Delores Patencio As Subject.

As mentioned in the previous post, the painting sitting on the easel has moved away from color field influence and back into the realm of my Indian Women Portrait series, but the color field work helped break through one of those artistic walls.  Last spring I quit working on my Indian Women Portrait series because I was stuck, or perceived so.  Color field painting opened a mental door, there was an 'ah ha' moment, and a canvas that was languishing in a corner found its way back onto the easel.  So did a few faces.

Images from research at the Agua Calliente Indian Museum as well as from the Palm Springs Art Museum and public on-line sources have driven me to incorporate the face of Delores Patencio onto this painting.  Living during the late 1800's and into the 1900's she became one of history's most accomplished and recognized basket weavers.  To read about her in a previous blog post click HERE

Because all photos of Patencio show her head wrapped in a scarf, I have chosen to repeat the head scarf in my painting. The photo shows her seated in front of a huge paddle cactus which found it's way onto the canvas as well.  If you are able to see some of the design elements on the baskets shown in the photo look for the triangular shapes, representing floral, which have also been used in my painting, not only on the head scarves but moving out onto the canvas to symbolize the thought and freedom of individual design that Patencio incorporated into her baskets.  These triangular shapes work their way over and under the cactus and other designs in the painting, much like the materials used to create a basket weave together. 

This painting has taken on a life of it's own, it is growing, changing, becoming more complex as it nears completion.

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