show in the fall, and the big one is in the Spring.  Check out these websites if you are interested in this amazing Tucson event!

http://www.tgms.org/

http://www.visittucson.org/gemshow/index.cfm?action=search&menuID=1355

http://www.tucsongemshows.net/coming.html

Ancient Markers

Ancient Markers  12 x 12″ Oil on Canvas

My work reflects my interest in the world around me: both past and present.  This painting is inspired by the Bighorn Medicine Wheel and the Castle Gardens petroglyphs, both in Wyoming.  Both with secrets hidden from us today.


The Fashion Trade

24 x 36” Watercolor on Clayboard

The European fashion craze of beaver pelts drove early American westward expansion.  A major trade good were highly desired trade beads.  Ironically, the hunger for luxury goods was an initial impetus for trade and eventual westward expansion. This detailed and large-scale painting is framed in an antiqued gold deep frame, which accentuates the gemlike quality of the beads.

Five of my paintings are currently on view at “A Bead Carnival” in Tucson until the middle of February. This time of year, Tucson goes wild for beads, having the largest gem show in the nation: possibly the world.  There are 40 different shows during about a 3 week time span… amazing!  Truly was an interesting thing to discover when I moved here, as beads are my subject matter of late!!

Visit the A Bead Carnival website:http://abeadcarnival.com

See their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/A.Bead.Carnival and the Youtube video on that site, showing some of my art:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQrjHxRmzI&feature=youtu.be

To see more about the gem and mineral exhibits, visit the Tucson visitors center.  Also see: http://www.tgms.org

 

 

 

Wild Horse Round-up

11 x 18″ Watercolor and Gouache on paper

Again, from the inside of a Plains Indian tipi, this tale of days gone: a wild horse round-up.  I have not been blogging for awhile: I’ve begun work on a PhD in Art Education at the University of Arizona, Tucson. I am loving the challenges it presents me, along with exploring the Southwest culture for awhile. I have had a solo exhibit at the Lionel Rombach Gallery on the UA campus, and will be exhibiting some pieces in an annex gallery starting on Thursday of this week. I continue to paint: just adding new input to the mix!

Soldiers Falling into Camp

28 x 36” Oil on Canvas

Sitting Bull had a vision of soldiers falling into camp, which inspired this painting.  Years later, Amos Bad Heart Bull created a beautifully rendered collection of drawings depicting tales from the Battle of the Greasy Grass, or as known by many as the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  During the initial stages of the battle, Major Reno was ordered to attack a Native American settlement on the edges of the Bighorn River, and found much more than he bargained for.  Mounted Native riders came streaming at the Calvary, forcing their retreat and defeat.  The crows in this painting are symbolic those who saw the battle from the sky and foretell of General George Armstrong Custer’s pending annihilation.  

This painting is currently on display at Prairie Edge in Rapid City.  I am in Tucson currently, and will be having an exhibition at the Lionel Rombach Gallery opening on Sept. 23rd.  

 

Thunderbird Shield

11 x 18 Watercolor and Gouache on paper

Framed in an acrylic shadowbox frame, this piece evokes the museum setting most Plains Indian artifacts now are housed.  

Modern man, as he observes artifacts from the past has his own understanding and experiences woven within.  Once an artifact has passed from the hands of the one who made it, changes in interpretation and meaning have already begun.

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Artists of the Black Hills

Rendezvous Remembered

Come see artwork created by local artists: This is one of the pieces I will be having on exhibit!

ANNUAL ARTISTS OF THE BLACK HILLS (ABH) ART SHOW & SALE WILL BE HELD AT
THE DAHL ARTS CENTER, 713 7th Street, Rapid City, South Dakota.
Art in an exciting array of mediums, styles and subjects will please the tastes of all manner of art lovers.
The Artists of the Black Hills (ABH) will host it’s Annual Show and Sale at the Dahl Arts Center, 713 7th Street,
Rapid City, SD in the Stan Adelstein & Lynda K. Clark Gallery from May 24, 2013 through June 29, 2013. A
reception is planned for May 31, 2013, 5-7pm.
Daily exhibition hours are Monday – Saturday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
The Show and Sale will feature the newest work of 32 of this region’s finest artists, all signature members
of the Artists of the Black Hills professional organization.These artists are at the forefront of fostering the
growth of the visual arts in the Black Hills region and they each excel in their chosen medium. It is always
exciting to see the new work each artist has created in preparation for this show. Whether you live in the
Black Hills or are a visitor to this area, it’s a great event and a wonderful way to spend a day out.
“This year’s Annual show will be exceptional and showdcase 32 of our region’s finest artists displaying their
newest work. We are excited to be showing at the Dahl this year and for the next several years!”, notes ABH
founding member Mick B. Harrison. The opening night (Friday, May 31, 2013 from 5 pm to 7 pm) festivities will
once again feature not only great art but the exqisite catering of Catered Two .
ABH is an organization of professional artists and galleries with the common goal of establishing the Black
Hills as an art destination. To learn more about ABH artists go to the ABH website at
www.artistsoftheblackhills.org. or see us on Facebook.

Textures of the Trade

14 x 18” Oil on Clayboard

This is a painterly interpretation of the textures found at the rendezvous: leather, beads, quillwork, and beadwork… all interwoven into the fabric which was the Rendezvous trade.

This painting is more loosely painted: letting the leather fringe and beads fuse together with small patches of seed bead patterns and quill work.  All combine to convey the textures and patterns of early American trade between cultures.    

 

Strain in Trade

36 x 48” Oil on Canvas

Visits to modern day rendezvous have been an intriguing glimpse into what life was like for early trapper/trader and Native American gatherings.  During the inception of this trade, items from each culture were highly desirable by the other, and not only goods, but culture was exchanged at the rendezvous.  Rendezvous means “coming together” and until the trade became strained, it was a time of wonderful sharing of trades, stories and survival skills.  All threads of the America we have created today.  This painting incorporates a symbol characteristic of my work: a rend in the canvas.  Symbolic of breakdown over time, this painting shows lucrative trade, but the strain destined to destroy it.  

I just returned from showing this painting along with many others at Western Art Week in Great Falls, MT.  This painting was a hit with the people who came into my display room to see what “Art of the Rendezvous” was all about.