1. Painting Assignment
Roy Henry Vickers

3. Mother Earth

4. Mother Earth
We are children of the earth and we call her, Mother, as she provides for us in many ways, the water we drink, the food we eat, clean air to breathe, and medicine for our healing journey. There is a place not far from where I live known as the Sacred Headwaters.
The sacred headwaters is a remote mountainous region that is home to the headwaters of the salmon bearing rivers, the Skeena, Nass, and Stikine. This area is the territory of the Tahltan people who have fought to keep Shell from coal-bed methane development in this rich eco system. The Tahltan now are fighting to keep open pit coal mines proposed for the area from being developed.
I am thankful to Paul Colangelo and his four years of photography to help bring international attention to this beautiful place. Paul is a National Geographic Explorer and member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Paul has captured an image that is iconic. The moose cow and calf are indicative of Canada's wilderness. The blue skies always remind me of fresh air and the water, well we all need water, cool, clear, and clean water to sustain us. Paul's photograph has inspired me to create this work of art I call, Mother Earth.
This work is dedicated to the Tahltan First Nations and all who fight to protect an area that deserves to be conserved for generations to come.

5. Roy Henry Vickers Canadian artist
best known around the world for his limited edition prints. He is also an accomplished carver
a recognized leader in the First Nations community
a tireless spokesperson for recovery from addictions and abuse.
he has received a hereditary chieftainship and several hereditary names from Northwest Coast First Nations.
In 1994, Maclean's magazine included Roy as the first artist ever in its Annual Honour Roll of Extraordinary Canadian Achievers. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of B.C.
and in 2003, Roy received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

6. In 1987 Roy's painting A Meeting of Chiefs was the official gift of the Province of British Columbia to Queen Elizabeth II.
in 1993, former Soviet leader Boris Yeltsin and former U.S. president Bill Clinton received artist's proofs of Roy's print The Homecoming as the Province's official gift.
born in June 1946 in the village of Greenville, in northern British Columbia. Roy has stayed on the northwest coast of British Columbia
Roy's love and respect of the magnificent natural beauty of this area is clearly evident in his art.
His boldly colourful sunsets, subdued misty rivers and peaceful winter scenes reflect the essence of the west coast of Canada.

7. Roy's father was a fisherman with the blood of three northwest coast First Nations' Tsimshian, Haida and Heiltsuk flowing in his veins. Roy's mother was a schoolteacher whose parents had immigrated to Canada from England. This unusual mixed heritage has had a strong influence on Roy's art.
Roy studied traditional First Nations art and design
In many of his pieces, Roy uses superimposed 'shadow images' that add another layer of depth, history and myth to his clear, clean images. His signature Eagle Moon and various suns appear on many pieces as well.

9. Symbolism
Raven
Raven is one of the most important beings in Northwest Coast art and mythology. Raven is known as the trickster who is intelligent, curious, lustful and impulsive. Raven has the power to transform both himself and other beings. He put the sun, moon and stars in the sky, fish in the sea, salmon in the rivers and food onto the land. Raven is distinguished by a fairly long, straight beak having a blunt or short turned-down tip and usually a tongue.
Salmon
Salmon are honoured and celebrated by all coastal peoples; the fish serves as a powerful symbol of regeneration, self-sacrifice and perseverance.

11. Eagle
Eagle is one of the most important beings in art and mythology of the Northwest Coast peoples. It is respected for its intelligence and power. In many regions, families that carry the Eagle crest are traditionally the most prominent. Eagle is identified by a powerful hook beak and eagle eyes portraying its extraordinary vision. Eagle down is still commonly used in many ceremonial occasions.

15. Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a giant, supernatural bird named for his habit of causing thunder and lightning. Beneath his wings he carries Lightning Snakes, which are his weapons. Thunder rolls from the flap of his wings, and lightning flashes when he blinks his great eyes or throws the lightning snakes. Thunderbird is intelligent and proud.
Wolf
People respect the wolf for its strength, agility, intelligence and capacity for devotion. The wolf's vocal range and communicative powers are impressive. The Northwest Coast peoples traditionally believe in the potency and magic of speech and song. Wolf is sometimes an agent of transformation and is a popular figure in crest, story and art.

16. Orca Rising

17. Orca Whale In stories, these majestic creatures are associated with strength, dignity, prosperity and longevity. They are also associated with copper and wealth. Orca Whales are thought to be reincarnations of great chiefs and are considered to be closely related to humans and the wolf. Some clans believe the Orca Whale is the water incarnation of the Wolf itself. Orca Whale may be identified by a large, long snub-nosed head, elongated nostrils, a toothy mouth, a blowhole, a prominent dorsal fin, two small pectoral fins, and a fluked tail.
Hummingbird This symbol of love and beauty is identified by a long, narrow beak, prominent eyes, a small head and sometimes a small curly plume with the presence of flowers. Haida stories tell of high-ranking women arriving at feasts with live hummingbirds tied to their hair to announce their beauty, wealth and prestige.

18. Sea Otter
The sea otter known to be intelligent, resourceful and agile, as well as the legendary transformer that journeyed about, transforming people into creatures of the animal world. Otter representations are identified by long, streamlined bodies with legs and feet tucked in with a long thick tail, small ears a small head. Traditionally, sea otter is shown on its back, often grasping a shell or sea urchin.
Octopus
Octopus is a powerful sea spirit helper, often shown in complex compositions involving other creatures. Octopus is often symbolic of fluidity, creativity, flexibility , intuition and intelligence. Myths speak of these eight armed devil-fish monsters who occasionally devour canoes and sometimes entire villages. Octopus is identified by long tentacles that have round marks, often in double rows which represent suckers with a round, high head, large eyes and a short beak like mouth.

19. Frog Frog is a creature that lives in two worlds: water and land
Frog Frog is a creature that lives in two worlds: water and land. This crab of the woods is revered for its adaptability, knowledge and power to traverse worlds. They inhabit diverse realms, both natural and supernatural. Frogs are primary spirit helpers of shamans. In art this great communicator is often shown sharing its tongue or touching tongues with another creature in an exchange of knowledge or power. Frog is identified by a large mouth, usually thick-lipped and has bent legs with webbed feet and a protruding tongue.

20. Bulkley River
I have been an avid angler now for six years and realize that I will never be able to fish all the rivers in our beautiful coun- try that I would like to fish. I am excited, however, by the thought that I could fish a different stream or river every year for the rest of my life! I have visited the Bulkley River many times; it is only a few hours hike from my childhood home near Hazelton in Northern British Columbia. It was a thrill to return as an adult and to cast a line into those muddy waters, hoping for a strike from the greatest of all sport fish, the mighty steelhead, I thor- oughly enjoyed myself.
This rendition of the river is the result - a natural outpouring of my feelings, of the spiritual uplifting that I experience when I enjoy a river such as Bulkley.