Jessica Crabtree

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Finished! 8×10 charcoal (See details on my Gallery.) Thanks to William Warby for the Creative Commons photograph. Click the tags below to see it step-by-step.

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Aoife (pronounced “EE-fa”) is an Irish name meaning “delightful.” This portrait is done 2H/2B & 4B graphite on Strathmore paper.

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“Atsina,” 16×32 pastel on suede (click image for larger view or visit my Gallery for more.)

This portrait is based on a 1908 photograph by Edward Curtis. Check out some of my earlier posts to see the project from start to finish: Atsina Portrait: In Progress

About the Atsina

The Atsina people are often known by the name given to them by French traders, “Gros Ventre” (pronounced “Grow Vaunt”). They call themselves the A’aninin, or the White Clay People.

As one of the Algonquian-speaking peoples, they lived for thousands of years lived in large farming communities around the Great Lakes. When the first horses roamed into the northern Plains, the Atsina – like their close relations, the Arapaho – became nomadic and migrated west to hunt buffalo for their livelihood. Like many Plains Indians in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Atsina depended on the bison for food, tools, building materials, and clothing, such as the robe the young woman in this painting wears.

The first European explorers heading across the North American continent, such as Lewis and Clark, recorded their meetings with the Atsina; the pioneer artist Karl Bodmer painted many of their portraits and watercolors of their villages. Following early contact, however, they suffered greatly from epidemics such as smallpox. As conflicts with white settlers and the army reached a high, the Atsina allied at times with the Blackfoot, and at other times with the Crow. They successfully avoided forced relocations that sent many of their neighbors to Oklahoma, and today most Atsina still live in their Montana homeland.

“Clint”

Clint, or “Aces High” is a champion jumper owned by Gearoid Mulligan of County Longford, Ireland.

The horse portrait is done in soft graphite, the background is charcoal, on 80lb Strathmore paper. This is the original photo – I had the pleasure of meeting Clint and watching him in action during my recent stay in Ireland. When I took this shot of him, he was on his way to star in a St. Patrick’s Day parade. He’s a handsome, regal-looking fellow, but don’t let his appearance fool you; he was a complete ham!

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The latest sketch in my Gallery. Based on a 1907 photograph of a Qahatika girl (a branch of the Pima people). Graphite, 8×10.

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My latest charcoal & graphite – see her on my Online Gallery. Source photo: public domain.

Charcoal and graphite 8×10. The original photo was from the old US Fish & Wildlife archives (public domain). See my Gallery…

My latest commission – precious little Scarlett was born January 10. The drawing is 8×10 done in 2H & 2B graphite with a tortillion (blending stump). Click the photo to enlarge.