Kiowa Chief- Sitting Bear

Sitting Bear 

11" x 14

SOLD"

Sitting Bear is well documented as the leader of the Kiowa 10 Bravest War Society (called the Ko-eetsenko in the Kiowa Language).  The chief was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota around 1810. He had six wives and several children before his death in 1871. This poainting was done from a photograph taken near the end of his life when he lived on a reservation. There were many photos of Sitting Bear but I found this one the most interesting. Edward Curtis, the photographer, created black and white portraits of thousands of Indians during the late 19th century and early 20th. The Indian's way of life changed drastically during that period and without Curtis' photos  much of their history might have disappeared.

Sitting Bear lived in Oklahoma when it was simply called, "Indian Territory." He was honored for his bravery and leadership. During his lifetime he watched as Indian families were separated and relocated to reservations. He strived to keep his family together.

One story in particular illustrates this well:

"Old Chief Sitting Bear left the Kiowa reservation against the threats of his U.S. Army overseers. His reason was to retrieve the bones of his son in Texas and bring them back home. Following Kiowa beliefs, the family unit was of primary importance throughout ones life.

Upon his return, he was captured, shackled and taken by wagon to Ft. Sill for leaving the reservation. With Ft. Sill in sight, he told the wagon driver and escort, "See that tree up ahead? You will not live to see the other side." He then stood up and began to sing his death song:

 'O sun. You remain forever, but we Ko-eetsenko must die.

 'O earth you remain forever, but we Ko-eetsenko must die."

According to Kiowa oral history, when he ended his song, he pulled a knife that he had been concealing and took the life of the wagon driver. The escort immediately shot Old Chief Sitting Bear to his death. It is said that Sitting Bear would rather give up his life than live without the remains of his cherished son."

I pulled out some of my American Indian Reference books today because I needed to look up an image for a painting commission. Most of the photographs in these books were taken by Edward S. Curtis, who left a priceless legacy when he traveled all over the West and photographed as many native Americans as he could. These black and white photographs provide a record of what members from each tribe looked like and what they wore. He recorded their names as well as their faces. The images are out of copyright so anyone can use them as references and I decided to paint another series similar to the one I did five years ago.

I intend to use photographs I've taken in the West and Southwest to add more interesting backgrounds and some of these pieces will be a bit larger than the first series, which consisted mostly of 11" x 14" and 12" x 16" canvases. When this series is painted I will reissue the prints for the older series as well. I have experimented with having some of my prints reproduced on metallic paper and the paper really enhances the look of the print, and adds 80-100 years to the life of the print as the process involves printing on metallic coated paper.

This is the initial coat of paint for "Chieftain's Daughter", 12" x 16" oil on linen.

Paiute Basket Weaver

I painted this portrait of a Native American Paiute woman weaving a basket from an old black and white photograph. I re-interpreted the image and made it my own by reversing the figure, changing her features a little, and adding a Southwestern background with mountains just visible int he distance. Paintings with people "doing" something seem to sell pretty quickly and this one sold the day after I put it in my eBay store.

American Indian Children Series

This is number 8 in the series of 10 different American Indian children I am painting in 2007. Quiet Sister is an Apache girl. I am listing this on eBay, as I have the entire series and prints will be available in November.

Native American Indian Child No. 5

This is the fifth in a series of ten Native American Indian children. I am listing them all on eBay and they are selling well- so far they have all sold on the first listing and I haven't had to relist any. This is Yellow Flower, a member of the Kalispel Indian tribe.

A Productive Day

I finished the painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and finished the Navajo man as well. Jesus is 16 x 20 and I am hoping someone might want to buy him for their church for Easter. I'll wait to list this one until Sunday. I do want to list the Navajo man soon, perhaps tomorrow, for a ten day listing to end on a Friday. I still haven't quite figured out the best days and times to list things. Some of my paintings are purchased in the morning but I always thought it was a good policy to have auctions end in the evening. It probably does not matter. Maybe I should just put a few items into my store, although they don't sell as well because no ones knows to go the store and look.

Zuni Indian Child - No 3 in the series of Native American Indian children

This painting has exciting possibilities. It too is in the underpainting stage. I will work on it tomorrow if I have time after working on the Navajo man. Is this a painting of a brave or a young girl? I'm not sure what direction I will take it.

Navajo Man - oil on canvas in progress

I worked on the underpainting for this one this morning. I am using lead white, cobalt violet and Indanthrene Blue. The blue I am not too familiar with sio it is a bit of an experiment. It seems similar to ultrmarine but more dense and opaque. Slightly silverish too, when mixed with the white. I'll let his dry overnight.