My name is Brian Duey. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I attended a public school in a small village called Grandville where I was first introduced to art. I was never serious about it growing up but discovered a love for it in my early 20's. I was sitting around the house one day and decided to get out a pencil and draw. I immediately fell in love with it and wanted to do it all the time. With every drawing I did, I got a little better. I developed my own techniques and tricks along the way. I strive to produce realistic looking drawings and add my own conceptual ideas too.
My work has been published in books and greeting cards, on CD covers, and in various magazines. I have been doing commissions since 2005 and I've done work for clients all over the world. Most of my commissions come from the United States, the UK, and Canada but I have shipped works as far away as Ireland. My work has been featured in galleries in the United States. In 2007 I was asked for a portrait of Britney Spears to be featured in an art gallery in Hollywood, California. I don't plan on slowing down anytime soon with my artwork. There are plenty of opportunities that await.
Today I live in a small town 45 minutes North of Grand Rapids called Howard City. My house is located in the middle of the woods with riverfront property. I could not ask for a more beautiful and inspirational setting.
Some graphite pencil artists that I really admire are Matti Kataja, Linda Huber, Paul Lung, Isabel Chiang, Zindy S.D. Nielson, JD Hillberry, and Mike Sibley. My favorite pencil artist of all though is a man named Armin Mersmann. He is a professional artist who lives in Midland, Michigan. Armin is very accomplished and is currently rated in the top 100 graphite artists in the country. His website is located
here. I strongly urge you to take a look.
I am a music lover also. I draw alot of inspiration from it. Some of my favorite musicians are Neil Young, Ben Folds, Aqualung, Damien Rice, Evanesence, The Smiths, Casey Stratton, David Gray, Cranberries, and Coldplay. When I am drawing I am almost always listening to music.
When I am not drawing I try to enjoy life. Some things I like to do are spend time with friends, go to the beach, go river tubing, biking, rollerblading, ice skating, hockey, baseball, running, tennis, and riding my 4 wheeler. When the weather permits, one of my favorite things to do is golf. It's my passion aside from drawing.
Here are some portraits that other artists have drawn of me
Zindy Nielson of Denmark:
Karin Lanven of Sweden:
