“I want my paintings to be fun — for me and for collectors — and to evoke a rich nostalgia for things that may soon be gone,” says artist Chuck Middlekauff. “I hope viewers will be entertained and reminisce with me as I paint what I grasp from all that nostalgia, with puns and twists in the combinations of shapes, colors, textures, subjects, and titles.”
It’s a philosophy that radiates through every brushstroke. With a passion for the open road, classic rock and roll, and the cultural icons of America — especially the American West — Chuck says what he has to say with paint. His canvases hum with motion and memory, celebrating everything from cowboys and Route 66 diners to weathered neon signs and jukebox dreams.
“I’m fascinated by what cowboys do when they’re not chasing cows,” he laughs. “They perch on fences, play with yo-yos, fix bikes, eat M & Ms, or just hang out. I like that mix of grit and playfulness — jeans dusted from work, boots cracked from wear, and hats at just the right angle.”
Beyond the cowboy’s swagger, Middlekauff’s work bridges generations of Americana — old toys, faded billboards, vintage cars and trucks, and the luminous glow of roadside nostalgia. “As long as they’re old and weathered, or full of colors and textures, I’m in,” he says. “I love the rust on signs, the layered paint of barn wood, the worn patina that tells a story.”
That sense of story — part humor, part heart — defines his work. Roy Rogers might share the canvas with Marilyn Monroe. A cowboy might appear beside a soda machine or a neon motel sign. “By combining things that don’t necessarily go together — but could — I find my voice,” Chuck explains. “Like Norman Rockwell, one of my heroes, I want others to experience our culture and days gone by in a fresh, unusual way.”
That vision took root years ago when he was flipping through his sister’s old photo albums. “There was this shot — a cowboy from the knees down — and something about that perspective caught me,” he recalls. “It became my viewpoint: close-up, tight-cropped, in-your-face.”
A graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver, with a B.A. in Fine Art and honors in Graphic Design from the Colorado Institute of Art, Chuck’s background in advertising design gives him a keen sense of composition and storytelling. His early career in Los Angeles and Denver was spent creating commercial art before his creative spirit pulled him toward painting full-time. “Commercial art and pop culture are part of who I am,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll tuck a candy wrapper, a record, or a little piece of memorabilia right into a painting. It’s like a wink to the viewer.”
Today, Chuck’s work is represented by Sorrel Sky Gallery in Durango, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. 
He paints fast — acrylics for the bold edges, watercolors for the soft textures — often moving between several canvases at once. Lately, he’s even left parts of paintings intentionally unfinished, or incorporated his brushes, jar lids, and pencils right into the scene. “It’s like a painting of a painting in progress,” he laughs. “And when I’m almost done — that’s when I spatter. Drips, splashes — the more color, the better. It drives my wife Carol crazy, but it’s part of the fun.”
That shared joy is what keeps him painting. “I do my artwork for the love of it, for the fun of it, and to share what I see and feel,” he says. “I want my paintings to be fun for me and fun for collectors, while they evoke a rich nostalgia for things that may soon be gone.”
And in a world that often rushes past its own history, Chuck Middlekauff slows us down — long enough to smile, remember, and rediscover the wonder in the ordinary.
Publisher’s Note
In this first issue of Arts Perspective — themed Beginnings & First Inspirations — I wanted to feature artists like Chuck who remind us why we fall in love with art in the first place. His paintings feel like songs we know by heart: bright, familiar, and full of memory. They make us pause, grin, and maybe even hum along.
Here’s to those who keep the spirit of the American story alive — one brushstroke, one memory, one joyful splash of color at a time.
— Denise Leslie, Publisher & Editor, Arts Perspective
