Tahlequah Daily Press Featured Artist of the Month for March 2012

Lo and behold, the fabulous Renee Fite wrote a very flattering piece about yours truly for the Tahlequah Daily Press. 

Check the link here to read the write-up, suckas!

"ᏥᏴᏍᎦᎸᏍᎦ. ᎦᏥᏍᎪᎥᏍᎦ." (I’m hiding her. I’m lying.)

ᏥᏍᏆᏛ?

A friend relayed a story about a relative of mine. To protect the innocent (Ꭽ Ꭽ!), no names will be used, but the basic gist is that an old relative of mine had a propensity for wearing head scarves.  Oh, and shapeshifting into birds.

The title "ᏥᏴᏍᎦᎸᏍᎦ. ᎦᏥᏍᎪᎥᏍᎦ." - translated as "I’m hiding her. I’m lying." - is my take on the story. A portrait of a long passed relative.  In one sense, the ethereal form of the bird (ᏥᏍᏆ) is hiding the true form of the individual. In another, I’ve always wondered if being able to shapeshift is a form of telling a lie. Or maybe just a story.



2012. 24" x 24".  Acrylic on wood panel. Painted using brushes, sponges, and just fingers.  Even paper towels were scraped across the surface at one point...because that’s how I roll.

To paint a guitar...Part 2

So...more guitar painting. Continuing from the last installment, I did more sanding and finished applying primer.  I sanded down the primed surface to a smooth finish to prep for applying paint.

This is the first round of paint.  I let it sit for a bit before applying the second coat.

I applied a second coat of red.  If you’re asking why I didn’t sand down the brush strokes in this step...

...it’s because I’m adding a texture to the red underpainting with a sponge.  This will provide more visual interest for the background.  I’m going to let this settle overnight.  The next installment is where the real fun begins: painting the ᎤᎧᏖᎾ on it. The dreaded Cherokee serpent is about to rock!

Anna Mitchell - R.I.P.

I did not know Anna Mitchell very well, but she is one of the few people whose astounding reputation so deservedly preceded her.  I was introduced to her at the Cherokee Heritage Center a few years ago.  I don’t remember exactly which occasion it was, as the Heritage Center is always hosting events at which artists gather.  It was a very brief encounter, maybe a couple of minutes -- if that.  I had just really started my serious entrée into the Cherokee art world.  She encouraged me to continue, and to my surprise, she even talked about a piece of mine she had seen at a show that she said she liked.  It was a great honor she even noticed.

With her passing, we lost one of the giants of Cherokee art today.  Her accomplishments in establishing the southeastern style in the modern era will forever be appreciated by countless people.  I know this artist would not be able to do what I’m doing without the trail she blazed.  May her memory live on always.

ᎬᏯᎵᎡᎵᎦ, Anna.

Here’s a link to a Cherokee Phoenix article about her:
http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/19485/Article.aspx

Here is a link to a nice profile of her:
www.historythrougharts.org/main/ArtistProfiles/PotteryArtist.pdf