Artist shows his work

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Kevin Pelletier gave a shy smile as more than a dozen people filed into the second floor of Red Road Fashion and Gifts on July 22. They came to the Lebret store to see Pelletier's artwork - canvas paintings as well as brightly-painted buffalo skulls - which graced the gallery.

For the 24-year-old from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation, who started painting when he was 18, the art show was the high point of his artistic career.

Pelletier said his artistic aptitude and inspiration has come in part from his extended family.

"I have an uncle who paints," he said. "He would come up with some really neat ideas; he's an excellent artist. And he inspired me to paint."

But experimenting with other painting mediums - trading canvas for rock - inspired him to take his art seriously.

"I started painting rocks. I was low on supplies one day. I had no canvas to paint on, so I found some nice rocks. I remembered that my uncle had painted a stone a few years back, and he had sold it.

I painted a few, and was able to sell them, so I had money for more supplies. Ever since then, I've had some people take a look and want to buy some of my paintings."

The centerpiece of the Red Road showing was a large painting called "Orion", in which Pelletier puts a fresh, First Nations-type spin on the Greek legend of the hunter.

"In school, in Greek mythology and the constellations, we learned about Orion. He was a great hunter. For this painting, I took Orion and made him into an Aboriginal hunter.

"I did the outline of the hunter, and the arrow he was shooting is aimed at a buffalo constellation. I don't think there's such a thing in the constellation star maps, but, at least in my painting, there is now," he joked.

-By Stephen LaRose