Original Paintings on Clay Board
Kathy Morrow has moved the medium of Clay Board (also called Scratch Board) beyond the traditional black and white into full color. The combination of rich color and graphic precision in her work is the result of a time consuming process. To begin the process, Watercolor is painted on white Clay Board; Hundreds of hours of detailed graphic cuts with an X acto knife; Painting color over the cuts with translucent oil glazes and sealing the painting so it has all the permanent properties of a fine oil painting and doesn't need glass for protection.
Wanan Namayanhun Huwo?
Wanan Namayanhun Huwo? Lakota language for Can You Hear Me Now?
Framed 24 x 32 " with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $7,900. Chief David Bald Eagle has been a friend of mine since the 1980’s. I have made many paintings of him and members of his family. We met at Artist Ride in South Dakota where he was a model for the many artists that attend. We had finished a pretty long hot day of photography and David was dressed in his eagle feather bonnet and beaded shirt and pants that his wife Josee had made for him. He had a beautiful hand-quilled leather bag that was decorated with dyed porcupine quills. As we were walking from his tepee to my camp, his bag started buzzing.
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I asked him what that buzzing was and he pulled out his old cell phone and said, " People want to talk to me all the time on this thing." That gave me an idea for a painting and David was willing to pose again. I like to keep it real so as he held the cell phone to his ear, I decided to make him laugh by bringing up something that had happened that Spring….. “David! It’s Josee on the phone…the truck broke down in Deadwood and she needs a new Alternator.” That hit his funny bone and he cracked up laughing and I got what I was looking for, a good hearty laugh. To embellish my tall tale a bit further, I added smoke signals coming out of the antenna. Four puffs for a GOOD SIGNAL! David helped me name this painting, by telling me the Lakota way to say “Can you hear me now?” Wanan Namayanhun Huwo?
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I Colored a Hummingbird
I Colored a Hummingbird
Framed 22 x 26 " with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Inset has a carving of a Turquoise Hummingbird. $7,900. |
I Colored a Hummingbird
This Clay Board Painting features my young friend Curtis Little. Curtis was at the Artist Ride event that I attend South Dakota. He was trying to play his flute and I took a moment to show him how to position his fingers over the holes and play the musical scale. As I photographed him playing his flute, I loved the intensity of his concentration as he fingered the notes. Later that evening, Curtis was sitting next to me at the chuck wagon supper. We were talking about humming birds and Curtis chimed in with " I colored a hummingbird in school". The painting formed in my mind at that very moment. |
Sweet Nuthin's
Sweet Nuthin's
Framed 18 x 22 " with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Image 7 x 10.5 " $3,900. |
Sweet Nuthin's
My friend Charlie got one of the donkeys out of the corral and was having a time getting him across the field. We had a lot of fun making up titles for paintings involving Charlie's Ass. Charlie used his thumb and curled up the donkey's lips to make it look like he was telling him something real interesting as Charlie made funny faces of mocked surprise. The only thing was....the donkey was a Jack (Male). Fortunately, Charlie still had all his fingers and ears when we were done |
Share?
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Share?
Darling little 3 years old, Savannah was munching on a piece of cornbread for breakfast. Someone sat a bucket down beside her with their pet ferret inside. As the ferret smelled the cornbreadand seemed interested in what she was eating, she turned and gave him a look as if to say, "I'm not sharing this with anyone, especially you!" |
Prairie Spirit
Prairie Spirit
14 x 11 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $1,800. |
Prairie Spirit
A Lakota woman, holds a shield with a buffalo design on it and two eagle feathers hanging from the center. The buffalo were the center of life for the Lakota nation. They were food, clothing, shelter, weapons, and tools. In the background, as bull buffalo looks on with approval. |
MARIPOSA
Mariposa
8 x 10 Framed with suede mat $950.00 |
Mariposa
Stormy with a Monarch Butterfly. Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly. The butterfly represents transformation. |
Little Stinkers
Little Stinkers
16 x 21 Framed Image 8 x 13.5 " Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Inset has an Alabaster carving of a White Buffalo decorated with Porcupine Quills. $3,000. My friend "Pilgrim" has been modeling as Santa in many of my Christmas Card paintings. Each year I plan an idea and some poses for the new card. This year I had asked 3 year old Chelsea if she would model with Santa and the night before she had cheerily agreed. The problem started with a too early wake up call (trying to get that early morning sunlight). She wanted to ride her horse first and was quite put out when she had to do this Santa Clause thing.
