Arthur Short Bull is a watercolorist whose vision strives to capture the spirit of his Oglala Lakota heritage. He has spent the last 20 years attempting self-sufficiency as an artist. What I hope to achieve through my work is to help others see and experience the spirit that exists in all things, states Short Bull. Short Bull has opened a new gallery in Estes Park, Colorado that offers original watercolor and acrylic pieces along with an extensive selection of note cards and prints of his work.

Ancestral ties

Short Bull was raised on the Pine Ridge reservation and in nearby Rushville, Nebraska. Grant Short Bull was uncle to Amos Bad Heart Bull and younger brother of He Dog. He also rode with Crazy Horse and was one of the sources for Mari Sandoz's book, Crazy Hors:: The Strange Man of the Oglalas. Grant was born in 1852 and took part in Custer's Last Stand Short Bull said.

In 1891, Grant Short Bull and Bad Heart Bull went to a dry goods store in Crawford, Neb., to buy an 8 by 12 1/2 inch ledger book. Bad Heart Bull had shown an artistic ability and an interest in documenting the history of his people. Within the next year, Bad Heart Bull began the illustrated story of the life of his band, the Oglala Lakotas.

Bad Heart Bull died in 1913 at age 43, but his illustrative narrative is considered one of the most important historical documents that went a step beyond the traditional winter count, according to Short Bull. The ledger inspired Short Bull to begin exploring and documenting his own ancestry. The reason I am an artist is I have a story to tell, he said.

Inspired by tragedy

In 1991, Short Bull said he made a trip that would forever influence his painting. I went to visit Wounded Knee, he said, adding that it dawned on me the Indians buried in the mass grave at the massacre site were men and women who once had dreams. Instead of being dead Indians, he said, the people who died there became real. He later discovered an article by Nebraska scholar Richard E. Jensen that listed the names and ages of those who were wounded or survived the battle.

Those revelations became the inspiration for Short Bull's ongoing series on Wounded Knee and images of the Ghost Dance. Included in the series are Scarlet Coat, a watercolor painting of a child who died at Wounded Knee, and images of Black Elk, a cousin of Crazy Horse who participated at about age 12 in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 and was wounded in the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

His series, Wind Women, is comprised of images of women wrapped in traditional Lakota Star Quilt blankets, while another series focuses on Siouan mystery clan societies and shamans. He is working on Lakota Dreams, a project honoring Crazy Horse who died in September 1877, and a project honoring the storytelling traditions of Amos Bad Heart Bull.

Short Bull, a recipient of the First Peoples Fund 2006 Cultural Capital Program Fellowship was also a FPF 2009 Business in Leadership Fellow, said he is drawn to watercolor because he's impatient. I need to capture the image now, he said. That's the pleasure of watercolor; you have to get it right the first time.''

In January 2010, he was a panelist in Washington, D.C. for the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Award Fellowships. His work appears in collections throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to his Indian-themed works, he also paints Rocky Mountain landscapes and wildlife and switches from watercolors to acrylics at times.

See Short Bull's website at www.dawnhawk.org. His gallery is located at 165 Virginia Drive, Suite 5A. 970-310-9974.

RESPONSES:

I visited Arthur Short Bull's new gallery in Estes Park, The Wind Horse Gallery. His work is truly inspiring!   Mel