This Ivins painter is proving it’s never too late to pursue your dreams

Written by Jessi Bang
January 16, 2024

IVINS — This artist is painting dreamlike imagery and surreal textures, capturing the elusive beauty of desert ecosystems and their inhabitants.

Watercolor artist Chloe Duncan stands next to art inside at her home in Ivins, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Watercolor artist Chloe Duncan stands next to art inside at her home in Ivins, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

“I didn’t actually start doing this until I was 27,” Chloe Duncan said about her art. “I did other jobs, and I wish I hadn’t wasted all that time.”

Duncan said her entire family has a gift for the arts, especially her mother, who is a full-time professional watercolorist. It wasn’t until she had her second child that Dunan considered creating art full-time. And it’s the best decision she ever made, she said.

Her journey started when she found herself up with her newborn at 2 a.m. She began drawing birds and crows and later showed her work to her mom. At the time, her mom was showcasing her work inside the Duncan LittleCreek Gallery in Elko, Nevada, and showed Duncan’s work to the gallery owner. The owners loved them, she said, which catapulted her art career. She sold work out of the gallery along with pieces to a dental office in California.

“I’ve always been a bit more attracted to wild — I don’t want to say gothic — but like, darker things,” she said.

Watercolor art by Chloe Duncan is on display, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Chloe Duncan, St. George News
Watercolor art by Chloe Duncan is on display, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Chloe Duncan, St. George News

After a suggestion from her mom, she livened up her images by adding splashes of muted color. Having always been attracted to forest creatures, her work expanded to include animals such as rabbits, foxes and big-horned sheep. 

“My work is more whimsical and a little bit fantasy,” she said. “I’ve always been really drawn to more wild animals and natural landscapes, so trees and weeds and flowers (but) more in winter. When they’re dying, I think they have a lot more character.”

Duncan was born and raised in Scotland and moved to Elko, Nevada, when she was 17. After living in Idaho, she made the move to Southern Utah seven years ago.

Duncan said her work is still inside the Duncan LittleCreek Gallery, where it’s been for the past 11 years. She also showcased her work at local markets while living in Boise, Idaho.

“It’s just kind of a mixture of all of it – website, galleries, shows – you build up customers,” she said about growing her business.

 She hopes to turn her home garage into a full art gallery so that people can shop her art in person.

“This one is definitely one of my more popular ones,” she said, pointing at a watercolor hare in her living room. “I did it quickly without overthinking it, and it came out so nice. It just really represents exactly what I’m going for with my art.”

See Duncan’s work at Sunset Gallery and Framer at 929 W. Sunset Boulevard, #2 in St. George, and local shows such as the St. George Art Festival. To purchase work online, visit her website or follow @inksbychloeduncan on Facebook.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, “The Rambling Raccoon.” In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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