FARMINGTON - A trio of Navajo artists were indicative of the skill and depth converging on Farmington over the Labor Day weekend for the Totah Festival Indian Market.

One, Marcus Cadman, blends in bingo sheets and other non-traditional images as backdrops for his painted subjects on canvas. Another, Donovan Begay, applies his brush to subjects ranging from Sitting Bull to the Harley Davidson logo on a medium of wild turkey feathers. The youngest of the three, Deion Tsinigine, is all about reaching for the fine detail in images of traditional tribal leaders recreated by his charcoal pencils.

The use of non-traditional backdrops on canvas, such as bingo sheets surrounding "Red Bingo Man" on all sides, has received acclaim for artist Marcus Cadman. Some of his bingo-backdrop pieces have been shown at the National Museum of American Indian Art in Washington, D.C.

Painter Marcus Cadman of Shiprock starts his process of acrylic application on canvas by etching Native American faces and bodies, such as a grandpa figure and one he calls "Red Bingo Man." Behind them are bingo sheets in full living color: random numbers his parents actually used with their daubers to play in tribal casinos across several states.

About five or six years ago, Cadman sold his first "Red Bingo Man" for about $150. Now with success under his belt at the Santa Fe Indian Market Art Show each August, his works also shown inside the Coady Contemporary Gallery in Santa Fe, Cadman has sold a similar piece for $5,000. Another piece with a backdrop of printed Bible pages in Navajo replete with stylized Native American petroglyphs dancing on them also sold for $5,000.

Cadman's non-traditional work takes in traditional and secular images, which reflect his own search for truth. He acknowledges the humor and sociological messages presented, one as being caught in his youth between the traditional ways of his people and his Christian upbringing. Some might even call a few of his works cynical, as in the image of a dollar bill with a Navajo Yei in the left corner, a work he calls "Leaders of Nations."

"You know, 'Red Man' is a stereotype, so I played with that to create 'Red Bingo Man.'   I'm trying to paint what's going on in the world today along with what shaped me into who I am as well as offering some social commentary," Cadman said while acknow-ledging that Farmington brings in an art audience seeking mainly traditional styles and mediums.

Where marketing goes, Cadman said "It's all about networking" for artists. Never is an opportunity for self-promotion taken for granted. He maintains his own website, marcuscadman.com, which has existed for five years. He uses a mailings list to send out postcards of his works featured in coming shows.

The Santa Fe Indian Market Art Show is critical in developing one's artist reputation, Cadman offered, and is the show where Judy Coady noticed his work and brought him into her family gallery later. His advice: enter only your best work shot professionally on slides. Cadman placed in the Mixed Media/Two-Dimensional Art category in Santa Fe this year. His works will also be featured in the early October "Columbus Side" show at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Many of Donovan Begay's paintings involve traditional subjects, such as a portrait of Sitting Bull garnished with tepees in the foreground, and wispy images of a buffalo and eagle behind him. Begay's medium means painting with acrylics on wild turkey feathers, which to one not familiar - most of us - appears painfully intricate and delicate for showcasing Native tradition and history.

Surprisingly, he claims otherwise, that his finest piece for the show - a seven-feathered fan tethered at its base with fine thread work and bead work, and deerhide tapering into fringe - is not so painstaking. "In the Heart of Sitting Bull" took first in the Cultural Items category during the Totah Festival. He will sell it for $1,200.

"They're wide, and they're big," he said of turkey feathers. "You can make almost any image, and the background complements the art work real well."

Begay may be one artist entitled to use a spin-off of the word "unique" for a successful sale, as he did when buyer Linda Parker of Howard, Colo., purchased two of his smaller-sized works. One was a few turkey feathers painted over with a hummingbird.

"They're one of a kind," Begay told Parker. "You're probably not going to find anything like this in the whole state, or even the whole nation."

Parker, backing the seller's statement, has seen printed images appear on feathers, but nothing handmade like Begay's.

Young artist Deion Tsinigine of Kirtland, New Mexico, is a recognized emerging artist who works in charcoal.

Totah Festival founder Claudine Riddle, who started the event in 1988, was highly impressed with the charcoal pieces drawn by Deion Tsinigine, a 17-year-old student from Kirtland Central High School. Afforded the honor of a prime booth location and first-place Emerging Artist honor for his rendition of Sitting Bull, Tsinigine took advantage by demonstrating his process. Working with a photograph, or picture, he uses a drafting pencil for the finest details of the face, and then extra soft and medium charcoal pencils with a blending tool to bring Native leaders to life. Admirers peered over the table while he etched the face of Manuelito, a bit of extra pressured that didn't appear to bother Tsinigine at all.

After all, he had already sold his Sitting Bull work and another of Geronimo. For Tsinigine, being a young artist who wants to succeed professionally means "earning ribbons and awards," for now at least, while he's still in school. He also earned a Best of Show honor during the San Juan County Fair, the largest county fair in New Mexico.

The young Tsinigine's interest in drawing Native leaders came in large part from hearing about his ancestor, Alvin Tsinigine. The family's surname comes from Coppermine, Ariz., according to his father, Leon Tsinigine. Deion recreated his ancestor in fine detail, a work he appears not of a mind to part with.

"I want his phone number," Riddle said.