Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine Art Vol 2 no 10 October 2013

VL
Studio Visit
Nocona Burgess
I met my wife, Danielle, at USAO. She is also
an artist and is very supportive of my art. After
graduation in 1999, we were married and
moved back to Santa Fe. I began painting and
things started to work out. I started to get into
shows and to sell my paintings again. My art
opened doors. My first show was at Red Earth
in Oklahoma City.
In 2000, my brother and I were asked to be in a
show in Holland, and from there the show
traveled to Belgium and Germany. Since then,
I have traveled around the United States and to
South Africa showing my work.
I paint from historical photos of Native Americans; I’ve always had a passion for history. I grew up
learning the history of my Comanche and Kiowa people. I was also encouraged to read and to find
out more on my own. This was combined with my love of art. I started making art as soon as I could
pick up a crayon. I recently was given a box of my drawings from my mother. These were from
when I was around 3-4 years old: of course, they were Indians.
I’ve always wanted to tell a bit of a story of their lives. These were people; human beings that lived
loved and fought. I never wanted my paintings to be just “Indian in a Blanket” type of art. I wanted
people to see them and their story and histories and beauty and people. I try to avoid the stereotype
or cultural cliché’s. I’ve just always had a passion for those images and their stories. I am
always looking for images and stories.
http://www.eagleserpentstudios.com/
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