Native American & Western Paintings by Sharon Brening

Sharon takes off on journeys back to Navajo land, Hopi or to pueblos and villages in New Mexico with the encouragement of her own family. She has formed lasting friendships with many of the families whose children she paints portraits of; some of whose portraits she has painted over and over throughout the years. Each portrait sold helps compensate the family as well.

  • Rainmaker

    $1,300.00$7,900.00
    The Rainmaker was created after spending a day at Angel Peak located in San Juan Badlands Canyon, New Mexico. It was quite a spiritual and reflective time as everything unfolded in perfect synchronicity.  On our way to this destination for our photo shoot, we stopped and gathered Navajo tea, which Wylde is holding in his left hand. In his right hand he is raising his medicine to the creator and giving thanks. The medicine pouch contains sacred items. A personal medicine bag may contain objects that symbolize personal well-being and tribal identity. Traditionally, medicine bags are worn under the clothing. This is Wylde in his 11th year.
    • Original Painting Available - Oil, Framed 60 x 30
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 30 x 60 | 24 x 48
  • Gathering Traditions

    $495.00$6,500.00
    The southwest is full of wide-open beautiful space. This is the area around Shiprock, New Mexico, a hub for trading with local people. Many of the children I paint were born here at the Shiprock hospital. The people live so remotely and in such a vast area Shiprock seemed to be a central location. Skye Blue has been modeling me since she was an infant. In this painting she is with her sister Breezy Summer. Their outfits are made from elk hide, all hand fashioned by the grandmother and family. There is a blue-ribbon award on Skye’s dress. Breezy’s dress is now part of my Native dresses.
    • Original Painting Available - Oil on linen | 30 x 40
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 30 x 40 | 16 x 29
  • This is a painting from my Native American series. I started painting Native American children full time starting in 2001. This painting portrays Skye Blue and her little sister Luna Cloud. The love Skye has for her new sibling is so heartwarming. Luna is so intrigued with the turquoise pendant that is so traditional with the Navajo tribe.
    • Original Painting Available - Oil, on linen 18 x 24
       
  • High Alert

    $695.00
    Wylde is featured in this delightful painting. The scene takes place in Colorado, near Steamboat. One never knows what is out in the forest. Thank goodness Wylde has the little Woodchucks watching out for him.
    • Original Painting Available - SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 24x18 (Limited Edition of 25)
  • Another of my favorite gicleé prints titled “A Little Patience”.  Turtles are the oldest symbol for Mother Earth in Native American culture. I believe that a trusting attitude and a patient attitude go hand in hand. Patience is not just about waiting for something... it is about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting. Turtle travels his own path in his own time. Turtle also represent security, solid grounding, and support. Slow, steady, strong, wise with age, protective, and unshakeable, Turtle appears the very model of settled universal order. No wonder Thunder and Breezy’s Mother calls her family her “Little Turtle Clan”. Turtle travels close to the earth, intimately connected with the currents of Mother Nature’s energy. Moving slowly means it has all the time to appreciate all her creations. We can follow this example, when we take the time that is always available, when we move more slowly along our own paths and enjoy the journey. We can learn to ground ourselves in the nurturing and protective energy of the earth and to flow with its energies at a pace that ensures what we focus on can be achieved. Thunder Cheii and Breezy Summer reside in Northern New Mexico with their family.  They are also being taught their old traditional Native American ways that Mother Earth is governed by a set of principles, laws and values. I have a great respect for the families that I work with, trying to keep life in balance with the modern ways.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 18 x 18
  • I feel honored to have won the gold award for “I Saw and Eagle Fly”, and excited to be the first female to receive the award from Western Artists of America at the Pearce Western Art Museum. This is a portrait of Aaron, he is the grandson of the late world famous artist Doc Tate Nevaquaya.. “Aaron’s grandfather was very accomplished and traveled the world, I feel Aaron will be the next Doc Tate”, Audrey Whitefeather, mother of Aaron. In the 1970s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art came to Apache, Oklahoma and did a documentary about Doc Nevaquaya and his flutes. Charles Kuralt has visited him for CBS. He has appeared at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in concerts and lectures throughout Europe and the Far East. After Doc received the National Heritage Fellowship Award, he received letters of recognition and congratulations from former President Reagan. The Comanche people took pride in their hair, which was worn long and rarely cut. They arranged their hair with porcupine quill brushes, greased it and parted it in the center from the forehead to the back of the neck. They painted the scalp along the parting with yellow, red, or white clay (or other colors). They wore their hair in two long braids tied with leather thongs or colored cloth, and sometimes wrapped with beaver fur. They also braided a strand of hair from the top of their head. This slender braid, called a scalp lock, was decorated with colored scraps of cloth and beads, and a single feather.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 16 x 20
  • My Brother

