As a young child growing up in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles, Dick Duerrstein was always drawing. He loved to draw battle scenes and cars, especially cars that had been designed and painted by the iconic Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth. His mother's shopping list always included a note to buy him another ream of white paper as he quickly filled every inch of both sides of each sheet with his meticulous graphite drawings. After high school, he studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena while working for a graphics firm.

His passion for art, along with his love of Disney comics and movies, fostered his dream of someday working for the Walt Disney Studios and, in 1976, he began his career at Disney as Creative Director for their Consumer Products Division. Designing Disney merchandise for the national market, Duerrstein worked alongside many of the foremost animation artists of the 20th Century, including Ward Kimbal and Marc Davis...(and Chuck Jones of Warner Bros.) For the next 22 years, Dick had the opportunity to use his talent in many diverse ways, developing his own unique style that is prevalent in his paintings today.

Dick's experiences at gave him a world-class sense of design. His artwork has adorned everything from record album covers and clothing to fine collectible items such as cel portfolios, art glass and furniture. Some of his published works include a series of three children's books and a fine art serigraph series of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.

At home in his studio, Dick begins each painting by simply layering each aspect of the character, color by color, so that each painting expands beyond character interpretation. Working primarily on canvas in acrylics and oil pastels, his striking, contemporary style brings his images to life in a dramatic and unforgettable fashion. The vibrant colors and bold brushwork of his art create a sense of movement, excitement and reverence for the creative process. He truly enjoys the process of discovery involved in the conception and execution of his paintings, knowing that he can bring his imagination to life on the canvas for all to share.

Duerrstein's works can be found in the Walt Disney Studio corporate offices, The Library of Congress and St. Jude's Research Hospital and private collections worldwide. Currently his work is seen in "The Art of Mickey Mouse" exhibition traveling through Japan.

"I approach each painting, each character with the awe of a child, but the memories and skills of an adult and consequently, I hope that my artworks inspire in the viewer that wondrous sense of magical thinking that Disney imbued each of his characters with and that has made them such classic icons of American cinema. Having spent much of my career in my dream-job at Disney Studios, this new opportunity to interpret and to paint the characters is freighted with much more meaning than is possible to express in words, so I'll let my art do the talking for me."