Title:
Seaward, Father's Canoe
Artist:
Shelley McDonald
Size:
22" x 30"
Medium:
Watercolour on Arches acid free paper
Price:
CAN$730.00
Available for Sale
Available for Sale
Description:
SHELLEY MCDONALD – Artist Statement, “Seaward, Father’s Canoe”
This painting was inspired by the words of a master Haida Mythteller, Skaay of the Qquuna Qiighawaay. The specific verse that influenced my work is when the skeleton of a humpback whale is transformed into a canoe. “Along the gunwales were carvings of migrating geese who knew how to paddle by beating their wings.” This passage gave me such a strong visual that I had to put paint to paper. My interpretation illustrates the canoe travelling from a stormy sky off towards a much brighter horizon. This mirrors our dark history since colonization and my optimism for acceleration to a more enlightened society.
The passage is from “Being in Being”, volume three of the classical Haida Mythtellers Masterworks. The most well known volume is “A Story as Sharp as a Knife”, the second volume is “Ghandl of the Qayahl Llaanas”. All of these have been translated from Haida by Robert Bringhurst. I highly recommend them if you are keen to learn of the rich culture that is my Haida heritage as well as part of our local coastal history.
This painting was inspired by the words of a master Haida Mythteller, Skaay of the Qquuna Qiighawaay. The specific verse that influenced my work is when the skeleton of a humpback whale is transformed into a canoe. “Along the gunwales were carvings of migrating geese who knew how to paddle by beating their wings.” This passage gave me such a strong visual that I had to put paint to paper. My interpretation illustrates the canoe travelling from a stormy sky off towards a much brighter horizon. This mirrors our dark history since colonization and my optimism for acceleration to a more enlightened society.
The passage is from “Being in Being”, volume three of the classical Haida Mythtellers Masterworks. The most well known volume is “A Story as Sharp as a Knife”, the second volume is “Ghandl of the Qayahl Llaanas”. All of these have been translated from Haida by Robert Bringhurst. I highly recommend them if you are keen to learn of the rich culture that is my Haida heritage as well as part of our local coastal history.