David DeVary has been described by a leading publication as a “New West” artist. He uses the American West’s symbols to express universal themes and emotions, especially attitude. In the past 10 to 15 years he’s had the privilege of having his art in some of the finest galleries, museums and homes from Yountville to Chicago, from Santa Fe to Paris. DeVary surrounds his contemporary cowgirls and cowboys with copper, gold and silver metallic leaf, so that his images become more or less romanticized icons rather than depictions of the reality of particular times, places or persons. He’s the first to admit that his paintings are not historically accurate depictions of the 1900s cowgirls’ and cowboys’ lifestyles in the American West. He says that in actuality, cowgirls and cowboys led a dangerous, rough and anything but exciting existence. The frontier that DeVary explores draws more on the 1950s western movies, starring idol cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.
His highly successful, 30-year career in the advertising business coupled with growing up as a Catholic gave him the idea of creating modern icons of the figures they hold sacred. By juxtaposing the glitter and gloss of gold leafing and copper with the layering on of glazes and other mixed media, the artist gives “an familiar, earthly feel to the art and at the same time it gets an ‘other world’s’ timeless, heroic quality. He paints idealized, introspective and sometimes provocative figures, combining and capturing the good feelings associated with the American Dream and the Western myth. His use of cowboy hats that shield the eyes, bright yellow slickers, the cowboy’s own natural body language and antique chaps helps create a unique, striking, almost otherworldly representation of the American cowgirl and cowboy.
