Today we’d like to introduce you to Kent Estey.
All right, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
I still live on the same piece of property as I did as a child, so I haven’t gone very far physically. I chose to teach children and serve my community of Naytahwaush on the White Earth Reservation. This is a good place, a small place, a welcoming place to live; it’s all I know. Of course, I’ve traveled, but my heart always is here, in this place that shaped and influenced who I am as a person and artist. Besides, we have the most beautiful sunsets; all I must do is walk out my front door for inspiration.
I grew up in a home filled with arts and crafts, and everyone in our home played an instrument of some sort. Both my parents worked in factories or manufacturing plants where they sewed garments. Then they’d come home and go back to the sewing machine and make our clothes. They were always creating something from fabric. During the summer months, we would make souvenirs from birch bark and wood and sell them at Itasca State Park for the tourists. We were always making something from what we could find in the woods. My father taught us that you must respect nature because it will care for and provide for you. We lived in the woods, and it was a never-ending source of food, medicine, and livelihood. In other words, we were pretty poor. But what a beautiful life. We had everything we needed and more just outside our door. As stated, I come from a family of artists and a rich heritage of Black Ash Basket weavers. I was the different one. I always wanted to paint. As I said, we were poor, and purchasing art supplies wasn’t a priority in our home. So, I did the next best thing. I found an old paintbrush and used the outside of our barn as my canvas. I remember mixing sand and dirt in various amounts and applying this mixture to the outside of our barn. I remember thinking about how wonderful it would be to go to museums and galleries and see real artists’ paintings. How wonderful would that be? Maybe one day, I’d be able to go to a city like Minneapolis. They might have a museum there; for now, the barn was good enough because it was all I had, and the rain always prepared my subsequent work of “mud” on the side of our old barn.
I couldn’t get enough art classes in school. Art was what brought me to school. It was the only reason I went to school at all. I remember skipping classes and hiding in the art department’s back room, so I could be near this place where I felt understood and appreciated. My intent in college was to get my degree in fine arts. But somehow, I ended up in the radio and television stations instead of the art rooms. I remember walking past the art department at Bemidji State University, and I would quickly glance into the rooms but then shy away. I never took one art class while in college. Thinking back now, I was afraid. I feared rejection; because maybe that boy who painted on the side of the barn was not good enough.
Today, I know I’m good enough. That little boy who was painting on the side of the barn with sand and dirt, dreaming of the most improbable feat of going to museums and galleries to see art, is now going to galleries to see his work. How cool is that? I would always tell my students that it’s okay to have big dreams. Go ahead and imagine the best for yourself because even if you live in the little village of Naytahwaush, Minnesota, you can still work hard and reach your dreams. One of my favorite memories with students was taking them to their first art gallery. We hopped on the bus and took them to the Watermark Art Center in Bemidji. I didn’t prepare them for what they were about to see. They were shocked when they walked into the gallery that had my work on exhibit. “You’re a real artist? They asked. I’m pretty sure this was a proud moment for all of us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve always painted, mostly with oils, and typically, I painted landscapes. And for most of my life, these pieces just went to family and a few friends. It was a hobby, for the most part, satisfying my creative spirit. As more and more of my work left my home, friends would ask for a painting, but they requested that I put a “teepee or wigwam in there.” I would get many requests to “put something Indian” in my paintings. After all, “you are a native artist.” I didn’t understand those requests, and soon, my desire to paint left. I put away the canvas and brushes for many years because I struggled with what type of artist others wanted me to be. It was easier not to paint than paint these requests that I didn’t understand; I thought I had to paint what others wanted first, and I put myself in this small box of expectation.
If you are an artist, you’ll understand how it feels not to create. It’s the most frustrating and uncomfortable feeling not to feed that inner desire to express yourself. There were days when I felt like I was in a deep and dark place, and although my canvas would be primed and ready to paint, it remained blank. I wanted to paint but was struggling with what type of artist I needed should be. Fortunately, I found George Morrison’s work; and his work changed my life. He was a contemporary and modernist landscape painter and sculptor from Grand Portage. He permitted me to paint from my heart and not my head. His work demonstrated that if you paint from your heart, that is one of the best ways to honor your heritage. I tell people today that George Morrison most likely saved my life. I was in a deep and dark place without my artistry. As I returned to paint again, the brushes and paint felt alive. My work became bright, bold and full of texture and light. The typical landscapes took on an abstract feel, and my enjoyment in creating these new pieces finally fulfilled my needs as an artist.
