It’s Indigenous Peoples day and @ Jacobson native art, we celebrate these 3 masters

ROY THOMAS - Master artist

 SAUL WILLIAMS - Master artist

 

NORVAL MORRISSEAU - Master artist

Good evening to each and everyone. Thank you for all the positive energy and spirit that has been manifesting here at our new site. We appreciate you all and wish you only the best. Today is indigenous peoples day and for me I feel like every day is Indigenous day. I am Anishanabe so it goes without saying. I would like to share some of my personal experiences around these 3 master artists in our woodland school. 

These 3 guys have inspired me and have been my mentors throughout my whole career. I love them all so much and have admired them my entire career. They are legends to me and I have been absolutely blessed by becoming friends and having a personal relationship with all 3. This fact has been one of the most significant sources of inspiration and determination for me as an artist. Indeed there are others in the woodland school of art who have inspired me as well but these gentlemen are my top 3 of all time.

I first met Roy Thomas in Thunder Bay around the age of 15. By that time Roy was already regarded as the great master of the second generation. He shared with me the technical aspects of line work, detailing and inlay. He also taught me how to hold a paint brush properly as well. My time with Roy was short as I had only seen him a handful of times (around 7 visits to his studio) but the profound effects on me and in my art will last a lifetime and for that, Roy Thomas is legend. 

What can one say about the level of mastery in this next mentor in Saul Williams. I have always looked up to the levels of skill, detail, Colour use, inlay work and precision in the art of this master. Saul Williams and I have been sharing with each other on phone and through Facebook the last few years. He even came to the movie premier in Toronto for there are no fakes. The amount of respect and honour I have for him is next level and he is a true pioneer in our woodland school. 

Indeed Norval Morrisseau is someone I’ve always had immense respect for. He is the whole reason why I got involved in helping to play a critical role in saving his artistic legacy. Meeting him and being inspired by his life’s work was a pinnacle moment for me back in 2005. At that point I had been making my way in the woodland art form nationally. I was at the 20 year mark of being a woodland school artist. My time with him during my visits to Nanaimo will have a lasting effect on my life and in my own legacy. Our time together was the icing on the cake for me. I realized then that I had been acknowledged by one of the greatest living masters to ever do it. I have never looked back since then. 

Now it’s all about mastering Jacobson, my potential and my level of mastership in the woodland school of art. For me, this is the greatest artform on the planet. I love everything about being an Anishanabe master artist. I am one of the living legacies and spirit of this art now. This is how I feel about it. My time is now. The light of this torch has been handed down on to capable and grateful hands. It is an honour and privilege and I will continue to carry this legacy through all my paintings as did these great legends before me. With deep respect and love....all my relations MAJ