Duane L. West, retired US Air Force Master Sergeant and owner of Artistic Conquests, LLC, began his career in art in 1984 while stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. There a number of his paintings were awarded Grand Prize, Public Choice, Best of Show, and the Director’s Purchasing Choice awards in art contests and shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. Duane’s paintings were also sold on publi
c television fund raising events, and in 1985 he was invited to the Northwest Territorial Art Show in Leavenworth, Washington where he was sponsored as one of three unknown artists. Noted Northwest artist, Don Crook, also selected several pieces of Duane’s work to be displayed in his Yakima, Washington art gallery.
1980’s:
While stationed at R.A.F. Lakenheath, England, Duane received approval from the Royal Wedding Committee to do a painting for Duke and Duchess of York Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s wedding. For them, he painted a 20x30” Canadian mountain scene and an 8x10” miniature castle scene for the wedding card, and in return, he received a personal thank you note from the royal couple. That same year, Duane was asked to paint a 9x11’ backdrop for NASA Astronaut Don Lind (Payload Commander of the Orbiter Challenger) featuring astronomical scenes for the background of his European speaking tour. While in England, Duane also had the opportunity to teach elementary students basic painting skills at the Department of Defense’s R.A.F. Feltwell School. At an R.A.F. Lakenheath art show, he won both Best of Show and First Place awards and was highlighted in a photo news article in the Air Force Times newspaper and was the cover story in the R.A.F. Lakenheath Jet Forty-Eight magazine.
1990 - 2000’s:
While stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico Duane entered the Sixteenth Annual National Miniature Art Show at La Luz Gallery and won three Collector’s Choice awards. New Mexico is where he found his interested in sand painting, which he turned into semi-relief sand sculpturing. Duane has won several awards in this medium through the years. In 1996, Duane won Grand, First, Second, and Third prizes at the Tyndall Air Force Base Annual Art Competition, and was featured in a photo news article in Tyndall Air Force Base Gulf Defender publication. In 1997 he re-entered the competition and took home Grand, First, and Third prizes. Duane also displayed a number of his sand sculptures in the John Clymer Art Gallery’s Christmas show, in Ellensburg, Washington in 1999. In 2007, Duane won Third Place in the US Army’s world-wide art competition for his 18x24” sand sculpture of an elk. Present:
Duane’s art has been and is currently featured in business offices, restaurants, libraries, resorts, galleries, and many homes, to include five paintings in the Pentagon. He has sold over 500 paintings, 85% of them being consignment orders. He is not limited to any one particular medium or category, but works primarily in oils and a little in watercolor. Other than canvas, his work can be found on old logging saws, wooden slabs, tabletops, and rice paper. Some of his most requested works are sand sculptures. He also does hot glass sculptures and has extended his work to building military shadow boxes and other such presentation plaques. He has received a Master of Arts degree from the International Correspondence School of Scranton, Pennsylvania, recently renamed Penn Foster Career School, and is presently working on Bachelor degrees in both Drafting and Design, and Safety and Occupational Health. Duane’s art has been and is currently featured in business offices, restaurants, libraries, resorts, galleries, and many homes, to include five paintings in the Pentagon. To see (and purchase) Duane's currently available art go to http://artisticconquests.weebly.com
Or send him a message if you'd like to consign your own piece of art!
