KOLA

and I.P.F. (International Peltier Forum)

LEONARD PELTIER'S ART

Leonard Peltier: The Artist

Growing up with uncles who would spend time sketching and carving, Leonard Peltier would watch his elders in their craft and try to imitate them. He started carving with a knife he had found in the trash and sharpened up. He learned to draw before he could read or write. Later, Leonard took art classes in school. He began teaching himself painting and getting into colors just before he was arrested. After his arrest, he really didn't do anything with his talent until about 1984 or 1985.

Spending time in "the hole", while in the federal prison at Springfield in the 1980's, Leonard watched another prisoner working with pastels and when he got permission to get his own set of pastels and paper, he started working with the images and colors that he has always loved. Inside the gray walls of the prison, locked away from the natural beauty of Mother Earth and her changes, artists must take their inspiration from books and magazines available to them. After his transfer to the penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, Leonard began to work with oils and acrylics.

Leonard Peltier must purchase supplies from the prison commissary at USP-Lewisburg, where he is currently imprisoned, but supplies are limited. He can order supplies through a catalog, but that is subject to approval. He isn't limited in the quantity he can purchase, only by funds.

Leonard's paintings reflect the strength and commitment in his heart for the struggle of his People to retain a natural way of life in the face of great adversity. But painting means so much more to Leonard: "Painting is a way to examine the world in ways denied me by the United States justice system, a way to travel beyond the walls and bars of the penitentiary. Through my paints I can be with my People - in touch with my culture, tradition, and spirit. I can watch little children in regalia, dancing and smiling; see my elders in prayer; behold the intense glow in a warrior's eye. As I work the canvas, I am a free man."

In 1986, Leonard suffered a stroke and lost about eighty percent of his sight in his left eye. "My eye problems have slowed me down considerably, but I am still very inspired."

Indeed, art professionals marvel at the number and quality of the paintings Peltier produces in light of this disability. Leonard donates his paintings to his defense committee to help support efforts to win his freedom. Leonard's paintings are collected by celebrities and luminaries worldwide including Oliver Stone, Peter Coyote, Jane Fonda, Val Kilmer, and Michael Apted. His paintings also have been given as gifts and donated to help other organizations raise funds.

Below are some samples of Leonard Peltier's paintings. To view the larger version, just click on the photograph.

For more information on how to buy Leonard's paintings, please contact the LP-DOC (Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee) at contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info or phone: (701) 278-5946.

Some of Leonard's paintings and prints can also be bought from Polu Manu Productions in San Francisco, California. Please contact Bird Levy Strain at bird@polumanuproductions.com or phone: (415) 577-4649.

Last update: 09/16/2009