Self-taught Comanche artist Rance Hood (1941-2024) was a master of color, 

movement, and rhythm. The flow of his artwork integrates the magnitude of life

through symbolism and form. Hood’s work stimulates the senses moving one

towards a deeper involvement through illustrations of angles, intense color,

and mid-air action.

 

As an artist, it takes hard work, timing, heart, soul, vision, and copious risks 

to become a legacy that influences others and provides insight into life. Indeed

Hood achieved this as he painted for his ancestors and strived to keep the

old ways alive.

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Rance gained recognition in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s winning awards 

for his traditional style paintings. He continued to bring the spiritual nature of the old ways to his images, which are common elements of his compositions. His paintings were inspired by his memories, the collective unconscious of his people, the

symbols of the Native American Church, the recollections of his elders, and the stunning Oklahoma landscape. Hood’s art is significant in the Comanche traditions including that of the warrior on horseback and the symbolism in the peyote religion.

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Hood explored many artistic worlds teaching him-self how to play the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and the harmonica. 

He spoke fluent Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ), loved horses, and had a remarkable mind for transforming dreams to reality. 

He has been commissioned to create the exterior design of a Cheyenne III Jet, a commemorative medallion for the Comanche Nation, the current Comanche Nation emblem, in addition to the original life-size “War Pony” Painted Poines, which 

resides at the Comanche Nation, as well as ‘War Pony” the number one selling collectible figurine, and collectible pony, “War Magic.” Hood’s painting, “Coup Stick Song” was selected by Carlos Santana for Santana’s 2012 album cover “Shape Shifter,” 

and as a self-taught sculptor, he designed the Native American Indian Film Festival award, still today produced and 

presented to the Best Actor and Actress.

 

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Artist’s Personal Statement

I’m a Comanche Indian from Lawton, Oklahoma. My grandmother and grandfather were

full-blooded Comanche. I grew up speaking Comanche before I learned English. The 

son of a white father and a Comanche mother, I learned Comanche traditions from

my maternal grandparents. My grandfather taught me the peyote religion and told

me stories about great Comanche warriors of the past. When my grandfather passed 

away he handed me down the medicine. I sleep in a room full of it and I pray a lot. 

Every morning and every evening, in the medicine ways. A lot of times I get visions 

when I’m sleeping. When I work around medicine I’ll get a vision or a title and I’ll see 

the scene and paint it.

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When I was little, I saw the Fort Sill army trucks so I tried to draw them in the dirt and 

my grandmother said, “Draw this,” and she drew a triangle. She said, “That’s a teepee.

That’s Indian. Draw about us and who we are.” So then I started drawing Indian things, 

like teepees and horses. We had Appaloosas in the Comanche tribe; the Comanche 

went up to Oregon and stole them from the Nez Perce. They’re the ones who originated 

the Appaloosa horses. Sometimes the dots on an Appie are blue, sometimes they’re 

gray, and so I started doing that, without marking them first. I just knew where the spots 

were going to be. I’m a horse person. I am Comanche.

 

Rance Hood’s Biography

An exceptionally creative individual, Hood exhibited in hundreds of galleries, outdoor, group exhibits, and solo exhibitions throughout the United States, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe. His paintings can be found at many galleries, museums and in magazines including; The Southern Plains Indian Museum, Public collections of Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Museum of the American Indian in New York, New York, the Oklahoma Museum of Art in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Furthermore, Hood's works of art have appeared in a myriad of magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books, including his own book, "Rance Hood Mystic Painter." Hood has earned a slew of awards and has a dedicated following comprised of collectors including Joseph Coors, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, and Reba McEntire – just to name a few.

 

For more detailed information about Rance Hood’s impressive Biographical History, please click on the link below: