Skullcrow - WIP 4.25

Some more work on the skullcrow. More next week!

Skullcrow WIP - 4.19

Skullcrow

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Sprained my knee last week so I couldn't even make it up the stairs to my studio. So I'm now just catching up with work on this piece. 

Lots of texturing and flat colors so far. Decided to go with an aspen tree for the branch this Skullcrow is resting on. The aspen is in the poplar family, a large group that has many native species all over North America. One tree in the poplar family that had significant spiritual meaning to the Lakota Sioux was the cottonwood tree (Populus deltiodes). The wood from this tree is considered sacred and was the central piece in the Sun Dance. Read up on Lakota Culture HERE. 

Because of the significance of the cottonwood to a culture I greatly respect, and because I grew up with two large quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) in my backyard and huge cottonwoods all over my hometown, I felt a connection that needed to be expressed with the Skullcrow. 

As I said in my last post, the Skullcrow is neither living or dead, but just goes on in existence as a guide to those who need it. Similarly, one of the oldest living things in North America is a grove of male quaking aspens, collectively called Pando. They are connected together through a massive root system that continually creates new, genetically identical trees; thus keeping this "tree" alive for what some believe is close to 10,000 years. Aspens and the Skullcrows go on through the ages. 

Thats my blerb for the day. Thanks for reading Check back for more progress shots!