“In the increasingly crowded field of wildlife artists, Andrew Denman [b. 1978], stands out for his distinctive look in addition to his masterful painting skill” writes veteran art writer and magazine editor Jennifer King in a 2008 editorial for Create Better Paintings.com. Denman is an artist known for capturing diverse subjects, from wildlife, to landscape, to still life, in an equally diverse range of styles. His recent work focuses on intimate wildlife portraits and scenes approached with a unique combination of hyper-realism, stylization, and abstraction.
Denman holds a BA in Fine Arts from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. He is well known in the San Francisco Bay Area as both an artist and teacher, and he has gained national attention through major gallery showings, numerous museum exhibitions, artist workshops and speaking engagements, and feature coverage in such publications as Southwest Art, American Artist, Wildlife Art, and The Artist’s Magazine, among others.
Born in 1978, the Bay Area native showed a great degree of interest in art from an early age. Denman organized his first one man show in high school at a local library, and soon after began participating in exhibitions with Pacific Wildlife Galleries in Lafayette, CA, where he went on to hold four successful solo exhibitions. Denman is currently represented by Astoria Fine Art in Jackson, WY, and maintains Denman Studios at his Antioch and Orinda CA residences.
His work has toured nationally with Birds in Art and the Society of Animal Artists, which has thrice honored Andrew’s work with Awards of Excellence. The artist is a regular participant in the highly competitive Western Visions Miniatures and More Exhibition and Sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, an institution that named him the Lanford Monroe Memorial Artist in Residence for Winter of 2009. Denman’s work can be found in the National Museum of Wildlife Art and The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, and numerous private collections across the country. The artist is a member of the Society of Animal Artists, NY, The International Guild of Realism, AZ, and Artists for Conservation, Canada.
Whether painting an animal in its natural habitat or juxtaposing it against an abstract background, Denman goes to great lengths to faithfully portray his subjects, taking frequent field trips to nature areas, parks, and zoos to observe his subjects and acquire reference material. Yet while accuracy is always of great importance, Denman is an artist before he is a naturalist. The sense of fearless experimentation and originality he brings to his paintings testifies to the artist’s true focus. As Mary Nelson writes in the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of Wildlife Art magazine, “In the end, it’s not the mood, the meaning, or the method that Denman craves. It is the medium - art.”
Selected Exhibitions:
“Art for the Animals” Featured Artist. Palm Desert, CA. 2013
Astoria Fine Art “Andrew Denman: New Works” Solo Exhibit 2013
“The Sea of Cortez” Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ, 2013
“Old World-New World; the Wildlife Art of Guy Combes & Andrew Denman.”
Joint Exhibition. Nature in Art Museum, Gloucester, England, 2012
Pacific Wildlife Galleries, Lafayette, CA. Solo Exhibits in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008.
Trailside Galleries, Jackson, WY. Artist Showcase, 2008, 2011,
“A Natural Inclination: the Art of Andrew Denman.” Solo Exhibition. Lindsay Wildlife
Museum, Walnut Creek, CA, 2007
Society of Animal Artists. “Art & the Animal”: 2003, 2006, 2008-2012
Artists for Conservation. “The Art of Conservation”: 2009-2012
“Birds in Art,” Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI, 2004-2006
“Western Visions,” National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY 2006-2014
“Art of the Animal Kingdom XIV” Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT, 2009
“The Art of Seeing” Oakland Museum of Natural History, Oakland CA, 2003, 3006
Collections:
National Museum of Wildlife Art. Jackson, WY. 2005 & 2008 Acquisitions
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. Wausa, WI. 2006 Acquisition
Nature in Art Museum. Gloucester, England. 2012 Gift of the Artist
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ. 2013 Acquisition
Selected Publications:
International Artist:Feature Article, June/July 2012
Western Art Collector: Feature Article, April 2010
The Artist’s Magazine: Feature Articles, August 2005, October 2009
Southwest Art: Feature Article, April 2006. 21 Under 31, September 2005
American Artist: Feature Article, October 2004
Wildlife Art: Cover Feature, November/December 2004
Selected Awards & Honors:
Bob Kuhn Award, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2012
Lanford Monroe Memorial Artist in Residence, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2009
Don Eckelberry Memorial Scholarship. Society of Animal Artists, 2006
Award of Excellence, Society of Animal Artists, 2003, 2004, 2009
Memberships and Associations:
Society of Animal Artists. New York, NY. Signature Member. 2002 to Present
International Guild of Realism. Scottsdale, AZ. Associate Member. 2005 to Present
Artists for Conservation. Vancouver, Canada. Signature Member. 2003 to Present
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