"Sascha Bear" - 2013. Framed with custom cut and layered decorative paper matting.
I was born on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. When I was two, we moved to the Yukon, where I grew up until we left when I was 16. As a child, I was always drawing, always had a pencil in my hand. My Mom will talk about how every week she would have to go to Woolworth's to buy another stack of paper and pencils.
As I got older, I spent less and less time drawing. By the time I graduated high school, I was rarely drawing anymore. I am honestly not sure why that happened, other than as I grew up, my interests and attention wandered to different areas.
During my adult years, while raising my daughter, I got caught up in numerous hobbies, always needing a creative outlet. When I moved into the corporate world, my jobs still leaned towards the creative, doing web and software design. But all during this time, I was unsatisfied, having only a "virtual" result for my efforts. Still, I didn't return to the drawing board. I would occasionally pull out a piece of paper and do a little sketch, but would be frustrated because my skills had dwindled due to lack of practice.
A tribute to the art styles of the Pacific Northwest Coast Native Americans and Canada's First Nations ...
Pacific Dream - 2013
In 2013, I started drawing again, sporadically, but putting some effort into it. I was definitely leaning towards a more tribal and abstract style, and also did my first Haida style painting, "Pacific Dream".Then in 2015 I was laid off from my job. It was a blessing and a curse. Over the next year, I went back to drawing with a vengeance. I did a lot of the tribal type, and spent some time doing mandalas to teach myself structure, repetition and mostly, patience.
The call of the Haida / Tlingit style of artwork drew me like a moth to a flame however. This is the style that I grew up with in the Yukon. The traditional Pacific Northwest Coastal native style. First my sister requested a wolf, and I completed "Arctic Night". Then, it was a part of me, and that has been the style that I have concentrated on, and feel the most satisfaction from completing.
I now have 7 pieces in my Haida collection, with ideas for many more! After much experimentation with different media, I now stick to my favorite. I use a smooth/cold press watercolor paper, and paint the design using Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Ink.
