1852 - Triptych

Oil on linen (3 panels 24w x 36h). 72w x 36h

1800’S migration series are a celebration of time and species.    I have been working on this series since for the past nine years. They are triptych paintings  of blue with notes of vibrating color .  

Blue energy is pure. It  represents: peace, honesty, empathy, the throat chakra, the ability to express yourself creatively .  communicate with clarity.  It represents,.  Blue connects us with the divine. It reduces stress and anxiety by creating a sense of control and order.  

Blue reminds me of my Aunt Cec’s china, my time in Delf, Holland, the worn denim jeans that are are a comfort to slide into.

Bison, a matriarchal society, have roamed the earth for over 2 million years.  A grandmother will lead the herd through the native grasses at a tempo that protects the vegetation they depend on.  Bison have the ability to continually regenerate the land.  They have become a critical t component to carbon sequestration.  The seed from the grasses is trampled into the soil and fertilized by the bison waste, stimulating new growth.  The Native prairie grass root structure , grows  into the soil 11 feet deep.  Carbon is drawn into the grasses and trapped in the soil by this expansive mass of root structure.  

In 1868 the transcontinental railroad was completed and the herds  of 60 million plus Bison were decimated. Guns and ammo, given to the train passengers instructed to kill.  Millions were laid to waste in the spot they took the bullet. Their numbers were reduced to less than two thousand.  In the early 1900’s, Peter Norbeck of South Dakota was smart enough to protect some of the few that remained.  That blood line has been used to repopulate bison on tribal lands and ranches interested in repopulating.  Many contemporary groups have formed to increase the land and protection available for the approximately 30,000 bison in existence.

I dream of the days when bison numbered between 30 and 60 million and ranged from east coast to west.  I dream of their return to the native grass lands.  I dream of the grasses they exist in, teaming with biodiversity and aiding in cooling the planet.

I paint to share my dream, to educate,  to conjure appreciation of a species that is a critical component to humans existence.  I paint to manifest a vision