CAMOUFLAGE ART OF BEV DOLITTLE

The Forest Has Eyes

Rushing War Eagle

From the time that an Indian is a boy, he seeks to become more and more like the animal he has chosen to be his helper throughout life. When a warrior adorns himself with eagle's feathers, claws and bones, he brings to

himself the special strengths and abilities of the great Eagle Spirit. Rushing War Eagle is a painting of a warrior who has been empowered by his chosen protector - the golden eagle.

When the Wind Had Wings In When the Wind Had Wings, the spots of a

herd of galloping horses turns into birds at the far right of the print, and one's imagination

takes flight as well.

A broken song beneath the snow, the echo of a soaring joy, a shape in the mist, a touch in the rain, in the wilderness you come again...you tell us what we used to

know... you speak for all the free wild things whose ways were ours when the wind had wings.

Woodland Encounter

-----a deliberate study in camouflage by misdirection The bright-colored fox, dead center, distracts the eye from whatever is going on in the busy snows cape surrounding him. And the richness of design—a wonderful, natural part of the

trees themselves—

Wolves of the CrowRun with me, Wolf Brother,Teach me to be like a wolf,

Faster than fear, Stronger than cold.To read the wind,

Find the way.Teach me to be

As valuable to my tribeAs you are to yours.

Calling The BuffaloIn "Calling The Buffalo," a medicine man of the Sioux has been chosen by his tribe to call the

great herd. He goes away from his camp, choosing one of the infrequent water holes from which to make his prayers. Guided by rituals handed down from the medicine men of one generation to another, he chants and prays to the spirit of the buffalo. He uses the powerful magic of a buffalo skull to entice the herd into this tribe's territory. Knowing his people's survival depends upon his

success, he focuses his spiritual power and casts his big medicine into his call. The only question remaining is, will the buffalo heed his call?

Christmas Day Give or Take a WeekAfter the giant Sequoias were established as a national park in 1890, Congress also designated the " General Grant " tree as the Nation's Christmas tree. How appropriate with the cinnamon-red bark and "Christmas" green foliage against a backdrop of "snow-white" snow.As much as I would have liked to paint the " General Grant" tree - it just didn't have a very good cave. So I made up my very own " Christmas Sequoia" for this mountain man  to find shelter, peace, and warmth in on Christmas Day. He has unloaded his horse, gathered wood, made a fire, and rigged up a makeshift cooking stick for his meal of a local game bird. He has even taken time to cut down a small tree and decorate it with his meager possessions - a locket, a pocket watch, an Indian shell necklace, and a mirror.

The Good Omen

The eagle was a source of inspiration for the Native

Americans, too. The Indians envisioned the golden eagle as the embodiment of the Great Spirit. By

wearing eagle's feathers, they believed themselves to be

possessed of part of the Great Spirit's power. To view a golden

eagle while on a raiding or hunting expedition was considered

especially lucky. Here three Crow Indian warriors watch the silent

flight of a golden eagle, probably pausing to give thanks to the Great Spirit for "The Good Omen."-- Bev

Doolittle

Escape by a Hare

The red-tails streaking shadow is more than enough to tell this jack rabbit to run. And that disembodied shadow intensifies our identification

with the fleeing jack rabbit.

Missed Camouflaging the arrow was the key here. I purposely made the arrow difficult to see at first glance. You have to work a little to get the key to the puzzle. Once you see it,

the story is waiting for you. For myself, I think the arrow was shot by a young boy. Most warriors would hunt bigger game. But I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

P I N T O S

Prayer for the Wild ThingsThere's magic in the unexpected! More than 40 "animal spirits" live in this magnificent image.

Sometimes we rationalize that it's enough if a place is undeveloped and presents us with a postcard-perfect

landscape. Since wild animals are seldom seen, it's easy not to

notice their absence. But each missing plant or

animal, seemingly insignificant in itself,

creates a vacuum over time. What we perceived as wild is no longer so. It

is something less. We are left with a beautiful

landscape that was once so much more. — Bev

Doolittle

What spirits guard lands held holy by Blackfeet, Sioux, and Crow? In this camouflage painting, Doolittle answers the question and shows us that there are many levels to the visual experience. "I want to change the experience of seeing."--Bev Doolittle

The SentinelStay with me, Wolf Brother,As I watch over my village.Lend me your sharp eyes.

Help me to Remember that I am part of all I see.

Every animal and birdEvery rock, every tree.

We are all part of the beautiful circle of life

Created by the Great Spirit.Gray Wolf's guardian spirit is

very near.Can you see him?

In this image the Native American sentinel is wearing a wolf skin, and

the spirit of the wolf is camouflaged in the rocks and plants on the bank

of the river, also keeping watch over the tribe.

Season Of The EagleIn the life of an Indian, every new day, every encounter with bird or beast, and everything he owned or wore had religious significance. The Indians prayed each day to the One-Who-Made-All-Things, the Crow Ah-bad-dad-death. Since all creatures were made by the Great Spirit, the Indian considered the animals and birds with whom he shared his home not only sacred, but brothers. Each creature had unique powers and skills and the Indians believed that God had placed them on the Mother Earth to teach them valuable lessons. The eagle embodied courage and speed, skills the Indians needed for successful war and hunting, and eagles were revered as messengers of the Great Spirit. In the highest passes of the Rocky Mountains, spring arrives late in the year. As the snow melts, swollen, rushing streams and rivers tell the Indians that passes to more fertile hunting grounds will be open. The melting snow patterns speak to the Indians also. These are messages from the Great Spirit. It is because of the Indians' special reverence for the eagle that I have chosen to incorporate him into my most recent painting, Season of the Eagle.

In this image, The Season of the Eagle, depicts an eagle camouflaged in the snow that has

settled on the side of the mountain and reflects in the lake below the trail.

Spirit of the GrizzlyOut of the mist rising

A young Indian comes riding,Riding though bear country

Riding alone.It is early spring, but there is snow on the

groundAnd a storm in the air.

The Indian wears a bearskin robe.His name is Brave Bear.

Brave Bear has always tried to be like his name,

Strong, intelligent, brave.He wishes that his guardian spirit could be

The grandfather of all bears,The great grizzly.Does Brave Bear

get his wish?

Guardian Spirits

In the companion portraits of Guardian Spirits, a Blackfoot Indian rides forth in full dress,

adorned with the feathers, pelts and claws of his animal protectors.

Next we see him in the moment he has become aware

of danger, warned by the spirit of the wolf he wears as headdress.

Fearless as the mountain lion whose pelt he uses as a riding cloth, he turns his face

toward us, and we see ferocity and cunning, wisdom

and strength come alive to ride with him. There are eighteen spirit animals watching

over this warrior. How many can you find?

The story:

When you're sitting around a dying campfire out in the wilderness late at night, somehow the silence gets intensified. In the North, 'late' is a relative

term, but it's full dark, anyway. The mountain man has heard something out there in the blackness. His horse has heard it too. The man is experienced enough to know most night sounds: maybe he knows what it is and that's why he's reaching for his rifle. Or maybe he doesn't. . . . — Bev Doolittle

"Many years ago, Jay and I dreamed about creating a

book that would tell the story of a young girl's struggle to save a fragile desert canyon

from development. "The Earth is My Mother" tells how 11 year old Sarah tries to raise

people's awareness of Magic Canyon. Sarah takes 15 photographs that when

combined in a special way with one her mother took- all

images that are actually my watercolour paintings...reveal

the portrait you see in "The Earth is My Mother"

This painting of a patch of ground speaks of the man that made the arrow head that lies there.

Trinity