DUKE WINDSOR | RADIANCE
GOLD is the color of extravagance, wealth, riches, and excess and shares several of the color yellow attributes.
The color gold is a warm color that can be either bright and cheerful or somber and traditional.
Gold is attributed to the spiritual reverence held by ancient gods in worship. The Golden Rule in the Old Testament refers to the high standard of treating everyone equally. Gold is a symbol of divinity and is mentioned throughout the Bible. The Golden Skies series came about after several years of experimenting with ways to express this light in my urban/rural cityscapes in a fresh and meaningful way.
I was inspired when I viewed a collection of Russian Icons on wood panels.
The reverence and visceral experience I felt from the luminance of these traditional Icon works further inspired me.
In the art world, gold leaf techniques are often considered as merely decorative art. I’d like to change that.
Today, my works are detailed ignored areas in contemporary cityscapes as well as still life.
The illumination in these works, seen from various angles, will give the viewer a unique and new perspective on the piece. The shift in light will also change the works’ dynamics, depending on the ambient light source and the angle in which the artwork is viewed. When applying gold leaf, I found that the medium added a spiritual quality to the work, as well as a radiance, which I hope the viewer will also experience.
DUKE WINDSOR
Duke Windsor was born in Texarkana, Texas, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a radio operator, combat illustrator, and drill instructor. After leaving the service, Windsor was a freelance illustrator and amateur rodeo cowboy, competing in bull-riding, bareback, and steer wrestling events. He subsequently studied classical voice at San Diego State University and performed professionally with the San Diego Opera Chorus.
Windsor holds the rank of 4th Degree Black Belt in Kempo martial arts, and he continues to be an active singer-songwriter, guitar player, and solo performer.
Windsor has over 15 years of museum exhibition design and installation experience; he has worked for the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Man, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego History Center, and Mingei International Museum.
Windsor served for seven years as founding Director of Exhibits at the U.S.S. Midway Museum. Currently, Windsor is CAD Design Engineering Manager at Full Swing Golf Simulators, headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
Windsor is an Associate Artist of the California Art Club and a former board member with A.R.T.S., A Reason to Survive, which empowers troubled youth through the arts. He is also a former Education Chair of the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild. Windsor has also served as a Public Arts Selection Committee member for the San Diego Regional Airport Authority Art Program. Windsor has taught Art at many venues, including the San Diego Museum of Art and the Athenaeum, and he is currently an instructor of drawing and painting at Art on 30th Street; he also offers a wide range of artist development workshops throughout San Diego County.
Windsor’s award-winning paintings have been exhibited at juried solo shows, festivals, group exhibitions, and corporate venues in San Diego, Southern California, and throughout the U.S., and they are held in private collections throughout the U.S. and Europe. He has also produced portrait commissions and military historical works.
Windsor works in various media, including pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolor, and block print, and his artistic scope ranges from Plein air to abstract.