    $495.00
    I started painting Skye when she was just and infant so I am thrilled that I can now introduce her younger sister Breezy to all my friends and collectors. Wild and Thunder are the brothers whom I also capture on canvas. The siblings are Diné (Navajo) with Mother’s clan being ‘Cliff Dwellers’ and Father’s clan being ‘Mud Clan’. Maternal Grandfather’s clan ‘Nooda’ which is Ute tribe and paternal Grandfather’s clan is ‘Chi’shii’ which is Chiriquaha Apache. In the painting, there is a pitch pot on the left side of Skye. This is almost a lost art; these bottles are made of, or sewed with sumac, willow, or other pliable twigs. A small loop of plaited horsehair is woven into the jar at either side. An awl is the only instrument used, and no particular care is taken to weave very closely, as the jar is rendered watertight by a covering of pinon gum over the complete inner and outer surface. On the opposite side of the canvas are ears of corn, a sacred plant in the Navajo perspective. It provides not only food, but it also plays an important role in prayer. Corn is used to make many dishes in the Navajo culture, and it is used as sacrifices and offerings in prayers or ceremonies. The pollens and husks of corn are used for blessing and offerings for prayer. It is so important that the Navajos believe that if you lie down in a corn field, you will become sick. Corn is believed to be their second mother. Corn is their eternal mother from birth to death. The most widely known use for corn is in the coming of age ceremony for girls, where a fire pit is lined with cornhusks and the fire is cooking a large corn cake. Both Skye and Breezy are wearing traditional Navajo clothing. The three-tiered skirts made of velveteen represent the three stages of a woman, infancy, womanhood and the elder years. The sashes are hand woven and worn under the silver Concho belts. Both girls are adorned with the squash blossom necklace, given to them in early childhood.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 16 x 20
  • Nourishing Kindred Hearts

