Latest Amerindian Studies

Here are my latest Amerindian studies. Mostly on Waterford High White, all 16" x 12". Two other failures I've not posted but I'm reasonably happy with the ones below, although I prefer the female ones.

16" x 12" Waterford. Young Amerindian Woman

American Indians are not one homogenous type. They vary enormously both in physical characteristics - from quite tall to short - and skin colour, some very dark, others much lighter. This is a particularly attractive young lady, at least in white terms. I've no idea what tribe she belongs to. The painting above has been modified from the original posted on Facebook. The left facing eye wasn't right and I also softened a few hard lines. This is a definite improvement.

16" x 12" Amerindian Woman - Waterford High White

I quite like this one. Posted on my Portrait Facebook page it hasn't attracted much in the way of likes but this happens to me all the time, while others sometimes get hundreds. My fate to be unrecognised - just a joke!

16" x 12" Amerindian Woman - Waterford High White

This one and that immediately above was about  not spending much time on the hair, which both subjects had in abundance, in an attempt to vary the way I tackle the subject. I used the guide photos as just that - guides - and tried to capture certain characteristics, mainly the eyes but in a less formal way. You can get bogged down with  hair and Charles Reid always says don't!

Crow Chief White Bear - Waterford High White

Santee Sioux - Moldau 130lb - unfinished

This one and that above are notable for the topknots. The Santee Sioux example is unfinished and I don'y know whether I'll do any more with it The Santee Sioux lived in Minnesota. The pressure of white settlement caused them to rise up in 1863 and attempt to exterminate the white population. Many hundreds of mainly settler men,  women and children were killed in the most brutal way, but eventually they were defeated and the perceived ringleaders hanged, although some sentences were commuted. As usual there are different views on the rights and wrongs of what happened. The main chief Little Crow was later killed with his son when gathering berries in a forest where they were hiding.  The remnants were driven from Minnesota. One notorious minor chief

called Inkpaduta, notorious for the so-called Spirit Lake massacre, travelled hundreds of miles with his small following and gained refuge with the plains Sioux. Reputedly he was at the Little Big Horn in 1876 when Custer and his command were wiped out.

Painting these subjects I mainly used my small Craig Young painting box with Cadmium Red, Raw Sienna, Cerulean and Ultramarine Blue, in different combinations, the principal colours. Brushes are my Isabey No 6 Travel Brush and Isabey Sables 4,6 and 8. Also started introducing the Escoda Kolinsky sable Size 14 principally for the hair. My Guru Charles Reid always says don't spend too much time on the hair. As for paper  my choice is the Waterford High White blocks. As a block they hold together much better than say Fabriano. You may notice I used Moldau on the Santee Sioux. I purchased 40 sheets at great expense and effort a while back and thought I needed to use them. They are only 130lb and supposedly A3 but are slightly smaller especially in width. They do buckle noticeably. I have stretched in the past but am reluctant to do it again. I have quite a lot of paper accumulated over the years in sheets. Various types with Waterford original in the majority but quite a few other makes. I now much prefer the Waterford blocks but will have to use this other stuff as well.