PROFILE

Born in Texas, Duke Windsor began drawing at an early age, winning many junior art awards. In 1978, he joined the U. S. Marine Corps, serving as combat illustrator and drill instructor. After leaving the service, Duke studied classical voice at SDSU, later performing with the San Diego Opera. In 1986, he opened his first art studio in San Diego's Gaslamp District. In addition to painting, he worked as a technical and graphic illustrator, architectural draftsman and editorial cartoonist. Duke is also a 4th Dan Black Belt and certified Sifu in the martial arts

Currently, Duke paints representational urban scenes, as well as plein air paintings of Balboa Park and other landscapes. He continues to produce commissioned and historical pieces in a variety of media, including oils, acrylic, watercolor and linocut. Duke's paintings have been exhibited at numerous solo and juried exhibitions in San Diego and Southern California, and they are held in many private collections throughout the U.S. and the U.K. His work has been exhibited in Los Angeles at the Korean Cultural Center, the San Diego Art Institute, Taylor Gallery, Bard Hall Gallery, Grand Annex Gallery, Star of the Sea, North Park Branch Library, Poway Performing Arts Center and numerous other group shows and corporate venues in the San Diego area. He has won three awards at the Del Mar Fair as well as awards at the North County Art Association and elsewhere.

Duke teaches drawing, portraiture and cartoon art to children at the San Diego Museum of Art School; he also continues to sing and perform acoustical music and to pursue his love of origami and architectural design. He currently works as an Exhibit Designer at the San Diego Museum of Natural History. Prior to that, he worked as exhibit preparator for numerous Balboa Park museums including the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Museum of Man and Mingei International Museum.

In 2004, Duke was selected as a signature member of the National Acrylic Painters Association, registered with the Tate Museum in London. His painting, "Golden Garages," was recently exhibited in the 2005 Biennial of the Cannon Art Gallery in Carlsbad and another one of his paintings was exhibited in the 2005 Oceanside Museum of Art Regional.