About Me

Welcome to the website of Dalton Buddy James.  Dalton or “Buddy” as he is known among family and friends, is a self taught artist who has been drawing since childhood and with the encouragement of family members and friends has continued to create art.

Since showing his art publicly for the first time around 1999, Dalton has been humbled by having his artwork presented in various forms, from conference/department logos, artshow poster art and magazine article graphics to illustrations for a children’s language word book.

Dalton is a member of the Hopi tribe and a member of the Tobacco clan from the Village of Hotevilla located in northeastern Arizona.  Dalton hopes to use his art to communicate with those familiar with and those just discovering the Hopi culture.

Dalton lives in New Mexico with his wife Charmaine and their fur ball kids, Chaco (we miss you….2006-2019)  and Maya, Blondie (we miss you….RIP – 2019), Daisy and our “little man” Roscoe.

Feel free to contact us, we would be happy to hear from you.

ARTISTS BIO:

Dalton Buddy James is a self-taught artist that has been drawing since childhood and was inspired at a young age initially by the Kachinas: A Hopi Artist’s Documentary book with Clifford Bahnimptewa’s paintings and later on by Fred Kabotie and the artists that formed the organization, Artists Hopid (ie. Neil David Sr., Milland Lomakema, Micheal Kabotie, etc.). He draws inspiration for his artwork from his Hopi culture and is always willing to share his culture with anyone interested in it.

Dalton’s work has been featured in various forms from conference logos (Hopi Women’s Conference) to published magazine articles (Museum of Northern Arizona –Plateau Magazine). Dalton was the artist chosen to assist in bringing the Hopi Word Dictionary written by the late Emory Sekaquaptewa to life with Hopi art and Hopi words in collaboration with the University of Arizona. Dalton’s work has been chosen for the poster art for Hopi art shows and museum presentations.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT – “Footprints”

I see my art as footprints showing my travels on my artistic journey, same as our ancestors were told to leave footprints as proof of their migration travels, I leave my art as my footprints to illustrate my personal art migration.

As a self-taught artist my footprints travel paths into various mediums from acrylics and gouache, watercolor and colored pencil to the simple pen and ink. While I draw inspiration from all the various forms of indigenous art. I mainly draw inspiration from the migration footprints of the “Hisat’sinom”, left behind by the “People from Long Ago”, as petroglyphs, pictograph rock art, designs on pottery and textiles, murals on ancient kiva walls and other artifacts.

For those who see, appreciate and collect my art, have joined my artistic journey and walk with me as I weave a path of inspiration, creativity and creation through the generations of past, present and future artists who continue to inspire in today’s modern world.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

JURIED SHOWS:

2004 – Pueblo Grande (Phoenix)

2004 – SWAIA-Santa Fe Indian Market (Santa Fe, NM)

2005 – SWAIA – Santa Fe Indian Market (Santa Fe, NM)

2005 – Tuhisma Hopi Show (Kykotsmovi, AZ)

2010 – 2017 – Hopi Arts & Crafts Festival (Flagstaff, AZ)

2012, 2018-2019 – Totah Festival (Farmington, NM)

2013 – Hopi Festival – Museum of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ)

2015 – 2019 – American Indian Arts Marketplace – Autry Museum (Los Angeles, CA)

2017 – Prescott Indian Art Market – Sharlot Hall Museum (Prescott, AZ)

2019 – SWAIA – Santa Fe Indian Market – Santa Fe, NM

POSTER WINS, PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:

2005 – Tuhisma Poster Art Winner

2014 – Hopi Arts & Crafts Festival Poster Winner

2004 – Plateau Magazine, Museum of Northern Arizona

-Illustrator, Hopi Word Dictionary, Hopi Language Project, University of Arizona

-Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Cortez, CO – “Planting 1” – Artwork chosen for the Pueblo Farming Project permanent display

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