Artist Focus: Duke Beardsley

Recuperación (diptych), mixed media, 48 x 60 in.

Sixth-generation Coloradan, Duke Beardsley has been drawing and painting the American West for as long as he can remember. Raised both in Denver, and on a 1,000-acre cattle ranch in eastern Colorado, Beardsley’s “duel/dual” upbringing is the foundation for his unique blend of traditional Western iconography and contemporary art sensibilities. An unapologetic fan of “all things cowboy,” Beardsley spends a lot of time on horseback, joining his many friends and family on some of the greatest ranches of the West. He rides with crews to participate, observe and document today’s working cowboys and cowgirls in their element. Formally trained at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, Beardsley now lives and works with his wife and two daughters in Denver.

Linaje, mixed media, 42 x 40 in.

La Doña, mixed media, 120 x 72 in.

“My style varies. Probably more than some. But it’s nowhere near as varied as my inspiration. I draw inspiration from everywhere, from every aspect of my life. Even the bad stuff. Because for me, regardless of genre, technique or style, the creative act is the response to life itself,” he says. “Artistically, these days I’m far more likely to draw inspiration from Gustav Klimt and Jasper Johns before Remington or Russell. But subject wise, its much simpler because I have been drawn to ‘all things cowboy’—stole that from the great Joel Ostlind, by the way—all my life. But somewhere along the line, I made a hard turn off the traditional Western art path and I’ve been happily wandering around ‘out here’ ever since. See, I’m a product of the hustle and bustle of the 1980s, not the 1880s. And while I’ve lived what most would consider a very Western life, it’s also been a very modern Western life. And that modernity has made its mark in my work. I think it’s reflected in my use of repeated iconography, bright contrasting colors and anonymous silhouettes. Today’s West—that’s where my inspiration comes from.” —

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Represented by: InSight Gallery
214 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(830) 997-9920 » insightgallery.com
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