Thanks everyone for liking and supporting my portrait work. I am currently working on a fantasy portrait…done from my imagination and references to Paul Kane, the pioneering Canadian artist(about 1840-1870) who travelled west in order to sketch and paint the first nation people before they were overun by manifest destiny.
The fantasy painting is of an Iroquois warrior. I am interested in this because when Alexander MacKenzie was exploring westward along the Peace River (…1780) his paddlers were all Iroquois from the East. When they got to Ne Parle Pas Rapids, near Hudson Hope, several paddlers decided to stay in the area because the trapping was so good.
The beaver were depleted extensively in the East and one of the paddlers was named
Testestowich. That family still lives in our area to this very day!! My home stomping ground….Peace River area of northern B.C. And Alberta.
The warrior looks very fierce and I am glad the Iroquois fought alongside the British in those days. I would hate to have to fight such a warrior.
The face has so much character and reflects the warrior society of those early days of exploration.
I should have this finished in a week or so. Unlike my other works, this is not commissioned, so it is available for sale when completed.
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