Meet Dirk Peterson
Dirk is a western artist who lives and
works on a small ranch south of Anderson, Texas. His career as an
artist started out on shaky ground when, as he explains, “I got
kicked out of 4th grade math for drawing horses on tests.”
Since that time he has continued to pursue his interest western art by
developing a realistic style of pencil and pen & ink portraits.
As a beginning artist Dirk would draw
and paint pictures for high school banners and class programs. This
experience led to doing design work for t-shirts and banners that
helped pay his way through college. During this time he also started to
do portraits for his friends on the college rodeo team.
The cowboys and
cowgirls liked to have pictures drawn of their favorite runs, rides, or
horses, and soon his reputation spread attracting a variety of clients
who wanted originals to hang on their walls. “When I started selling
the rodeo drawings, people outside of rodeo began to take note, and
pretty soon I was getting requests to draw everything from prize ducks
to wedding portraits.”
Dirk's Best Work Is Pencil Or Pen & Ink
During his undergraduate studies in
natural resource development, Dirk was able to enroll in art courses
that exposed him to many mediums including oils, acrylics, watercolor,
and clay. However, he found that his best work was done in pencil or
pen & ink. Although he never received any formal tutoring from master
artists, he learned from his experience doing commercial
artwork. While attending graduate school at Sam Houston State
University in Huntsville, Texas, Dirk illustrated the textbooks used as
the curriculum for freshman biology courses.
During graduate school and for a few
years thereafter, he also worked and sometimes lived on the 85,000 acre
Gibbs Bros. Ranch, one of the largest in East Texas. While on the ranch
Dirk worked alongside some of the most notable top hands from the “Big
Thicket” and “Piney Woods” areas. This experience was the research for
many of his works. He also credits nationally known artists like Cowboy
Artist of America (CAA) G. Harvey for taking the time to review and
critique his works.
If Dirk Isn't Working He's Hunting, Fishing, Playing Guitar, Roping
& Doing Movies
Since 1984, Dirk has been busy using his
knowledge and education in natural resources and biological sciences to
operate Lake & Land Mgt., a successful consulting company involved in
numerous aspects of restoration and mitigation for the oil and gas
industry. When he is not at work his time is divided between
hunting, fishing, playing guitar, and roping.
Dirk is an avid team roper and has
maintained memberships in numerous rodeo associations including the
USTRC, NOTRA, and PRCA, competing as often as his schedule will allow.
His outgoing personality and horsemanship have also landed him in print
adds for pickup trucks and men’s cologne as well as appearing in several
movies and acting in starring roles in two recent films. He has
recently had roles in True Grit, Cowboys and Aliens, and the upcoming
Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter.
Dirk Is A Voting Member Of The
Academy of Western Artists
Dirk is also a 2001 inductee into the
Academy of Western Artists (AWA), and is currently a voting member of
the AWA for their yearly awards.
Dirks drawings, pictures, and portraits
have been on the cover of the TEXAS ROPER, (a publication
advertising team roping and rodeo events) for the past 6 years. His
work is displayed in a number of tack and western stores, as well as
restaurants in the area. He has also had his work on display at the
state capitol building in Austin, Texas. Many rodeos and show
organizations have also used his work for trophies and prizes for their
participants.
Dirk Peterson
6241 CR 448
Navasota, Texas 77868
936-873-5031
Website Design By
Magness Enterprises
© Copyright Dirk
Peterson-Artist. No part of this web site
may be reproduced in any form without permission from the Artist.
All Drawings, Photographs, Logos and written materials are protected by
Copyright
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