    $650.00$1,400.00
    I started painting Skye when she was just and infant so I am thrilled that I can now introduce her younger sister Breezy to all my friends and collectors. Wild and Thunder are the brothers whom I also capture on canvas. The siblings are Diné (Navajo) with Mother’s clan being ‘Cliff Dwellers’ and Father’s clan being ‘Mud Clan’. Maternal Grandfather’s clan ‘Nooda’ which is Ute tribe and paternal Grandfather’s clan is ‘Chi’shii’ which is Chiriquaha Apache. In the painting, there is a pitch pot on the left side of Skye. This is almost a lost art; these bottles are made of, or sewed with sumac, willow, or other pliable twigs. A small loop of plaited horsehair is woven into the jar at either side. An awl is the only instrument used, and no particular care is taken to weave very closely, as the jar is rendered watertight by a covering of pinon gum over the complete inner and outer surface. On the opposite side of the canvas are ears of corn, a sacred plant in the Navajo perspective. It provides not only food, but it also plays an important role in prayer. Corn is used to make many dishes in the Navajo culture, and it is used as sacrifices and offerings in prayers or ceremonies. The pollens and husks of corn are used for blessing and offerings for prayer. It is so important that the Navajos believe that if you lie down in a corn field, you will become sick. Corn is believed to be their second mother. Corn is their eternal mother from birth to death. The most widely known use for corn is in the coming of age ceremony for girls, where a fire pit is lined with cornhusks and the fire is cooking a large corn cake. Both Skye and Breezy are wearing traditional Navajo clothing. The three-tiered skirts made of velveteen represent the three stages of a woman, infancy, womanhood and the elder years. The sashes are hand woven and worn under the silver Concho belts. Both girls are adorned with the squash blossom necklace, given to them in early childhood.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 30 x 40 | 24 x 32 | 18 x 24
  • This is one of my favorite gicleé prints. The turtle is the oldest symbol for Mother Earth in Native American culture. Therefore, this story “Little Turtle Race” is a message or a reminder to all of us to slow down. Take care and honor Mother Earth, and to show our gratefulness. Turtles do not race, only us humans! Turtle travels his own path in his own time. Turtle also represent security, solid grounding, and support. Slow, steady, strong, wise with age, protective, and unshakeable, Turtle appears the very model of settled universal order. No wonder Thunder and Breezy’s Mother calls her family her “Little Turtle Clan”. Thinking back on the fable about the turtle and the hare - Faster, stronger and bigger does not always equal better, and is not always the best method to obtain a goal. If you are dedicated, focused and work hard to fulfil your aim, it is unimportant whether you are slow or not for eventually, you will succeed.  Turtle travels close to the earth, intimately connected with the currents of Mother Nature’s energy. Moving slowly means it has all the time to appreciate all her creations. We can follow this example, when we take the time that is always available, when we move more slowly along our own paths and enjoy the journey. We can learn to ground ourselves in the nurturing and protective energy of the earth and to flow with its energies at a pace that ensures what we focus on can be achieved. Thunder Cheii and Breezy Summer reside in Northern New Mexico with their family.  They are also being taught their old traditional Native American ways that Mother Earth is governed by a set of principals, laws and values. I have a great respect for the families that I work with, trying to keep life in balance with with the modern ways.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 18 x 18
  • American Freedom

    $960.00$4,500.00
    American Freedom by Sharon Brening. This oil painting is part of her Honoring America series. Limited Edition Giclée prints are available. The bald eagle, with its snowy feathered (not bald) head and white tail, is the proud national bird symbol of the United States. These majestic birds have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet. The eagles can live up to 28 years and mate for life. More than 95 percent of bird species are monogamous, making them among the most loyal members of the animal kingdom. The Native Americans consider the bald eagle and the golden eagle to be sacred. As eagles are the highest-flying birds, they were seen to be nearer to the Creator. The meaning of the Eagle symbol was to signify courage, wisdom and strength and its purpose was as the messenger to the Creator.
    • Original Painting Available - Gallery Wrap 20 x 60 x 1.5
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 20 x 60 | 15 x 45
  • Live Free Or Die

    $750.00$8,900.00
    Live Free or Die by Sharon Brening. I am creating a series depicting my love of USA and iconic symbols of American Freedom. Limited Edition Giclée are available. The bald eagle is the proud national bird symbol of the United States. These eagles’ mate for life, with incredibly unique rituals. The most famous and recognizable of these rituals is the "cartwheel courtship flight," in which two bald eagles will fly up high, lock talons and then get into a cartwheel spin as they fall toward the ground, breaking apart at the last minute. Nonbreeding bald eagles may engage in this behavior antagonistically, as a kind of ritualistic battle.
    • Original Painting Available - Gallery Wrap 60 x 60
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 24 x 24
  • What Was That?

    $495.00$750.00
    This blue-eyed cowboy is a fellow artist and friend. Craig is a fabulous bronze sculptor. His chaps and tack were crafted by another friend, Carson, a 4th generation saddle maker who resides in Wyoming. The western cowboy still lives on. His gear can be a rich tapestry of his or her own making. The style of his boots and chaps to his hat. Even the way he wears and knots his wild rag or kerchief. Big spurs, small spurs, lots of silver Conchos, its endless. Much of the style dress and many of the terms used in reference to cowboys, horses, their tack, and the things they do are regional. Many of the words are derived from the Spanish Conquistadors who brought the first horses to America. The gun and holster are still important objects to have while riding in our Arizona territory.
    • Original Painting SOLD
    • Limited Edition Giclée Prints - 24 x 24 | 18 x 18

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