DUKE BE ARD SLE Y
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June 25 - July 6, 2019 Jackson Hole
DUKE BE ARD SLE Y Stand and Deliver: Borderline Calamity from the Lost Trail to Nowhere
Jackson Hole | Scottsdale | AltamiraArt.com
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Pedazos De SueĂąos Oil on masonite tile | 80 x 40 inches Enquire
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STAND AND DELIVER: BORDERLINE CALAMITY FROM THE LOST TRAIL TO NOWHERE With the sun cresting above the Colorado horizon, Duke Beardsley witnessed a moment between two friends that made him slow his pace. Often attuned to movement, this scene made him pause and notice the narrative potential of two cowboys talking over a saddled horse. He circled them with his camera, shooting from every angle in the warm light of sunrise. The quiet intimacy of friends preparing for a ride—their words open to interpretation by painter and viewer alike. Back in his studio, he waited for the right time to return to the episode. Working big, he tackles 10-foot canvases with aplomb, painting rows of riding cowboys freehand, each figure distinct. Recently, he’s been adding ribbons of color around the riders, a gesture of stylized control over the galloping chaos. The sunrise scene rose from this shift, signaling a sharper turn toward nuanced iconography. He didn’t know how to tackle it until he tipped a 9-by-6-foot canvas on its
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side. True to his process, the inspiration then flowed unbridled as he set down a charcoal sketch in 30 minutes (music blaring). Stepping back, he assessed, recording his reactions as notes on the canvas. He sent a photo of the annotated sketch to the friends featured: “This is all wrong” scrawled beneath the mare’s belly. The reply: Please use that as the title. This is Beardsley’s modus operandi as an artist: he lets his paintings feel all wrong until they feel all resolved; he relinquishes control, teetering on the edge until impulse becomes purpose. Usually, spontaneity precedes intention. The conversation painting marks a new focus on reflective compositions.
True to his calling as a storyteller, he sets his paintings in the narrative current of Western art—the compelling story lines of C.M. Russell and Frederic Remington. Distinguishing himself, he provides fewer directional cues than his aesthetic forefathers. For instance, the sunrise cowboys encourage subjective readings: their conversation could be seen as serious, or they could be trading recipes. The reader sets the plot. “I want to give you even less and then invite you to tell your own story,” he says. “I want to reembrace narrative in Western art, and it’s fun now to see that happening in a quiet and subtle way.”
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Parlee Oil on canvas | 72 x 108 inches Enquire
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Tin Man Redux Oil on canvas | 60 x 60 inches Enquire
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Cielo Vista Mixed media | 48 x 60 inches Enquire
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Bocados Naranja Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Morado Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Verde Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Azul Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Gris Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Amarillo Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Cielo Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Rosa Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Cafe Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Bocados Turquesa Oil on canvas | 18 x 18 inches Enquire
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Ficticios Aquaticos-Blanco Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 8 x 10 inches Enquire
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Vaquero PequeĂąo Aquatico-Ciruela Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 10 x 8 inches Enquire
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Ficticios Aquaticos-Aqua Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 8 x 10 inches Enquire
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Vaquero PequeĂąo Aquatico-Naranja Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 10 x 8 inches Enquire
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Ficticios Aquaticos-Amarillo Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 8 x 10 inches Enquire
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Vaquero PequeĂąo Aquatico-Citron Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 10 x 8 inches Enquire
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Ficticios Aquaticos-Arรกndanos Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 8 x 10 inches Enquire
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Vaquero PequeĂąo Aquatico-Azul Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 10 x 8 inches Enquire
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Ficticios Aquaticos-Rosarios Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 8 x 10 inches Enquire
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Vaquero PequeĂąo Aquatico-Cantalupo Mixed media and epoxy resin on canvas | 10 x 8 inches Enquire
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Fussier’n All Get-Out Mixed media | 42 x 54 inches Enquire
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Cinta Azul Oil on canvas | 36 x 72 inches Enquire
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172 Center Street | Jackson, Wyoming 83001 AltamiraArt.com | 307-739-4700
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