WIZARD’S WORK. Eau Claire artist Justin Dancing Hawk specializes in capturing raptors on canvas.

A broadly smiling face loudly calling out “Welcome!” over the sound of two happily excited dogs met me when I visited Wind Beneath My Wings Studio to speak with local artist Justin Dancing Hawk. The studio fills a small house on Eau Claire’s Upper West Side. Dancing Hawk jovially (and accurately) described his place, saying with a wave of his arm, “I don’t have a studio in my house, I have a house in my studio!”

His artwork covers practically every surface of the walls: carefully figurative pastels, pencil drawings, watercolors and stone sculpture, depicting knowing-eyed animals and spirit-filled people.

“It’s a bit of tongue and cheek, but at the same time, there is a certain magic to it, because it’s magic even to me.” – local painter Justin Dancing Hawk on why he calls himself a wizard

With more than 40 years experience creating artwork behind him, and a life’s path that has led him through war, homelessness, and long-term illness, Dancing Hawk spoke about his life and art with an air of strong optimism and gratitude.

Recently he has begun to take steps to expand the business side of art by sharpening his subject focus from all wildlife to raptors, and expanding his exhibition reach into a broader regional area with an art fair circuit reaching as far away as Ohio.

A gift of a large set of colored pencils offered him a technical breakthrough in color depth and detail which he has pursued energetically, creating pieces like “Anishinaabe Pride,” a vibrant colored pencil and watercolor painting that took Best of Show at this year’s ArtsWest 36 regional exhibition.

He is currently creating new work using this technique for the Miller Art Museum’s Wildlife Biennial invitational exhibition in Sturgeon’s Bay opening in late May.

As part of his focus on raptors, last year he founded A.E.R.I.E. – Artist’s Entrepreneurial Raptor International Enclave. The group draws together raptor enthusiasts, falconers and artists to share images and information, and it is through this group that Dancing Hawk has been inspired to donate 10 percent of his sales to raptor rehabilitation centers. Over the course of our conversation, I found him to be a passionate and dedicated artist who treats the spiritual life and connection to the world with deep respect, ready with a joke but equally ready to plunge suddenly into deeply serious talk.

Volume One: Making art seems to have a deep level of connection and significance to you.

Dancing Hawk: You really need to know your subject. When you try to do a broad array of subjects, its not possible. You can’t get that depth. I realized that. I’ve always loved raptors – of course with my name it’s kind of a natural thing. Hawk medicine, in native tradition, they’re messengers from the people to the creator and from the creator to the people. A lot of people look at me and they say, “Justin is a wildlife artist.” Well, yes, but no. There’s much more to it. I’ve got a style that I call didactic symbolism … that’s really what my work is truly about. So with these various subjects, what I’m trying to say is that they are symbols of something else. Anything physical is a physical manifestation of spirit. So as an artist, I consider it my honored responsibility – it’s my place in this world to draw attention to these things for people to understand that this is the value here. A hawk is messenger. I’m Dancing Hawk. My place in this world is to bring that message.

Would you tell me what the experience of painting is like for you?

My favorite time of day to portray in my work is what I’m calling the “Wizard’s Hour.” Everybody now is really focusing on the whole marketing niche thing, and so I’ve developed a number of things that I’m focusing on with that. And one is to label myself as a wizard, which is just fun. And my brush is my wand. And so I think I’m gonna have fun with that. It’s a bit of tongue in cheek but at the same time there is a certain magic to it, because it’s magic even to me.

In your bio, you write about the difficulty you have faced in life. Would you share how making art helped you though dark times or how they changed your artwork?

Some of my days have been pretty dark at times, but one thing that I always remember is, “This too in time shall pass.” Your darkest moment is temporary. It’ll get better. The other thing is be a wizard! I consider myself a wizard, and that is to say that if you’re able to shape-shift and see the light within the darkness, it’s there. You might have to look really hard, you might not be able to see it at the time, but you usually can look back and see the growth that it brought on. You do benefit by those dark times. It adds to your character and builds you to a better person.

How has making art changed your way of looking at life?

I’ve been all over this country, every state – spare Alaska – and every place you can go has its own unique beauty. There’s no place that’s ugly in this world. That’s why I’m an artist. It is not only to share that beauty, but to say this needs to be cherished and we need to preserve it, not just for posterity but because it deserves it. Mother Earth, she gave birth to you. Treat her like the mother she is, with dignity.

For more about Justin Dancing Hawk and his upcoming art fair schedule, visit windbeneathmywings.us or find “Wind Beneath My Wings Fine Art Studio & Workshops” on Facebook.