Acrylic Painter and Mixed-Media Artist: Peterson Yazzie

Also hailing from the Navajo Nation is acrylic painter and mixed media phenom, Peterson Yazzie. Peterson is the focus of our artist spotlight this month, as we exhibit nearly a dozen of his new works. When discussing his inspiration for these pieces, and the materials and methods used, he said:

"The textured mixed media pieces are created using acrylic and sand. I blend the mediums to have an impasto quality. I am always exploring new possibilities in painting, whether it's in technique, genre, or the medium. I believe a true artist will always search for that new horizon, and that is what makes art so exciting for me. I do not have a formula approach to painting, or text book process. The paintings all come from a center point of my very being, and I don't have to search high and low for my subject matter; I am simply true to what I create."

Peterson Yazzie is from Greasewood Springs, Arizona; he was born in Ft. Defiance, Arizona in 1979. Peterson is of the Mexican Clan, One Who Walks Around Clan, Red House, and Coyote Pass Clan. Peterson received a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has continued his education for a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the University of New Mexico.