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Dallas Gordon: Motivated Artist By John Lagimodiere Reprinted
with permission from
Dallas is from Gordons First Nation. At 19 years of age, his youthful energy radiates as he talks about his life and his work. Born to Dolly Gordon and Roland Desjarlais, Dallas, with his sisters Crystal, Terri and Marceline and a brother Errol (who Dallas kiddingly refers to as Airhole), grew up on Gordons and in Regina. I asked Dallas how he got interested in art and drawing. "I just did," he replied. He started drawing at age 6 and he hasn't looked back since. He approached the band for some economic development dollars and was fortunate enough to be accepted. He took that money and invested it in canvas and paint. It was his first step up from drawing to painting, and judging from his work, he handled that step admirably. Many of his paintings are symbolic and spiritual, incorporating eagles and sweat lodges. Dallas is very proud of his culture and regularly participates in sweats. He is also a dancer, dabbling in many different forms such as Hoop dancing, Grass Dance and Fancy. He also participates in a family pow wow group that drums and sings.
All is not paint and walk in Dallas's life. He loves breaking horses and for the odd rush, he will ride cows. "They are rank (cows), wilder than any bull I have seen and it is lots of fun," he explained. When he's not riding animals, he loves following and playing hockey, plays a mean game of golf and has proud memories of his accomplishments in track and field where he specialized in long jump, triple jump and high jump. Some day you may see him walking down the road, toting a large portfolio bag and entering business after business, showing off his stuff. If you see him, ask for a look at the artwork inside, you will be impressed. |
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He
just showed up at our office one day asking if anyone
wanted to by some art. His name is Dallas Gordon and he
is one motivated young man. All he asked was for a few
minutes of my time to look at some stuff he had drawn.
Time I had, so I invited him in.
Creating
the influences of Stanford Fisher and Allen Sapp, Dallas
works hard at his craft, sometimes completing two
painting in one night. Dallas works just as hard
marketing his artwork. "I start walking around and
go into businesses and show them my stuf," he stated.
It is obviously a good method. He has seen the Mayor of
Saskatoon buy his art as well as the Saskatchewan Indian
Gaming Authority. His work can also be seen in St. Mary's
Credit Union in Saskatoon, the Aboriginal Business
section at the Royal Bank, law firms in Regina and
Vancouver and in the collection of Chief Perry Bellegarde
among others. Dallas has walked many miles pitching his
art and the hard work has paid off.