Nate Bard
Contemporary Art and Applied Design · Self-employed
Denver, CO
In My Own Words
Nate's independent practice as a studio artist is focused on cross-disciplinary exploration of the intersections of design, craft, and fine arts; generating many bodies of work which utilize a magnitude of disciplines, applied with intent and purpose across many mediums and fields of industry. While Nate's work history is diverse, this has allowed him to approach a variety of work with an open mind, ready to adapt and develop new skills and practices. Nate is a highly motivated, self-driven initiative-taker that is always looking to deepen his understanding and experience in any industry, and always seeking proactive solutions to any challenge that arises.
Work Experience
Artist
Self-employed2015 – Present
Pushing visual and applied design to generate sustainable culture, while addressing societal and environmental issues that fuel the need for such innovations. Often working under many aliases in just as many disciplines, Buck's practice is influenced by the importance of space and location in street art, as well as the performance and DIY design inherent to skateboarding and graffiti. With a BFA in Printmaking, and knowledge gained from an MFA program in Applied Craft+Design from Portland OR's PNCA, Buck uses his varied knowledge across a variety of disciplines in their practice today.
Creative Mentor
MADE-Life Foundation2022 – 2024
Met weekly with mentee(s) in the Madelife programs (ages 18 to 30) to coach and develop creative practices and skills in the visual arts, emphasizing a tattoo-oriented process. Created lesson plans that build on information over time to create an in-depth, start-to-finish understanding of complex processes in a effective and efficient manor. Created homework assignments to engage the mentee with the program even outside of sessions to compound on the lessons and begin to instill productive habits for young adult artists.
Freelance Illustrator
Dribbles Agency2019 – 2020
Rendered expressive illustrations for short stories and poems published by Dribbles Agency, an independent creative business collective based out of California. Compensated for each illustration according to the artist's agreement for fair compensation for time and skilled labor.
Artist Assistant
Vertical Gallery2019 – 2019
Assists in the handling, presentation, promotion, and limited production of the artwork of acting mentor Word To Mother (U.K.). Recently traveled to Chicago to assist in Word’s Solo Exhibit “Let Love Lead the Way” at the world-class Vertical Gallery in Chicago, Il.
Freelance Graphic Designer
b l o o p r (musician)2018 – 2018
Created the designed Cover Art for U.S. based music producer B L O O P R's 2018 Spotify album and cassette release of "Notes" & 2019 Soundcloud mixtape release of "7 Loops"
Freelance Graphic Artist
Common Apparel2011 – 2017
Rendered and finalized various artworks and graphics for clothing and culture company COMMON Apparel. Design was centered and focused on the snowboarding and skateboarding market, which aligned well with the artists own creative aesthetics at the time. All business and employment agreements and negotiations were conducted with Nate Blomquist, partial owner.
Graphic Artist
Common Apparel2012 – 2016
Designer and illustrator for Minnesota-based brand Common Apparel. Designing graphic-art and typefaces for clothing, hard-goods, snowboard graphics, and advertisements, from initial idea, to concept sketch, all the way to finalized PDF using a blend of hand-drawn & digital techniques.
Lead Graphic Designer
Top O' the World (WSCU)2013 – 2015
Supervisor of the 3-to-4-man design team, managing production from start to finish during intense 1-night sessions for the bi-monthly, color publication. Designed templates for the new tabloid-layout of the publication in 2014. Attended weekly meetings to discuss content, managerial & budget decisions related to design and production that might typically be overlooked by the other Non-visual managers and editors. Acts as a working member of the Design Squad during production, in addition to final proofing and editing before packaging and exporting files to the printer.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA
Western Colorado University2011 – 2015
Starting at the age of 16 and graduating at 21, Nate’s time at WSCU was spent developing formal and conceptual skills to go above and beyond the level of professionalism to excel in visual art, design, & related fields. Nate has developed the skills in creative fields such as: draftsmanship, printmaking, painting, graphic de- sign, package design, typography, photography, & sculpture, as well as developing a professional and scholarly presence when creating, selling, critiquing, & otherwise interacting with art in a professional environment.
Projects
"Always Shining Somewhere" Solo Art Show 2024
A solo exhibit of original acrylic paintings by Nate Bard that took place at the Odell Taproom in the RiNo district of Denver, CO in April of 2024.
Commercial & Creative Textile Prints
A year-long period in 2022 of independent screen printing done both commercially and for my personal art projects and one-off fashion ideas. Examples of both here. All prints pulled by Nate Bard.
