Colorado Inspired Artist Series - Andrew Dengate

Artist Series Spotlight: Andrew Dengate

Salida, CO-based artist Andrew Dengate captures the wild with this hand-drawn tribute to all of his designs.

Each design begins with pencil and paper, layered with rich textures and natural colors inspired by the landscape. This piece honors the quiet strength and rare beauty of high country wildlife.

From the Artist:

My family home was in Ferndale, Michigan,  a suburb, a regular land of dogs on leashes, strip malls, and generally harmless weather conditions.  As a kid, I was a fairly excellent student - diligent, focused, straight-edge, and holding a high standard for myself. I was also a runner, training year-round for Cross Country and Track.  When looking at colleges to attend, I visited Prescott College in northern Arizona.  It was my first foray into the west, and when our tour guide explained how many of the students lived in cars or tents, I chose a different direction.  It’s funny how many cars and tents I have lived in by now. 

Instead, I studied Biology at the University of Michigan.  In doing this, I realized that life in the quiet solitude of research was not my future; I was too social, too antsy to be on the other side of the lab windows.  I moved to Colorado and I approached this world with the wide eyes of a learner, taking jobs that got me closer to the people and the things that I wanted to know.  Eventually, I became a ski patroller at Arapahoe Basin.  When 2020 came around the world shifted, and for me, it felt like someone swung open these massive doors of opportunity.  I moved fully into the world of art.  

Now I paint what inspires me, the majesty of the animal kingdom and even more specifically, the path of evolution.  And with that - you see the education in Biology come full circle.