Wacipi Wakan is an image that went through several incarnations before it became the image seen here. It began as a simple pencil drawing and then became a full-sized painting. Not happy with the painting, Russell later painted this version - the third incarnation of the image. The title, Wacipi Wakan, is Lakota for "Sacred Dance".
"The original idea for the painting came to me during my first trip to South Dakota. I had the opportunity to attend a Lakota Pow-Wow, and was able to witness there much of the traditional Lakota Costumes and dancing. I was mezmerized by the rhythms, motions and colors of the dances and I knew the dancers would make a great subject for a painting. Before starting the painting, I first did a large finished pencil drawing of the image to show the detailed flowing lines of the dancer. After the drawing was complete, I then created an even larger painting of the image to capture the colors and emotion of the dancer. In doing so, however, I made a technical mistake on the canvas and almost immediately the paint began to crack, ruining the painting. After about a year had passed, I decided to try painting the image again. I made a few changes to areas that I wasn't satisfied with on the first painting, and as a result, came out with a better image. "
- Russell Smith
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