Soon people began talking about my work, and I even dared to create a website to showcase my work. In 2016, a fantastic artist and mentor, Karen Goulet, called from the Watermark Art Center of Bemidji. She asked me to submit some examples of my work for an up-and-coming exhibition. I tried to assure her that she had called the wrong number or that she was looking for my brother, who was the black ash basket maker. “Nope,” she said, “please send us some images, and we’ll get back to you.” This would be the beginning of many opportunities.
I was selected to be a part of Watermark’s grand opening of the new galleries. Since then, with the help and direction of my many mentors, I’ve been able to share my work at; All My Relations in Minneapolis, the Wilder Foundation and the Friedle Gallery in St. Paul, The MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, Art Project 605 in Detroit Lakes, the Red Door Gallery in Wahpeton, North Dakota, to name a few. Recently, my landscape paintings were on exhibition at the New York Mills Cultural Center. They contacted me with the news that two pieces had been purchased by someone who lives in Scotland. That’s a long way away from Naytahwaush, that’s for sure. The lesson learned is to paint from the heart and trust yourself. When you do, your art gets noticed because it is the real you expressed on canvas. This season, I’ve been invited to be an Artist Member of Studio 176 in Park Rapids, Minnesota. My work will be featured in the studio through December of this year. It’s been fun working with the studio artist and getting to know the Park Rapids community. My work is also seen at the Native Roots Trading Post in Minneapolis. The store is in the Dayton’s Building on Nicollet as part of the new Dayton’s Project.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I painted for over 30 years with oil paint because I loved the way the color moved on the canvas. But the more I painted, the more the smells of the oil and cleaners started to overtake my home studio. It’s hard to air out the house when it’s 40 below zero outside! So, reluctantly I decided to learn how to use acrylic paint. I fell in love with acrylics because there are many options today, and I’ve learned to move the paint like oils. I’ve always been drawn to the sky and the water. I’m always looking up because I don’t want to miss a beautiful moment in the sky. I look beyond the trees. There are days when I tell my wife that we need to get to the water because I need to peer into the water and look at the colors reflected on top and below. This is my inspiration. It is all around me, a part of me; this piece of sky and these lakes are the never-ending sources of my work.
My paintings are generally non-figurative, non-objective pieces. I paint bits of sky and fragments of time; there are these moments when the sky seems to speak to me and says, “this is the moment you’ve been waiting for; paint this!”
I also love to create multi-medium pieces. Often time they include geometric shapes and lines. I have details of metal, rocks from Lake Superior, and copper wire. In these paintings, I imagine looking across the lake and appreciating the elements of the moment. Here are the stones, the colors of the water, and the light cast upon the water. How can I capture that extra bit of light on canvas? Maybe metal or copper can do the trick. I try to find a balance between simple and beautiful. My current works show lots of emotion through brush strokes, movement through color, and the flow and direction of the paint. My paint likes to move from bottom to top and left to right. I often feature circular motion, if possible. It helps me finish the painting when the circle is complete. I rarely paint with a reference photo.
I often select my colors based on memory, and each piece happens spontaneously. I think my best work occurs without any pre-planning beyond the size of the canvas or color choices. My color choice comes from glimpses of sky and water; I think about what color might be seen in the wind.
Sunsets and clouds are always great inspirational points for me. Temperature and time of day affect my color choice as well. What grabs my attention, even briefly, can inspire a new piece.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
The book that changed my life is The Modern Spirit, The Art of George Morrison by W. Jackson Rushing III and Kristin Makholm. I think this is a must-read for all artists who happen to be Native American.
Contact Info:
- Website: kentestey.com
- Website: www.studio176.art
- Website: www.nativerootstradingpost.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esteypaint
Image Credits
Image of Kent Estey courtesy of Jeremy Simonson.