This katsina painting has special significance because when I purchased it I was able to meet my friend and Hopi artist/carver Tayron Polequaptewa in person for the first time. Tay and I had developed a friendship over a year and a half, collaborating together as artists, so it was with great joy that I finally got to meet him. This took place in Santa Fe in 2025 at the Indian Market. As soon as I approached Tay’s booth I saw this lizard katsina and was drawn right in. Previously, I have painted his distressed, aged katsinas and I had been thinking about the highly colorful traditional dolls he carves as well. When I saw this katsina I knew it was perfect and had to be mine.
The Hopi translation of Monongya Lolmaht Tuhawmah is The Lizard, Deliverer of All Things Beautiful. The doll’s bright and colorful nature represents a beautiful day and the fluff of the feathers are rainclouds. During Hopi ceremonies Monongya is present to pray for beautiful weather, rain and snow for saturation, bountiful harvests, and longevity of life.
As a realism painter, I have to try to think like Tay does as he is applying his paint onto a carving, what colors is he mixing, how are they blended into each other, how to replicate age and wear. I feel very connected to him as an artist and his creative process as I try to capture his vision on canvas. Beyond the carving, Tay has incorporated the feathers, tiny shells, and pieces of suede. The textures and details are meticulously thought out, there is an inner essence that is present. These are the qualities that make Tay’s katsinam so exceptionally wonderful to paint.
SOLD
