The Official Site of Ray Swanson, CA

PHOTOS OF RAY SWANSON WITH INDIANS

Ray is visiting with Mrs. Bigsinger in her cornfield near Tuba City, Arizona. She is picking ears of corn from the cornstalk behind her. She is very elderly but she still enjoys planting a field of Navajo corn each summer. Her corn field is not very large but she hoes the weeds and nurtures the stalks all summer until fall when she can pick the corn.	Ray has many Navajo friends on the Reservation and one of these is Mr. Nez. Mr. Nez lives in an area south of Kayenta, Arizona. Kayenta is now quite a large town but it used to be the most remote area in America. Mr. Nez enjoys riding his trusty brown horse every day. He rides the horse as he herds his flock of sheep and goats. He rides with the flock to protect them from predators such as coyotes.
Ray is holding his favorite model, Arvena, at age 8. She has been such a great model because she has a marvelous personality which was evident even when she was very young. She also has a lot of facial expressions and sometimes her expressiveness can be the subject for a painting. They are in her grandmother's corral where the sheep and goats spend the night.	Ray is holding Arvena shortly after she learned to walk. The artist is at their home, which is called a Hogan, and is shown in the background. Ray came to visit this family 3 days after Arvena was born. She was in a cradleboard for the first few months of her life. She was born in Tuba City, Arizona, which is in the southwestern part of the large Navajo Reservation.
The artist, Ray Swanson, is holding two of his little Navajo friends, Jason and Natasha. They are part of a traditional Navajo family. Their mother, Jeanne, still does several Navajo crafts. She weaves traditional Navajo rugs and makes the old-style Navajo pitch pots. These woven pitch pots are covered with pitch and hold water.	Ray and Arvena, age 3, are enjoying the sheep and goats in the corral. She is wearing traditional Navajo clothing because she had been modeling for Ray. Almost all Navajo families have a corral to hold their flock of sheep and goats at night. During the day time they are released and can go out and graze. Arvena enjoyed playing with and chasing the young goats. This same day she discovered a litter of sheep dog puppies. They entertained her almost more than the young goats.
The artist, Ray Swanson, has his easel set up to do an oil painting sketch. He is painting a Navajo lady that lives in this summer shelter in Canyon de Chelly. This magnificent canyon is located in the eastern end of the Navajo Reservation. The canyon has spires, red cliffs, cliff dwellings, pictographs, all of which are good elements for paintings. Because it is such a scenic area, it is a popular location for artists and tourists.	This elderly Navajo couple is sitting on the floor of their Hogan. The bright sunshine on them is coming from an opening in the logs of the ceiling of their Hogan. Their wood burning stove with the coffee pot on it, provides warmth and is a cooking surface. The hole in the ceiling is mainly for the escape of smoke from the wood-burning stove. The Hogan is round and the main structure is made of logs, which can be seen behind Ray. These logs are then covered with mud that hardens and is a good insulation for heat and cold. This Navajo couple has lived their whole lives in this hogan home.
Ray is painting on location with his partner, best friend, and wife, Beverly. The location is south of Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation on the border between Arizona and Utah. The distinctive peak in the background is Agathla. The beautiful blue sky and clouds are typical for a summer day on the Reservation.	Ray is posing with an old Navajo lady who was a goat herder for her flock of goats and sheep. She did not have a horse, so she herded the flock on foot. She walked many miles each day while watching over her flock as they grazed. She also had two sheep dogs that helped her keep the flock together. Sheep dogs learn to be shepherds from their mother dog. The background contains many unusually shaped buttes which are near Monument Valley, Arizona.
Ray is visiting his old friend Martha Arizona at her place near Tonalea, Arizona. Martha always loved getting dressed up in traditional Navajo clothing with velvet blouse and satin skit and silver jewelry. Martha and her husband, Bill, were the first Navajo people Ray became well acquainted with in the early 1970's. Both Bill and Martha had gone to Phoenix Indian School and had learned to speak English. So Ray could communicate with them easily. These two people and their extended family have befriended and assisted Ray for many years while he painted the Reservation and the Navajos.	Ray with the two Arizona sisters; Arvena and her younger sister, Paulyn, are rapidly growing into young ladies. They are both dressed in the traditional style Navajo clothing. Arvena is wearing a vivid red velvet blouse that is adorned with silver buttons and pins on the yoke and sleeves. Paulyn is wearing a purple velvet blouse and a lovely lavender satin skirt. They were very gracious and cooperative models for Ray to paint that day.
