Good Words

One of the short films I have in the works.
“Good Words” is a short film that speaks about many issues in one- from conservation of our environment, as well as diversity of culture.
The audio is actually the opening to “500 Nations”... a documentary produced and release in the light of the “Dances with Wolves” phenomena. While I cannot obtain the rights to the audio, I intended to produce this short anyways… more as an exercise in animation, as well as voicing a personal opinion bout our current state of environmental affairs.

I am still working on this short as we speak- and am working with a friend of mine as well. I'm hoping to complete it within the next few months. :)

Star Wars Tarot- The Fool

For those who thought I had forgotten about this series: I haven’t. :)

This is the latest submission for my “Star Wars tarot” deck project I have been working on.

I think this one was an obvious decision, as I even had some people inquire if Jar Jar would be the candidate for "The Fool". I had already picked him way back in the day, but having people confirm this with their opinions made me sure of my decision even more.

Like the originals “Fool” Card, Jar Jar is aloof and seemingly unaware of the danger that lurks right around the corner- however I substituted the cliff with the war-tank behind him. The green and watery landscape of Naboo help build that contrast to the “foreboding” dark base color the card is illustrated on- and even the sky changes color from a serene blue, to a wild yellow. A card of “innocent ignorance wile inobservance” is the main criteria, and Jar Jar’s bright body color and jolly detached attitude plays the part really well.

Circle of Crows

Commission for client.

She wanted to have one of three dreams illustrated in the NWP style, and I told her I would only if they wouldn’t break any taboo or infringe on cultural concepts. Lucky that after I reviewed what she wanted, nothing out of the ordinary appeared!

This was the one I wanted to do the most- simply because of the clarity of the image in my head, and the concept within it:

I was taken by the description of all the crows harassing the mother for food, and the mother trying to chide her son into calming down.
I am fond of the archetypes of Protectors, and I wanted to really have that element encompassed in the image with the Motherhood theme. But I also love the symbolic correlation to the birds, and that connection to nature. So I depicted a mother clearly relaxed and "smiling" with one hand up (the palm face forward is a sign of peace and welcome), second hand around her baby who is crying. This symbol is one of motherhood, and motherhood compassion and protection. A common motif in Aboriginal art.
Second, the ring of crows all around the mother- this visually helps that feeling of foreboding the child feels because of being encompassed by so many birds, but the relaxed figure of the mother puts the viewers mind at ease. Also, the birds are not foreboding, and their beaks- while open- not gaping wide... they are also seemingly making a pattern similar to rays of light off the Sun… and almost look like they too are protecting the mother, as opposed to serious threat.

It was a lovely commission with a really great product at the end, and both of us were very satisfied.

Black Dragon

As many people don’t know, part of the North West Pacific tradition of art, is asking permission. A lot of non community members think it's ok to randomly throw together something that looks "in the style" simply because they can, and the style is "cool".
This is NOT the case. Aboriginal art is very deep rooted in the cultural traditions, and many of them have specific rules as to how one draws something, portrays something, or if they even have the right to [which usually means also a ton of taboos that could be broken if not handled right].
This is VERY hard for non-community members to understand because they live a life of self indulgence and entitlement.
I lived and worked within the community for 10+ years now, and if there is one thing I am STILL doing is asking permission. This NEVER stops.

I was in Vancouver, visiting some friends in the local Community. I had the pleasure of going down to one of my friend’s houses and attending a family gathering, that included a lot of members from their community.
During my attendance, I had figured that I would try and “obtain” some permission to do some artwork that breached out of the “norm”. After all, this would be a perfect time, as when the Elders and family gets-together, and they ask if anyone has something to get out in the open... now’s my chance.

Push comes to shove, I asked, discussed, reasoned, and gifted [paid the price] to get the rights to do some stuff. But there were 2 instances I REALLY had to discuss my POV and this picture is a result of one of them.

Most of the Elders were not pleased with the idea that European folklore would be depicted in this style. When I asked about some of the supernatural beings, they plainly refused.
It was only after I brought up the fact that another NWP artist- who is half Irish in decent- already broke that barrier to design a “Dragon”, did some of the Elders shift their consideration. Turns out, it wasn’t that they were against me doing it; simply, they wanted me to fight for it. They wanted me to prove that I had enough of their cultural knowledge, and manners to actually request something of this sort. I was told that if I had been anyone else- including a new comer to the culture, or someone who was just "an artist" with no knowledge, I would be plainly refused. But my investments and dedication to the culture and it's rules is what "won" my right. To everyone else, they would condemn them.
That too, is a cultural mentality.

So because I earned that right, I could post this with a quiet conscious, and silent heart.

Grey Shark

Some of the shapes I used in the image were to induce the "water ripple" effect- multiple lines that look akin to waves and ripples. But I also mimicked and stylized some of the shapes to be reminiscent of the traditional fishing tools of the NWP aboriginals. It gives a very all-encompassing concept, what with the shark being a predator/fisherman of it's own kind.

Green Transformation

While Werewovles do not exist in the Aboriginal cultures, the concept of transformation, and transforming into animals is a concept you see regularly in the Oral Traditions.
Here, we see a human, transforming into a Wolf... the legs beginning to deform out of shape, and the last remenance of the human body- the hand- is evident. The Hand is a symbol of Healing in many Aboriginal cultures- Healing, Medicine, and Remembrance.
I wanted the hand evident to indicate that the transformation is a Healing one, and one of remembrance- back to a time we were inseparable form nature and from The Bush.

Red Bison

In Ojibwa, "Bison" is called "Mishikode-bizhikeh". This is actually a compound of two words: "Fire" and "Cow".

The reason Bison are called this is becuase the plains on which they live are notorious for burning up- plain fires are common, and would make the Bison flee.
From here stemmed the term; whether it was because the Bison fleeing the fire would make them seem as if emerging from the fire, or perhaps the fact that they were also engulfed in the flames while running, or simply because the local Aboriginals were associating the local environment with the type of cow - it makes for an interesting term.