Featured Artist: David DeVary

DeVary believes the cowboy and cowgirl are the American icon of today.  As such, he also believes these subjects deserve to be painted like the religious icon paintings of much earlier times.  So DeVary uses metals, such as copper, gold and silver along with oil paints to present portraits of cowboys and cowgirls who are full of attitude and raw emotion. Combining contemporary Western imagery with art techniques dating from the Renaissance, he seeks to provide his own commentary on those who he deems the embodiment of today’s Western attitude.

David DeVary was, and in many ways still is, an advertising genius, having worked on some of the biggest ad campaigns of the
day, including McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Hallmark and Kraft.  Despite award-winning success and accompanying financial rewards, DeVary longed for the simpler life of a painter and the realization of his own romantic notions of the West.  In 1989 DeVary told the suits he was leaving advertising to try his hand at paining for a living.

Initially the he struggled to match his inner voice regarding subjects he felt strongly about with those that might find a receptive audience.  DeVary eventually decided to explore the mythic qualities of the American cowboy, a vanishing part of America.  Harkening back to his advertising days, DeVary recalled the powerful image of the Marlboro Man, one of the great campaigns in the history of advertising. 

The major breakthrough for DeVary’s career came when, in his words, he, “discovered girls.”  His assertive, attractive, Western, yet purely feminine cowgirls, wearing yellow slickers have become DeVary’s most popular subjects.  To DeVary, “Cowgirls are
the embodiment of the American dream: beautiful, bold, assured, provocative, tall, cool, confident, coming right at you.” 

In looking for new ideas for paintings DeVary photographs both men and women, attempting to catch them in natural poses without them knowing he is taking their picture and getting their permission later.  He then uses the basic body position from
a photograph as his starting point, making up the clothes as he goes along.  In his mind he treats the basic figure like a paper
doll waiting to be dressed. 

For this, his first solo museum exhibition, DeVary worked from more familiar models.  Among the 20 oversized paintings in the show are images of his two daughters, his wife, many friends and even himself.  Indeed, one of the most powerful images in the group is Self Portrait, a morphing of his urbane countenance to resemble a true-blue cowboy.  Everyone will likely spot at least one familiar face in the exhibition, particularly those viewing If Marilyn Were a Cowgirl (with Pearls). 

As he continues to explore the iconic images of our time, David DeVary provides a running commentary on the modern West of both fact and fiction.  His images remind us of why we love the West, as a real place, and a daydream destination.  He offers hope that when we travel the West, via motorcycle or delusion, we will encounter the cowboys and cowgirls that inhabit his paintings.  Meanwhile, David will continue to live out one of his favorite sayings, borrowed from artist Larry Rivers, “You do what you love, and people buy it, what could be better than that.” 

What, indeed?


Click here for more information on the David DeVary art workshop

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