Ray is admiring the beautiful turquoise brooch that the Navajo lady is wearing. She is wearing her best velvet blouse and long skirt while she is hoeing the weeds from her cornfield. Her cornfield is located in a flat area south of Tuba City, Arizona. There is a creek nearby that has water when there is adequate rainfall. Very little of the land on the Navajo Reservation is suitable for farming and growing crops.	There are other tribes of Native American Indians that model for Ray for his paintings. One of those is Vernon Foster, who is a Sioux Indian but lives in Arizona. Vernon is wearing a bone breast plate and leather arm bands. He and his wife are skilled craftsmen and make many of their own ceremonial attire. He and his family have become friends of Ray and Bev through the years. Vernon is a very traditional Native American who faithfully practices the old ways, beliefs, and ceremonies. Vernon, his wife and two daughters, all represent their tribes at various events in the Southwest. They also attend many Indian pow wows and dances during the year.
Little Navajo girls are Ray's most famous subject matter. He relates to them and enjoys getting acquainted with them and their parents. He discovered this little girl at the Cameron Trading Post in Cameron, Arizona. Ray closely observed her to see if she had the personality and "sparkle" that would make a special subject for a painting. He talked to her parents to see if they would allow her to model for him. They were quite pleased that Ray would want to paint their litte girl. She was very charming in her purple velvet blouse and pink skirt and best of all, her smile.	Bev and Ray are posing with Mr. Allen, a Navajo gentleman. Mr. Allen lives about 8 miles west of Monument Valley, Arizona. His homestead land has a small home and a dirt Hogan, which you can see in the background. The mesa in the background is called "Train Mesa" by the Navajo people. Mr. Allen still continues to work hard and is cutting wood with an axe for firewood this day. He is dressed in very traditional Navajo attire for men; velvet shirt, concho belt, chunk turquoise necklace and headband.
When the artist first visited the Navajo Reservation, it was a very common sight to see Navajo women and men on horseback while herding their flocks. It is now more unusual to see Navajos on horseback. Ray was glad to find this Navajo woman in Monument Valley who has a beautiful paint horse that she enjoys riding. The Navajo saddles that they used on their horses, have also become almost extinct and are collector's items. The Navajo saddle is a different design than the western cowboy saddle. The Navajo saddle is decorated with rows of brass tacks. The traditional headstall for the horse is adorned with silver and turquoise.	There is a smaller Indian Reservation in the middle of the Navaho Indian Reservation. This is the Hopi Reservation that is located on three mesas. Ray has painted the Hopi people throughout the years but not as much as the Navajos. The picture shows him with a young Hopi girl outside the family's old rock dwelling. The Hopi girl is wearing a traditional Hopi black and red garment. Her hair is made up with "butterflies" on each side of her head. Only unmarried girls can wear this distinctive hair style. She is holding a hand-painted clay pot with cobs of Indian corn. When this girl's mother was young, Ray painted her also.
Ray is visiting at Mr. and Mrs. Rock's home place. This craggy juniper tree is in the middle of their yard and provides some welcome shade. Mrs. Rock enjoys weaving baskets as she is doing here. Mr. and Mrs. Rock have quite a number of sheep and goats in the corral. Mr. Rock herds the flock every day on horseback. They are both wearing traditional crimson-colored velvet shirts and turquoise chunk necklaces.	Ray is holding a new young model named Almyrah. Her nickname is "Ra Ra" and she fits the name quite well. She is full of life and vim and vigor. Almyrah's mother, aunts, cousins, and grandparents have all posed for Ray in past years. She is the granddaughter of Herman and Jeanne Begay, who live in Monument Valley and are old friends of Ray's.