Lakota Pride-Mixed Media Portrait

Lakota Pride A Mixed Media Portrait

I love living in the Great Plains region of the United States. One of the hidden benefits of this area is an ample opportunity to paint mixed media portraits. The folks who live here are hardworking, generous and extremely independent. That means a huge variety of individuals who all look and act differently…prime real estate for unique personalities to paint. I am sure all areas may have some of that but people are very approachable here.

Lakota Pride came about from a Pow Wow that was hosted by a local business. Native American Dancers from all over came to compete for prize money and titles. I love to watch dance competition in general and Native American dance is truly fascinating. The regalia that dancers wear is impressive and most times the pieces were made by the dancer and members of the dancers family. It also is a huge family gathering and great food, awesome music, children’s giggles and even belly laughs permeate the atmosphere at these events. What more could a visual artist want?

There are many opportunities to capture the essence of beautiful people. As I was watching the young women dance I noticed this particular dancer. What caught my eye was the intensity with which she took to her task. She was very focused and seemed to have a poise that the other dancers lacked. After the dance that I was watching ended, I went to talk with her parents to see if I could paint her. They gave me the okay and we grabbed a few images to use as photo reference.

It was months later that I came back to her reference images. I was working on another mixed media portrait in the Western Genre and came across her again. I took a closer look at her and again I was struck by the poise of this young women. Not only was she an accomplished dancer and seamstress (she made her own regalia) but she was a competitor and an athlete. At the time of her painting she was 15.

I thought that there was much wisdom and pride in the way she looked at people so I named the image Lakota Pride. It is a 24×30 mixed media on canvas.

Original is SOLD, 4,200.00 Private collection in GA. We do have a few Artist Proofs available. They are 30x40canvas on masonite and hand embellished by the artist. Each artist proof is unique and they are always limited to 5. There is are open edition prints but only 5 artist proofs.