“The last time I had an art show in Estevan, I was 19 years old,” acclaimed Saskatchewan Cree Artist, Michael Lonechild, told Discover Estevan Friday evening. “I had my first show here,” he explained, “and now I’m back. Back to the beginning.”

Lonechild, perhaps one of Saskatchewan’s most notable artists, spoke with Victoria Utman from Discover Estevan and Sun 102 before the opening of his second Estevan-based art show, hosted by local business, Art Concepts Custom Framing.

Read the exclusive interview below:

Utman: Can you tell us a little about what you’re exhibiting here in Estevan?

Lonechild: Well – I’m displaying miniature paintings because, in order to have a big major show, you need to have large paintings and large paintings take a long time to paint. It would take over a year and a half to get a good art show together, and I am not that patient.

I’ve sold paintings for my career, that’s what I do; that’s how I put food on the table.

Utman: And a little bit about your work; what’s your process?

Lonechild: I paint in acrylics and I paint the life on the reserve that once was; it [Lonechild’s work] has no limit in time. I go as far back as I want and sometimes I use images in the background too; you can tell two stories at the same time and it has a beautiful effect.

Utman: So, you’re coming back to Estevan, this is like coming full circle for you?

Lonechild: Um-hm.

Utman: Then what would you like the people of Estevan to know about this collection of work?

Lonechild: I came back to Estevan because a lot of people haven’t seen my work from Estevan; they know about me but they haven’t really seen what I can do now and it is an opportunity to show people what I am doing today.

Lonechild’s brilliant command of colour and storytelling capture the attention of the viewer and provide breathtaking insight. During his Artist Talk, he explained that all of the paintings come to him in his mind’s eye and he blends the colour as he sees them in his head. In his conclusion of his talk, he told the audience “I’ll paint until the end because that’s what I am; an artist.”