Inuit Paintings
The Inuit Indians lived in parts of Canada and today some of the decedents of this tribe still live there. Art was an important part of their lives and still remains true today. These people were once known as Eskimos, but today that term is only used in Alaska because of negative connotations. Originally their primary focus was on sculptures, especially those carved out of ivory, but that has changed over the years.
Inuit paintings often focus on depicting nature scenes or elements from nature, particularly animals though they also used people in their paintings. The traditional form of paintings used the simple colors of red, black and white. This allowed the image to shine through without any other colors distracting from the image. Yet these paintings have changed a lot and now look significantly different than the traditional paintings.
Resources on Inuit art and paintings include:
- Imelda Almqvist: Inuit artist specializing in colorful paintings.
- Bearclaw Gallery: examples of paintings done by Inuit people.
- Inuit Art Gallery: gallery that shows their Inuit style art and artifacts.
- Fradat Fine Art: offers examples of modern day Inuit art.
- Inuit Art: discusses the current or modern day state of Inuit art.
Modern day Inuit paintings have a unique look, almost abstract in nature. It's sometimes difficult to determine the meaning behind the painting or exactly what it depicts. These artists are also using a variety of colors and brighter shades in their work. These gives a fun and interesting look to the finished pieces.
However there are also artists working in the more traditional mediums and creating old-fashioned style Inuit paintings. These paintings use the black and white colors, along with a lot of pastel shades. They focus on depicting scenes of nature such as bears walking across the frozen water and birds soaring through the air. Those interested in Inuit paintings have the choice of picking the modern pieces or the more traditional ones.
