Meherrin Beauty
North Carolina is home to an amazing artist by the name of Stephen Greer Sr. In 2012, Mr. Greer Sr. completed an awe inspiring piece called the Meherrin Dancer. Capturing the grace and beauty of a Native American dance on a 48” x 30” panel using acrylic paint is nothing short of amazing (Greer Sr. 2013). Stephen Greer Sr. has the ability to capture the grace of the dance along with the color and beauty of the dancer, while honoring the tradition of the Native American tribe with the stroke of his brush. On a brick red background, Mr. Greer Sr. painted a Meherrin Indian woman in the midst of a tribal dance. The woman is positioned a little to the left of center on the panel. Her medium brown hair is braided into plaits on each side of her head and brought around the front to lay across the shoulder décor of…show more content… Mr. Greer Sr. uses bright colors on the shawl and ribbons to grab the attention of a viewer and then deep rich colors of the complete painting to hold their attention. The Meherrin woman has a red, green, and blue forehead band that is the only color on her sun-kissed face. The baby blue shawl and multi-colored ribbons are the eye catching component of the piece. At the shoulders, the shawl has intricate designs. The piece covers all of the woman’s shoulders and chest. Colors of red, yellow, green, orange, and brown make up these designs. Two triangular points and a rounded center piece make up the bottom of the front of the shawl that covers the woman’s chest and shoulders. Ribbons in different hues of reds, yellows, greens, blues, oranges, and browns, sweep out from the bottom and side of the woman’s shawl. The image is most similar to a butterfly in flight with is grace and tranquility. Finally the woman’s reddish brown, ceremonial, dress blends in with the background in some areas, but the artist uses shadows to show the dress creased and wrinkled in movement with the