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Her Mom was trying to get her to stop pouting and the other Mt Men were having a little fun teasing her. They gave Pilgrim a taxidermy skunk and said "Give her this
for Christmas cuz she's be'in a little stinker. Well Pilgrim is a pretty good Santa and he started talking softly to Chelsea....saying "Chelsea....Chelsea....hmmmmm....I think I have an elf at the North Pole named Chelsea. You know what her job is? She puts the clothes on all the Barbie Dolls!" She brightened up and smiled and said REALLY? and the pout was gone as she had an animated conversation with Santa. Yes Pilgrim does this for a living every Christmas in New York City. The rest of the year he carves antlers and works on old model cars. |
Lakota Christmas
Lakota Christmas
Image 8 x 13.5 " 16 x 21 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Inset has an Alabaster carving of a White Buffalo decorated with Porcupine Quills $3,000. |
Lakota Christmas
My friend "Pilgrim" has been modeling as Santa in many of my Christmas Card paintings. Each year I plan an idea and some poses for the new card. This time we had Wapila and his brother JJ Bald Eagle wait inside their tee pee. We had a young 2 year old buffalo that was being handled by the man who was training him for a wild west show. |
Buffalo Whiskers
Buffalo Whiskers
22 x 14 Frame Image 15.5 x 9.5 " Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $3,500. |
Buffalo Whiskers
In the painting Buffalo Whiskers, a Lakota boy is curiously touching the stubbly beard of a Buffalo Soldier. The Buffalo Soldiers got their name from the Native Americans in part because their dark skin and the curly texture of their hair were like a buffalo. They said that the Buffalo Soldiers fought like a wounded buffalo, which was a great compliment. The buffalo were a source of food, clothing and shelter for the Plains tribes. |
Blessings of a Lodge Pole
Blessing of a Lodge Pole
Framed 20 x 14" Image 14 x 8" Suede mats and loomed beads by the artist. $1,800. |
Blessing of a Lodge Pole
At Artist ride there was a teepee with a ceremonial buffalo skull hanging on the lodge pole in front. The eyes and nose cavities were filled with wild sage from the Prairie. In Blessings of a Lodge Pole, A white buffalo leads the ghost herd. In the eye of the buffalo is a Reflection of the lodge pole. |
Crystal Reflections
Crystal Reflections
Image 9 x 29.5" Frame 18 x 39" with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $4,500. Crystal Reflections
The original Clay Board painting represents opposing forces as balance. The White Buffalo is a reflection of the black buffalo. The crystals of purple Amethyst and yellow Topaz are opposite in color on the color spectrum . Everything is balanced by its opposite. |
One can't exist without the other. My friends Nita and Donald Lane, who own the Bear Track Gallery in Cloudcroft, NM, had a bull and cow buffalo. I was able to get very good close ups and was staying at her house for a show when the cow had her calf. I got the privilege of naming the little yellow calf and called her Sunshine. Their buffalo are used in many of my scratch board paintings.
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Buffalo Medicine
Buffalo Medicine
Image 12.5 x 17 " Framed 23 x 28 " with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $3,000. |
Buffalo Medicine
The buffalo shield is decorated with four eagle feathers. The inside of the shield has a buffalo painted on it and four track designs going North and South and East and West. There are four buffalo tracks on either side of the shield. The four directions, four nations, four winds and four seasons are all important symbolism's in Buffalo Medicine. |
As Many as the Stars
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As Many As The Stars
A beautiful Lakota woman is wrapped in a buffalo robe on a cold and starry night. The spirits of Tatanka, the buffalo, run across her shoulder as they are led by the White Buffalo. Stormy was my model. She was wrapped in a buffalo robe in August in SD. With temperatures above 100 degrees. What a trooper! |
Gift to Whirlwind Horse
Gift to Whirlwind Horse
35 x 35 " and 35 x 25" Diptych Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $45,000. |
Gift to Whirlwind Horse
For a few years we lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Many of the Lakota people have descriptive names and these names inspired some of my drawings. One family that lived near us had the last name of "Whirlwind Horse". I would draw doodles of horses spinning in their tails. My school notebooks were very decorative. Some 20 years later, the idea jelled into the painting called A Gift to Whirlwind Horse. In the upper panel of this vertical Diptych is Buffalo Woman, an Indian woman with white hair that gave the gift of buffalo to the Lakota people. She is embracing a white buffalo and her hair is swirling into the lower panel. The whirlwind of her hair gives a buffalo to the Lakota hunter to sustain his family. In the top panel there is a beaded design that connects to sections of Scratch Board together to make a larger panel. At the time this painting was made, Scratch Board wasn't available in larger sizes. I designed and loomed the beads in this section. |
Elk Woman
Elk Woman
22x 16 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Image 10.75 x 14.75 " $2,500. |
Elk Woman
