NW Indian Design; circular 7 foot painting on wood

 Circular seven foot diameter painting of a Sisiutl (two-headed sea serpent) inspired from a Kwakiutl design. Created in a circular mandala design so that there are four sea serpents instead of one.  Originally painted in the early 1970’s.

 7 feet in diameter. Constructed with four sheets of 4X8 foot, ½ inch thick plywood. Two sheets were laid side by side and the other two sheets were laid at 90 degrees to the first two. Construction glue and screws from the back were used to securely merge the layers into a tight, warp-resistant surface. Then the 7 foot diameter circle was cut out, the wood was soaked in preservative, the edges were caulked, and the surface then painted a light brown after curing. The design was then painted with oil based enamels.

 The piece was hung outdoors on the east side of a building for about 20 years before it was moved, taken indoors, and hung on a wall. It was by then nicely weathered. Instead of restoring the entire painting, the background was left weathered, and only the design was repainted using oil-based enamels. This was done in 1996.