Check Out Andrew Dengate’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Dengate.

Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began my life and creative pursuits in the suburbs of Detroit. My father, also an artist, homeschooled my sister and I and made creative thinking and artistic endeavors a huge part of my education. As I continued to higher education, I followed a path of science, thinking that there were more opportunities afforded to those that take safer routes. After four years at the University of Michigan, I walked away with a bachelor’s in Science and a burning desire to go live in the mountains. Through an interesting path selling outdoor gear, I found myself in Breckenridge where I pursued climbing, skiing, and eventually mountain biking. Throughout this time- art, painting and illustration followed me, sometimes in the corners of school projects where I would doodle, and practice shading, and sometimes at work, where I would make chalkboard signs for promotions, or paint walls, and sometimes when a friend asked me for a logo. In 2017, I won a contest to design a re-usable bag for the town of Breckenridge – a collaboration of my artistic abilities, love of outdoor recreation, and focus on sustainability. This feels like the launching point that gave me the confidence to take art more seriously, and was what eventually led to me leaving all other career paths to pursue art full time.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. I’ve emptied two retirement accounts and had lots of odd jobs to make ends meet as I continue to try and make a name in this world. I’ve also taken design work that pays but isn’t fulfilling at all. Some things I make harder on myself, spending countless hours second guessing my work, rather than sending it to a client- or posting it. Art is weird in that there is nothing objective about it. A canvas panel has value, and what I decide to do to it will be even more valuable to some, and less valuable than the original blank panel to others. This can lead to some seriously negative self-talk. Now I like to believe that everything I make is good, it’s just not good to everyone.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I consider myself extremely adaptable as an artist and designer. I often call my business “art and design solutions.” So whether you’re remodeling a house, making a concert poster, need t-shirts for your brewery, or want a painting, I’ll have an opinion and suggestion. My original works include black and white carvings of mountains and canyons, as well as extremely colorful and somewhat chaotic large-scale paintings of animals. My illustrative work has a tendency toward line work with limited colors, sometimes employing a balance between clean and controlled lines, and scribbled coloring techniques. My design work is almost always very clean and very simple. I believe that any logo worth using should pass a test that it can be cut out of paper, in other words, work as a silhouette.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Of course we are all preparing and living in the new reality that AI is creating around us. I have a tendency to believe that AI will operate as another tool the same way that photography, tracing paper, camera obscura, projectors, iPads, etc. have all changed the landscape in which creatives create. However, despite all of these advancements, artists are still using pigments on canvas, and consumers are still buying them. This world is one that celebrates authenticity, and that beats out technology every time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://andrewdengateart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewdengateart/?hl=en

Image Credits
Photo credits: Sara Dalton, Olivia Fryman