My Stoic Cherokee

"Sometimes you have to treat yourself to the niceties in life."  Chandra Brown

Our family recently toured The Dallas Art Museum where we were all inspired by various pieces of work through many genres and periods. It was amusing to listen to why my husband liked a particular painting that I secretly found pleasing as well. As he described why he liked it, I found myself nodding in agreement and when he finished his last thought on the matter, the exact thought he was saying splurged out of my mouth about the piece too. It was one of those art pieces you wish you could take home with you because it jumped off the wall, said something to our souls that we both understood.

My husband and I have dreamily said we would buy a piece of property just for the Art value. Meaning, the wall space is what is important to us. There are pieces of art we have stacked in closets and against walls in our house, Art that needs to be framed and put in its' proper place. Art that tells a story or evokes an emotion or conveys a message. We want our walls to tell tales that provoke thought and enhance conversation.

Alas, life gets in the way of day dreaming and our gallery is in need of some help.

The Brown house is not run like your typical household; time takes you on its path and before you know it, those typical things that families tend to do to remember each other have missed their mark on the calendar. Namely, family photos. The last one we have was taken five years ago. I felt a slight pang of guilt for this neglect in memory compiling. The pang didn't last long when I saw an old friend post her artistic skills depicting two sisters in a portrait. This got my cogwheels moving and I knew I needed a portrait of my daughter to fill in my memory void.

Photo By: Nathan Brown

What makes this artistic adventure so special comes from the details involved. The original photo taken for this portrait of my daughter was clicked by my husband as we sat outside on our deck enjoying the Texas weather. We were discussing family history and the fact Cherokee blood ran in the Brown's veins. My daughter was playing with feathers she found in the yard and created the hairpiece and out of some wild fluke she let us put braids in her hair. I giggled at how cute our little squaw looked  and asked if anyone has ever seen a blond Native American before?

We told her how most antique Native American portraits hardly ever showcased a smiling figure, most were serious and it was rare that the photo was ever taken due to some superstitions.  We told her to strike her best rendition of how a distant family member in the tribe may have looked posing for a photograph. Her gaze and stature displayed in that quick photo, taken in a second that afternoon caused us to remember a not too distant past while living in the moment of family storytelling and play.

My husband and I didn't know how much that photo would grow on us over the following months. We captured more than just an image, we captured a story in that photo. The more we look at it, the more of our daughter's strong character and personality emote off the page. If one can capture a part of a personality in one pose, my husband did in this photo.  Strong and stoic, grace under pressure, all which lend meaning to her name; Alexandra.

Graphite Art By: Brook Burnaugh

I wanted to make that photo memorable, something that would last. Something that wouldn't be deleted or lost in an archive. So I contacted Brooke Burnaugh, a very talented artist who lives near us to commission the portrait that would become a working part of our 'walls filled with art' day dream.  I loved the fact she was local, talented and would be adding her style and artistic gift to a part of our life that has the most meaning.  Art should make you feel, should be lasting and make you want to keep coming back to look at it again and again, and this portrait of our daughter encompasses all of that.

If one can hit the art jackpot, I just did.