The Plain’s Indian tribes believed that certain people had power called Elk Medicine and were called Elk Dreamers. I imagined Elk Woman as a medicine woman with the power of a matchmaker. The Elk Dreamer could help a young man find the right mate and also had powers to find herds of animals at hunting time. The elk demonstrated the power of love. |
Llama Mama
Elk Woman
22x 16 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. Image 10.75 x 14.75 " $2,500. |
Llama Mama
The Plain’s Indian tribes believed that certain people had power called Elk Medicine and were called Elk Dreamers. I imagined Elk Woman as a medicine woman with the power of a matchmaker. The Elk Dreamer could help a young man find the right mate and also had powers to find herds of animals at hunting time. The elk demonstrated the power of love. |
Ebony Wind
Ebony Wind
Image size 24 x 20 Frame 34 x 30 with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $5,500. |
Ebony Wind
I met Monique at a Renaissance Fair where she was performing traditional Middle Eastern dance. She had a beautiful style and garments that she had made herself. We went to White Sands National Monument and she danced on the white dunes as the sun was setting. Below us, cars drove by and a crowd formed at the base of the dunes as people watch the magic of the dance on sparkling dunes in a golden sunset. It was the inspiration for Ebony Wind. |
dallas dreams
Dallas Dreams
14 x 26 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $3,000. |
Dallas Dreams
Dallas is a Leopard Appaloosa that lives in Las Cruces and he is quite a character. It was early morning and he was really kicking up his heals. I like the way the spots on the eagle feather blend with his spotted pattern. What a beauty. |
Night Song
Night Song
Image 5.25 x 11 "Framed 15.5 x 21.5 "with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $2,500. |
Night Song
The owl is considered a visionary and for many Native Americans of the Southwest, it is believed that owls should be avoided as they are the bringer of bad news. The Native tribes of the Northwest and some North Eastern tribes have a higher opinion of owls and they are placed at the tops of the totem poles. Personally, I love these awesome birds and have done many paintings of them. I always contribute a portion of the sales of my originals that involve the rescue animals to the various centers that are working to preserve their populations. |
Summer Sonnet
Summer Sonnet
Image 14 x 8.25 " Framed 23.5 x 17.5" with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $3,000. |
Summer Sonnet
Hedge Hog Cactus grow around our house in New Mexico. The beautiful pinkish purple flowers attract many hummingbirds and the most common in our area are the Broad Tail Hummers. We maintain feeders so that I can get good photos of these little aerial acrobats. Native Americans often refer to them as the littlest warriors as they seem to fear nothing. |
Bear Olympics
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BearOlympics
In 1996, the Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta and I had been at a Western Art show there, during the event. Later I was photographing a Black Bear at a rescue center and he was really cutting up at his pond. Sometimes he looked just like a person would, enjoying the nice cool water on a hot summer day. The Bear Olympics seemed like the perfect title for this painting on Clay Board. Kathy draws inspiration from her own experiences and those of her people and animal friends, then integrates elements from Native American legends to create her striking compositions. |
Apartment 2 Bee
Apartment 2 Bee
34 x 22 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $5,900. Apartment 2 Bee
Apartment 2 Bee is So Arizona . . . . . My neighbors have imported two giant Saguaro cactus and they flower in May. I climbed a 16 ft ladder to photograph the flowers at the top. Even the ladder wasn't tall enough and I had to use my zoom lens at full power to get the close ups. There were bumble bees visiting the flowers and I got some great shots of them. Fortunately, they didn't get any shots at me! I added the Elf Owl as it is a common |
inhabitant of the woodpecker holes that are often found in these cactus. The small owl was a temporary resident of a rescue center in Northern NM. She had been found frozen to the grill of an 18 wheeler and by some miracle managed to survive her ordeal. I'm sure she would rather be in a hole in a giant Saguaro in Arizona. And there you have it.... Apartment 2 Bee |
She Gathers Rainbows
She Gathers Rainbows
40 x 69 Framed with suede mat and loomed beads by the artist. $32,000. She Gathers Rainbows
While attending an art show in Denver, CO and there was a performing group of Aztec Dancers. One of the young ladies, agreed to model for me. Her headdress is made of Macaw feathers and I placed a Macaw feathered fan in her hand. In my drawing, I sketched a Military Macaw, which is native to the Aztec area of Mexico. The drawing was taking on an oval feeling with the arch of the birds' tail balancing the curve of her arm and fan. I decided to build this piece on a large scale. |
Scratch Boards are available in full sheets of 20 x 30, I used four sheets mounted to a heavier back board. The bead work would hide the seams and become a part of the art. I designed the beaded strips to be Macaw feathers changing colors as in a rainbow. The four strips would radiate from her hand as if she were holding the four directions. At the junction I beaded the medallion that was positioned as if her hand were holding it. Hanging from the medallion are Macaw feathers from a Blue and Gold Macaw. I designed and loomed the beads in the four sections. |