David B. Johnson
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David Beaucage Johnson
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| Illustration for "The Manitous" by Basil Johnson |
Active in his community of Curve Lake First Nation and a member of council, David's paintings reflect a great care for his traditional past as well as the spiritual future of his people.
David's latest project of illustrating two books of legends retold by reknown linguist Basil Johnston has been rewarded with amazing reviews. "The Bear Walker" and "The Manitous" are currently available at the Whetung gallery. Commissioned by "Magnotta Vineyards" for a series of wine labels was an experience for David, the labels won "Best" award in 1994. David exhibits year round at the Whetung Art Gallery.
Song For The Night SunPeople often wonder why wolves howl at the moon. In this painting, the wolves are shown embracing the moon and offering song to it. The songs are in gratitude for providing light for their night hunts. The white at the bottom is the Teaching Rock, a sacred place north of Stoney Lake in the Kawartha Lakes region of central Ontario. At this sacred place, there are images carved onto a gleaming white rock. Contained in the symbols on the rock are the teachings of the Medicine Wheel and the Spirit World. Night Sun is the English translation for the Ojibwe word for moon. To the Ojibway, the wolf is known as the teacher and it is said that we can learn much by watching the wolf. (print $30, art card $3.50)
Grandmother MoonThe painting shows the sacred native teaching place called Kinomaagewapkong. The site is now the Provincial Park known as Petroglyphs, north of Stoney Lake in the Kawartha Lakes Region of Central Ontario. At this sacred place, there are images carved onto a gleaming white rock. Contained in the symbols on the rock are the teachings of the Medicine Wheel and the Spirit World.
You see a Spirit of the stone rising into the sky and raising an Eagle Fan in prayer. In this painting, I have used the magic of double imagery and negative space. You will notice that the line very close to the moon is not only the outline of the fan, but also outlines the face of Grandmother Moon. For the Ojibwe people, all things in the natural world are believed to have a spirit. Trees, animals, birds, and fish all have a spirit. Even the rocks, rivers, and lakes have spirit. (print sold out, art card $3.50)
HaloThe moon is considered to be woman spirit. The figure that you see in the painting is the spirit of the moon. I use simple lines to indicate the spirit because spirits are rarely visible. For example: there are actually two spirits in the painting... The other spirit is Mother Earth. If you look very carefully, you may be able to see her face as a profile. The lowermost star is her eye. (print $25, art card $3.50)
The Man From The Sky
This happened a long time ago, about four hundred years ago maybe. There were five or six hundred who were living together on the Pine Plains (near what is now called Barrie in Ontario, Canada). One day, two of them saw someone sitting on the grass. This was a man, so they went to see. After a while, he spoke: "I don't belong to this land; I dropped from above yesterday, so I am here now." The men went home and told the people about this. They began to clean the place where they were to keep the Man from the Sky. Then they went to get him. The man from the Sky was a good-looking man, clean and shining bright. At sundown, he looked up to the skies, as if he was watching for something, then he spoke: "In two days, I will return to the sky. Something will come down to take me there." The next day, he said that it was a good contry where he lived, that everything was good. "Tomorrow, I will return to the sky," he said. "All of you must be home to watch me leave." The next day, he looked up and said, "It is coming." Everyone looked up but could see nothing for a long time. One man who could see well saw something like a bright star shinging high up. The other people couldn't see anything until it came near the ground. It was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever seen. Two men got hold of it and pulled down hard. The Man from the Sky got in and it rose into the sky. (As told by Jonas George [Waasa Giizhig] of Mjikaning) (print $30, art card $3.50)
Illustrations
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Among David's accomplishments is a series of illustrations for Basil H. Johnston's book The Bear Walker, available at Whetung Gallery. "Visually exquisite with liquid line drawings and magically lighted paintings." -Quill & Quire |
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| Colours may not be exactly as shown. Many of the artists depicted on these pages are represented by Whetung Gallery not only by their original works, but also limited editions, open edition reproductions, or greeting cards. They can be purchased framed or unframed and we are able to ship any item from our gallery around the world. Please contact us for more information about any of our artists. |