fYrefly Auction Items - 2011

Jerry Whitehead was born on February 24, 1957 in Kinistino Saskatchewan. He is from the Cree nation and a member of the James Smith band. The first drawings he can remember doing were on grocery sacks with the tip of a 22-caliber bullet. He was 5 years old. Jerry's first introduction to vibrant color was through his mother. Jerry: "she braided brightly colored rugs when I was growing up. They always made me feel comfortable....the vibrant color made you feel like you were floating....separate, yet together."

As a child in Saskatchewan, Whitehead says he was interested in art like any of his friends. He says, "I used to draw as a kid. I used to draw all the time." Unlike the average kid, he used almost any source he could find for his drawings including the ashes that remained from fires and the lead in the bullets his father used as a hunter.

Jerry has always been a serious student of art. He is a graduate from the university of Regina and the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design with a B.A. and a Bachelor of Fine Arts respectively. His 8 years of formal training are evident in his use of color, movement and control of his compositions.

Upon completing his formal training, Whitehead began showing his work in exhibitions across the country. In the years since, he has had numerous shows in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. His work has been commissioned by University Hospital in Saskatoon and the Summer Pops Symphony at Cable Wharf in Halifax to name but two. Whitehead says that his style has changed over the years. "I went through a lot of different stages," he says. In the beginning, Whitehead did beadwork and attached the work to his paintings. He also says that, for a while, he used to wrinkle his canvas to give his paintings a dimensional appearance.

The one thing that has remained constant throughout this progression is his focus on powwows and powwow dancers. "Powwow dancers have been an ongoing theme in my work since I began painting. Seeing the dancers as a child had a lasting impression. The subject matter has been ideal for expressing a part of my culture as well as accommodating changes in my work," says the artist from the Peter Chapman First Nation.

This piece is acrylic on canvas, 55 x 64 inches.

donor: Jerry Whitehead

website: www.jerrywhitehead.com

value: $3500

current high bid: $600