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Alex Beard (artist)

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Alex Beard
Beard Portrait
Born (1970-10-29) October 29, 1970 (age 54)
New York City, U.S.
Education
Known for
  • Painting
  • drawing
  • author
Websitewww.alexbeardstudio.com

Alex Beard (born 1970)[1] is an American artist born in New York City who is now based out of New Orleans. His work ranges from simple and representational to abstract. He frequently draws and paints African wildlife.

Biography

[edit]

Alex Beard was born in 1970 in New York City. His father is philanthropist Sam Beard who co-founded the Jefferson Awards for Public Service. His mother, Patricia Beard, is an author and was a former magazine editor.[2] He is the nephew of photographer Peter Beard. As a teenager, he travelled to Panama, Africa, China, India, and Belize.[3]

Beard attended Tufts University and received a degree in history and literature.[4] He also studied classical drawing and painting at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and was a participant in the New York Studio School's drawing marathon.[citation needed] In his early twenties, Beard moved to New Orleans to study advanced painting at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.[5] He credits his world travels for helping him develop his artistic skills and broadened perspective.[6] Beard worked as a writer, artist, and photographer for Tribe Magazine, a small New Orleans magazine publication in the mid-nineties. In New Orleans, he opened his first gallery and open studio in the French Quarter. He also married and became a father of two.[7]

Displaced from New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, Beard and his family moved back to New York City.[8] He ran a studio in SoHo which doubled as an exhibition place from 2006 to 2009.[9] In 2009, Beard returned to New Orleans.[10]

Beard is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[11]

Art

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Beard's artwork consists mostly of ink drawings and oil paintings. His uncle Peter Beard first taught him how to use an ink quill when he was a child, as well as encouraged him from a very young age to be an artist and businessman.[12] The subject matter of the majority of Beard's artwork is wildlife using a style of painting he calls Abstract Naturalism. This is a combination of abstract expressionism and naturalistic environmental art.[13] The only human subject matter that he works with is a mathematical sequence called "The Audience."[14]

Books

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Beard is the author of Tales from the Watering Hole, a series of books penned and illustrated by Beard and published by Abrams Books. The Jungle Grapevine was published in 2009,[15] Monkey See, Monkey Draw was published in 2011,[16] and Crocodile's Tears was published in 2012.[17] "Crocodile's Tears" was reviewed by The New York Times in February 2012 by author Pamela Paul.[18] Beard's fourth book in the series The Lying King was published on September 4, 2018 by Greenleaf Book Group.[19]

An app based on Beard's trilogy of books, also named Tales from the Watering Hole, was published in 2013 by Fat Red Couch, Inc.[20] In 2008, Beard released a line of jigsaw puzzles featuring his artwork. The puzzle pieces feature unique shapes that do not snap into each other like usual puzzles. Instead, they settle side by side. This allows the puzzles to have many different combinations of results.[21] In 2015, a series of needlepoint canvases based on Beard's work was released by QS Designs in New Orleans, LA.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Beard, Alex. "Alex Beard Bio". Alex Beard. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Patricia Beard from HarperCollins Publishers". Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  3. ^ "About Alex | Alex Beard, New Orleans Painter - Alex Beard Studio". www.alexbeardstudio.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  4. ^ "About Alex | Alex Beard, New Orleans Painter - Alex Beard Studio" (PDF). www.alexbeardstudio.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  5. ^ "About Alex | Alex Beard, New Orleans Painter - Alex Beard Studio". www.alexbeardstudio.com. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  6. ^ Qualls, James (May 2011). "The Alex Beard Studio". Arts University of New Orleans Administration Master's Reports. 123. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  7. ^ Rose, Chris. "The 60-Second Interview: Alex Beard". The Times Picayune. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  8. ^ 60 Second Interview
  9. ^ Homes, A.M. (April 2008). "Call Of The Wild". Vanity Fair. p. 110.
  10. ^ Arts New Orleans. "Alex Beard Studio". ArtsNewOrleans.org. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  11. ^ "Board | youth community | service award | Jefferson Awards.org". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  12. ^ Octavia Art Gallery New Orleans (4 February 2010). "Alex Beard - Origins". Octavia Art Gallery New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  13. ^ Allen, Libby (Winter 2012). "Abstract Naturalism". Art New Orleans Magazine. 5 (1): 36–41.
  14. ^ Qualls, James (May 2011). "The Alex Beard Studio". Arts Administration Master's Reports. 123. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  15. ^ Beard, Alex (2009). The Jungle Grapevine. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. pp. 48. ISBN 978-0-8109-8001-3.
  16. ^ Beard, Alex (2011). Monkey See, Monkey Draw. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8109-8970-2.
  17. ^ Beard, Alex (2012). Crocodile's Tears. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4197-0126-9.
  18. ^ Paul, Pamela (8 February 2012). "Even Crocodile's Get the Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  19. ^ "The Lying King". Greenleaf Book Group. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  20. ^ "Tales from the Watering Hole - Children's Interactive Storybook App with Games, Painting Pages & Puzzles - trailer". Vimeo. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  21. ^ "Haus Ideen | alexbeardimpossiblepuzzles.com". alexbeardimpossiblepuzzles.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
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