Behind-the-scenes interview with Randal and his 2021 Prix de West works
As an artist who both paints and sculpts, Randal M. Dutra believes, “an artist’s work reflects his particular commitment to life. The fuller the life, the richer the art produced. One must gain as great a variety of knowledge as possible, understanding his subjects in both character and form. I go to the source … nature.”
Dutra began his formal art career studying under Clarence Tillenius at the Okanagan Game Farm in British Columbia, Canada, from 1975 to 1984, drawing, painting and sculpting animals from life. He studied figure drawing and sculpture at the Art Students League in New York City in 1977. In 1978, he studied painting with Robert Lougheed, one of the founders of the National Academy of Western Art, forerunner of the Prix de West.
Dutra has served as a sculpture instructor for the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, California. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for visual effects: for the 1997 film “Jurassic Park: The Lost World” and the 2005 film “War of the Worlds.”
