It has been quite some time since I was able to post!!! The craziness of the holidays has finally calmed, and now, I am caught up... a month or two behind, but projects are done and I can move on!!
I took on a project for a dear friend of the family, who's husband passed on this past August. I knew he was American Indian, but I had no idea he was Mohican!!! He always joshed he was Cherokee... haha!! So, I had to do a bit of research about them before I painted him. My initial idea was to have a landscape background with spirit animals that the Mohicans revered. Unfortunately, that left the painting tooo cluttered! So, I changed it around and made a calm background with 2 of the four animal spirits in the background, and I put all the animals in his hatband. :) Mohicans have a symbol they use, and I have yet to discover why they use it, but that is on his band too. The original had a white hat, and I didn't like that one very well, and he rarely wore it. he was more often seen in a baseball cap, or a black cowboy hat, so I went with the black when I changed the background. Since his skin tone has lots of orange and burnt sienna, I knew a deep blue would work out great. I am very happy with this, although it took me an eternity to do. I started it in December, had to do a quick commission in the middle of the month, tried still to get it done after Christmas, and JUST NOW finished it!!! But I am happy with it now, and so is the widow he left behind.
I took on a project for a dear friend of the family, who's husband passed on this past August. I knew he was American Indian, but I had no idea he was Mohican!!! He always joshed he was Cherokee... haha!! So, I had to do a bit of research about them before I painted him. My initial idea was to have a landscape background with spirit animals that the Mohicans revered. Unfortunately, that left the painting tooo cluttered! So, I changed it around and made a calm background with 2 of the four animal spirits in the background, and I put all the animals in his hatband. :) Mohicans have a symbol they use, and I have yet to discover why they use it, but that is on his band too. The original had a white hat, and I didn't like that one very well, and he rarely wore it. he was more often seen in a baseball cap, or a black cowboy hat, so I went with the black when I changed the background. Since his skin tone has lots of orange and burnt sienna, I knew a deep blue would work out great. I am very happy with this, although it took me an eternity to do. I started it in December, had to do a quick commission in the middle of the month, tried still to get it done after Christmas, and JUST NOW finished it!!! But I am happy with it now, and so is the widow he left behind.
And so, at long last, I am able to post again, and, at long last , this portrait is complete!!!
"Chum": Mohican Cowboy ..... Acrylic on Canvas, in loving memory of Chum.
"Chum": Mohican Cowboy ..... Acrylic on Canvas, in loving memory of Chum.
7 comments:
What a nice tribute and memorial to this man and his heritage. Great job and a wonderful portrait.
Gorgeous portrait, RL. I appreciate the research and the way the information helped the piece evolve. I'm going to put a Five Tribes friend of mine on that "symbol" question and see if she knows.
Beautiful portrait!
Thank you, Ms Young!!!
Thanks, Dianne! I tremendously enjoyed doing this painting!!!
Thank you very much Charlotte! :)
I like that you took the time to research and add to the image. It makes it that much more personal and tells his story.
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