"Into the Deep Blue" - The lost Paddle

Acrylic on Panel

12" x 8"

$475.  

 SOLD!

I am not sure where to start describing all that I feel with this painting.  It is a continuation of a theme that I did four paintings for in 2011 and 2012.

I have always been intrigued by the Northwest Coastal tribes and their myths and superstitions.

While doing this painting I imagined these brave tribal members cutting down a huge cedar tree, hollowing it out and dragging it to the water's edge.  They would paddle out into the open ocean to hunt whales and fish, all the while truly believing that these mythical creatures lurked in the dark waters below.  Now, I know the childhood fears I had living near deep lakes in Montana.  Those were horrible enough and I didn't even have terrifying masks to go along with my visuals!

This was a very challenging painting to do.  Halfway through it I was wishing that I had never started it.  Three fourths of the way through I told myself to slow down and make careful choices because it was turning out so well.  I can safely say that I have never seen a painting created with this particular theme before.  And it may be my one and only.

What Lies Beneath

Acrylic on Panel

6" x 12"

$325

 SOLD!

 

In the 33 years of doing research on Native American cultures I have come to believe that the Northwest coast tribes are the most artistic and superstitious.  I wanted to paint one of their carved and painted paddles which for an everyday object I consider it to be a work of art.   In reading about the underwater world that they created, I envision these masks coming out of the depths of the dark ocean waters.