Dean Bradshaw grew up in the mountains in Santa Monica, California. From an early age, nature became his closest friend. He spent every minute he could hiking and observing the intricacies of light and form. By the time Dean was in grade school, he was translating his experiences from nature to paper and canvas. Dean won a scholarship to the Art Center in Los Angeles but chose to study pre-med at UCLA and was accepted into dental school.

After working his way through school for a famous furniture maker in Beverly Hills, Dean decided to move to Utah in 1978. He began making furniture and also painted portraiture for prominent families in Utah 1978-1981. He started showing in Meyer Gallery (Park City) 1980. He won a silver metal at the Springville National Salon 1980 for a plein air landscape. He then began to concentrate full time on his highly artistic handmade furniture  business in 1981, Bradshaw Furniture, and put painting on the side until he retired recently from the furniture business. He now paints full time.

“Painting directly from nature means the world to me. It opens up new dimensions in the way I see light and color and deepens my appreciation for nature and life as a whole.”