Rattle Dancer
As with so many of my paintings when I start painting, I know the category, i.e., landscape, Native American, etc., but very rarely do I have any idea where the process will take me. What is my destination? What will I discover? What vision will I have? Having drummed and rattled in ceremony in the past, the rattle and the hand become one. The same is true in drumming. the drum and the hands become one. Therefore, when I painted Rattle Dancer, it just made sense to paint the rattles as extensions of the arms. I think there's an undeniable spiritual presence in this painting. It's neither good nor evil, it just is. It's a painting you can almost hear.
This original is in the artist's collection. It is 38" x 49", acrylic on board.