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CAnAdiAn Art Prints - meet the Artists
Frank Polson
A Native North American Algonquin, born in Ville-Marie, Quebec in 1952, Frank Polson is a member of the Long Point First Nation (Northwestern Quebec). Frank is a self-taught artist who produces works of unique beauty, which is relevant to today and in accordance with his heritage. He has rekindled his fond memories of many pleasurable and educational seasons, spent on the trap lines with his father and has tried to capture those wonderful memories on canvas among the glorious sunsets and the sounds and feelings of the wilderness’ days and nights.
Del Russ
For the past twenty years, Del has been creating Haida artwork. He enjoys teaching others about the meanings that are central to the beliefs of the Haida Nation. Del’s artistic motivation comes from the teachings of his ancestors; therefore, his own personal visions and experiences are expressed through his love for painting and carving. Says the artist, “I create paintings because it helps to free my spirit.”
Gerry Sheena
Gerry Sheena was born April 13th, 1964, in Merritt, BC. He is a member of the Coast Salish Nation and has been carving since 1990. Growing up, he spent hours watching his brother, Roger Swaikum, carve, and though he’s mainly self-taught, Gerry has received some guidance from Henry McKay, and renowned Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Stan Hunt III. Hunt in particular assisted Sheena in reining his detailing, which is relected by the superb inish of his current pieces.
Richard Shorty
Living in Vancouver, B.C., Richard Shorty has been an artist since 1965. Born in Whitehorse, Yukon, he started his career with portraits of rock stars, wildlife and scenic realism.
In 1980, with his artistic abilities maturing, he began Native design. His unique style combines elements of traditional and contemporary design. Richard is a versatile artist having worked on drums, paddles, masks and rattles. His pieces are collected nationwide.
Charles Silverfox
Charles Silverfox was born in Whitehorse, Yukon. He is of Tlingit northern Tutchone and Irish ancestry. Charles has lived and worked in British Columbia since 1980. He primarily works in pen and ink creating images using hundreds and hundreds of little dots by hand – this art form is known as pointillism. Charles received his introduction to this form of art from his older brother, Mark Preston, (Tenna tsa the) a well known Yukon artist and jeweler. Charles says that his art is a relection of his traditional values and his high esteem for all living things in the natural world.
Alan Syliboy
Alan Syliboy was born and raised on the Millbrook First Nations Reservations in Nova Scotia, and like many others of his generation, he grew up believing that First Nations artwork was generic; or what you saw on television and other mass media sources. As a youth, feeling unsure of his talents and his identity, he found painting painful and dificult. It wasn’t until he met and studied privately with renowned Maliseet Artist, Shirley Bear, that he found his conidence and began to take his own path.