Will Barker’s artwork focuses on public art and oil painting. He works from his studio in Denver, CO and you can see many of his western style murals around the city. Will has had an unconventional trip to become a full-time artist in Denver, a place he has called home for a decade now. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, Will played football for the University of Virginia as an offensive lineman and eventually onto a short, but active career in the NFL playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins before pursuing his passion in painting on his move to the west. While working on his development as an artist, Will spent his early years in Colorado as a production manager at a downtown Denver distillery. The pandemic gave Will the opportunity to spend all his time focusing on his artwork and as the jobs and future opportunities continued to pile up, he happily decided not to return to the beverage industry and pursue his art full-time. When he is not in the studio, Will is producing large scale western murals. His paintings can be found at various group and solo shows around town and his murals can be spotted all over Colorado.
Statement
What intrigues me as an artist is to create visually striking depictions that blend the lines of fantasy and reality in the familiar wild western setting that I find inspirational. I enjoy painting cowboys, outlaws, natural elements and everything that links them to a story I want to tell on my canvas. Being based in Colorado, I am inspired by the surrounding iconic western landscapes, the rugged, yet poetic lines that are found in traditional western art. My goal is to fuse the love of theses tropes with personal reflection, humor, and nostalgia that I use to connect to my work.