Rainbow Crow ~ •Sold

"Stories live in your blood and bones,

follow the seasons and light candles

on the darkest night."

~ Patti Davis

Crows play a central role in many Native American creation stories.

I was delighted to discover this one about "Rainbow Crow"

from a local Native American tribe, The Lenni Lenape.
Follow the link to see how the crow lost his
rainbow colors and beautiful voice.
The story ends well though. He saved
all the creatures of the earth
and himself in the end!
☻

#16 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

Rainbow Crow •Sold

~~

X ♥  O

The Legend of the Dreamcatcher ~ # 14 of 30

"Dreams are answers
to questions we haven't
yet figured out how to ask."

The Dreamcatcher

Long long ago, a skillful holy woman could interpret dreams, offering healing and guidance. She had great success, but soon was overwhelmed because everyone wanted her assistance. She fled to a nearby mountain to seek spiritual guidance. There the vision of a beautiful talking spider appeared to her. She instructed the shaman to make a willow hoop and decorate it with feathers and beads to hang by her head that night as she slept. In the dreamtime, the holy woman saw the tiny emissary and watched her weave a beautiful web on the prepared support. Spider spoke to the woman of how the web would capture the good and necessary dreams for the dreamer to remember, while allowing the destructive, evil ones to continue on through the opening. "Teach your people to weave their own dreamcatchers and hang them above the sleeping ones. Construct them from Willow branches. Decorate them and weave them from your finest threads. Follow my intention and design. Then, good ideas, visions and feelings will be accentuated, while the negative, unnecessary ones will be filtered out, " the spider concluded. That morning, the hoop was just as she had seen it in her dream. Eagerly she returned to the village and showed the weavers and crafters her amulet as she told them of her experiences with the spider. Soon the shaman could relax and enjoy life more freely because everyone had a dreamcatcher hanging above their head as they slept, protecting and guiding them through the dreamtime and beyond. Aho, As I remember it ~ Paint Dreamweaver

#14 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

The Dreamcatcher 12" x 9.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper Acid-free Oval Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 16" x 20" Signed and certified by the artist.

The Dreamcatcher

12" x 9.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

Acid-free Oval Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 16" x 20"

Signed and certified by the artist.

Painting Options

triple. mat w/ backing $269.00 USD triple. mat / framed $299.00 USD painting only $249.00 USD

Thanks for looking and for your feedback!

See you back here tomorrow.

Native American Legends ~ White Buffalo Woman ~ # 13 of 30 ~ SOLD

“Mythology is not a lie,

Mythology is poetry,

it is metaphorical."

~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

The Legend of White Buffalo Woman

This story takes place long before the arrival of white men to Turtle Island. It was a time of scarcity for the indigenous people of this land. There was not enough food, clothing or shelter to go around. Neighboring tribes were constantly battling over what little resources were available. Something had to be done, so the elders called a counsel. As they were discussing possible solutions, one of them spotted a lone figure far in the distance. When the person drew closer, they could see that it was a young woman, clad in a beautiful white robe and carrying a bundle that was also wrapped in some kind of skin. She had an angelic appearance and so they trusted her and were not afraid. She drew them to her side saying, "A time of great abundance is near, but you must learn to work together and tap into the power of the Great Mystery". With those words, she unwrapped the bundle and took out a beautiful pipe. "This is the sacred pipe", she said, filling it with special herbs while saying, "Its smoke will make our earthly prayers visible and deliver them to the heavens". She taught them to give thanks and to combine prayer with proper action to obtain what they needed, reminding them that the fastest way to stop the flow of abundance was to neglect being thankful for blessings already received. The young prophet stayed with the wise men until day turned to dusk. When it was time to leave, she rolled on the ground three times. As she rolled, she was transformed into a white buffalo calf! No sooner had the calf disappeared across the horizon when herds of bison started drifting in and grazing all around the outskirts of the Indian camps. Because of White Buffalo Woman, the early Native Americans experienced a time of plenty for many years and women were given a more equal status with men. This is why I like to think of White Buffalo Woman not only as a symbol of thanksgiving, but also as being instrumental to woman kind's liberation and empowerment.
Aho, As I remember it ~ Paint Dreamweaver

#13 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

White Buffalo Woman

12" x 9.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper Acid-free triple Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 16" x 20" Signed and certified by the artist.

12" x 9.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

Acid-free triple Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 16" x 20"

Signed and certified by the artist.

• SOLD

I hope you like my stories.

Thanks again for your friendship,

emails and comments!

X ♥  O

How the Eagle Got Its Keen Eyesight ~ ~ # 11 of 30

"When you're experimenting

you have to try so many things

before you choose what you want,

and you may go days

getting nothing but exhaustion."

~Fred Astaire

Ok, here's yesterday's painting. I did two today, but was unhappy with one in the end, (after I kept experimenting and painted it to death), so tomorrow, once again, I need to do two keepers to catch up in the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge. Gosh, do you think I can do it?

This piece was inspired by the Native American legend of how the eagle got it's keen eyesight. According to a Kwakiutl legend, although eagle could fly to the highest treetops, he could not see all that well. One day the chief asked him to stand as sentinel in a high branch overlooking the river, watching for invading canoes. Not wanting to disappoint the chief, eagle agreed. Knowing that in those days, the slug had excellent vision, eagle convinced it to trade eyesight temporarily. Eagle preformed his duties for the chief impeccably and received praise and admiration from the whole tribe. Feeling very special and proud of himself, when slug asked, eagle refused to return his eyesight. So the eagle retained his sharp vision, while the slug was doomed to go on forever slowly groping his way through life.

#11 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

Eagle's Keen Eyesight ~~~ 7.5" x 5.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo ~~~ Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10" Signed and certified by the artist Purchase this painting here.

Eagle's Keen Eyesight

~~~ 7.5" x 5.5" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo ~~~

Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10"

Signed and certified by the artist
Purchase this painting here.

Thanks for looking and for your feedback!

See you back here tomorrow, hopefully with two new paintings!

X ♥  O

Nighttime and Daytime Kokopelli Save the Day! ~ # 5 & 6 of 30

"There is one big thing,

d e s i r e .

And before it,

when it is big,

all is little."

~ Willa Cather

I had a very bad painting day yesterday. I started drawing out five different ideas, did two paintings and was not happy with either one! By 9:00pm I finally gave up and called it a day. So today, I started out one painting behind in the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge. Yikes! I was under the gun to do two keepers today. If not, tomorrow I would need to do three just to catch up! Up early, I adjusted my attitude and worked diligently. I was really ambitious and completed three larger drawings for pieces that have been requested by collectors; "More Jersey Devils with a starry night theme, please". Although I made a lot of headway, by 4:00pm I realized there was no way in hell I was going to finish two of these larger, more ambitious projects today. Then, at my time of despair, Kokopelli came to my rescue! What a guy!

# 5 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

Kokopelli's Nighttime Magic 4.5" x 6" original watercolor on Yupo paper Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 5" x 7" Signed and certified by the artist

Kokopelli's Nighttime Magic

4.5" x 6" original watercolor on Yupo paper

Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 5" x 7"

Signed and certified by the artist

# 6 of 30 -

Myths, Fables, Folk Tales and Legends

Kokopelli's Daytime Magic 6" x 4.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 7" x 5" Signed and certified by the artist

Kokopelli's Daytime Magic

6" x 4.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper

Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 7" x 5"

Signed and certified by the artist

Thanks again for your friendship,

emails and comments!

X ♥  O