Deborah Berniklau
b. 1961
Deborah Berniklau is a New Mexico artist whose lifelong devotion to the American West began in childhood, sketching horses with chalk on her driveway. Recognizing her early talent, her parents encouraged private lessons, setting her on a path that soon became a calling.
Berniklau earned her BFA in Illustration from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where she also studied privately with the legendary Burne Hogarth. After graduating, she established a successful career as an illustrator, completing commissions for Disney, Warner Brothers, NASA, and several major advertising agencies. As she transitioned into fine art, Berniklau continued her training with master painters Huihan Liu, Carolyn Anderson, Daniel Gerhartz, and Jeffrey Watts. During this period she fell deeply in love with Western art, turning her focus to the stories, spirit, and emotional landscape of the American West.
Through her work, Berniklau elicits an emotional response with her combination of narrative, character, and attention to detail. Known for her draftsmanship and commitment to anatomical accuracy. She draws inspiration from her Andalusian horse, working cowboys, and Native American models, subjects that bring authenticity and vitality to her drawings and paintings. “My subject and goal is the heart and soul of the American West,” Berniklau says. “I’m a Western girl through and through, and it’s important that the love of the West is felt in every drawing and painting.”
Her work has been featured in Western Art and Architecture, Southwest Art, and Western Art Collector. As a proud member of the Oil Painters of America she received the Gold Medal at the OPA Western Regional Exhibition. Her paintings have been exhibited and collected internationally. Berniklau’s artistic influences include, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Joaquín Sorolla, Norman Rockwell, and Lucy Kemp-Welch. As a classically trained artist, she is devoted to honoring and preserving the heritage of the American West through vivid, timeless works of art.
