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Dyanne Strongbow Weber - Watercolor Artist - B. 1951 Austin, TX








Dyanne Strongbow Weber - B. 1951 Austin, TX


“Canoeing in the Cattails”



Watercolor on Art Paper, Framed 23 X 29 Inches



“Drumming” Calling the Spirits Back




Watercolor on Art Paper, Framed:  Approximately:  23 X 29 Inches



Canoeing in the Cattails - Watercolor Detail


Signature Detail
Dyanne Strongbow:  An artist who is frequently listed in the categories of:  First, Only, and Different. First:  She is an artist that uses the power of negative space in her watercolors from a Native American perspective.  Only:  Unlike many Native American artists she captured her heritage in precision watercolors which are difficult to execute, a great artistic talent.  Different:  She is a Native American Woman in a predominantly white art business world.  All totaled this means success.
I know what you are thinking, I don’t know her work, she can’t be that successful.  Well success is in the eyes of the beholder.  Strongbow was born in Austin, attended Southwest Texas University where she studied commercial art.  She went on to earn a living by working for state government agencies doing illustrations.  In the 1970s she ventured beyond commercial work to do her first Native American paintings.  Strongbow is half Choctaw.  
Her work was noted by art critics and art authors in the 1990s.  A writer for Art of the West magazine, June/July 1990 issue, stated: She is known for her use of negative space, which, she explains, she uses to prevent the painting from becoming too cluttered with detail. She portrays the present and past as well as the sometimes forgotten lifestyles of many tribes. She does composites and overlapping subjects, and uses subtle washes.   Also that decade, her bio ended up in  Earth Songs, Moon Dreams - Paintings by American Indian Women, a guidebook to contemporary Native American Women Artists by Patricia Janis Broder.  
The two watercolors used in this blog illustrate the critic’s words of being able to use negative space along with her ability to celebrate her Native heritage.  The negative space provides a contemporary voice to ancient activities.        
After the turn of the millennium, Strongbow did the illustrations for a popular children’s book:  Big Moon Tortilla.  Still today, her works are shown by New Mexico galleries and one of her paintings is in the Museum of Albuquerque.  Of recent, Strongbow’s art has been overlooked by the art critics, but that doesn’t change her ability to create stimulating artistic images that beg us to ask questions about the first Americans and their traditions.  Her artwork consists of skilled interpretations of lost traditions in soft watercolors!



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