Madeline Belanger

Saddle Lake Cree Nation

When I was a child, my older cousin Leon showed me a drawing he had made of a horse. Ever since then I was fascinated with art. I learned about drawing and painting in high school and have been mostly self taught since then. I used to keep my art work to myself and my immediate family until one day a friend of mine saw what I had painted.

I was encouraged to share my art work. It's a scary thing to share something that's personal to you. My artwork is inspired by the colours of the natural world. I paint images as they come to me or as I see them in my imagination or dreams. They represent experiences I've had or influences that have been around me since childhood. The majority of my artwork has a story behind it and I'm willing to tell the stories of my art. I'm proud of my Nehiyaw culture and am glad to share parts of it through art.