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