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Metal Wall Arts Gallery

Contemporary Heat Colored Metal Wall Art Originals

Decorative metal wall art is perfect for the dining room. Heat-colored steel engraving is one of the more unique metal wall arts.
There's nothing like finding the perfect metal wall art original for your project and hanging it in its new home.

Welcome to my online metal wall art gallery.

The metal artworks for sale on this page are currently in stock and ready to ship or available by custom order specially sized to fit your space.

Whether you’re looking for large-scale, impactful metal wall art or for more intimate metal wall accents, you’ll find a wide selection of contemporary originals by metal artist Jeff Dean.

Decorating with Metal Wall Art

An example of wood and metal wall art made by heat coloring steel. The 12' wide metal mural depicts a native hunter watching at a seal's breathing hole in front of a rising seal moon. Created when Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corp. decided to commission art for the new health center in Bethel, AK.

Decorating with metal wall art creates a world of possibilities for collectors and interior designers. Metal wall art offers visual effects impossible to achieve using other materials, changing its character with variations in light and viewing angle to bring a range of moods to any room. 

I make my colorful metal wall art originals using heat colors and decorative grinding techniques. Because they patina the steel without obscuring its unique metallic qualities, heat colors enhance the decorative grinding textures, which bring the artwork to life. 

There’s nothing like seeing how they change as you move past them, but this video will give you a sense of the dynamic effects achievable with these heat-colored metal or wood and metal artworks.

The Dynamic Effects of Heat Colored Steel Metal Wall Art

In essence, my grinder is my paintbrush. I use it to create texture and effects like transparency, movement, form, and depth as a base for the heat colors I apply to the steel.

As you will see, I make much of my metal wall art with wood as a contrast. I love incorporating wooden elements in my wall art. The character of the carved and textured wood provides a perfect complement to the metal.  

As the metal wall arts encompass works made using various techniques, patina methods, and a range of artistic styles, choosing the perfect original begins with finding an artist with whom you resonate.

I often blend figurative and abstract forms in my metal art. Many pieces are pictorial and could be considered paintings on metal, though I use heat colors rather than pigments for my artistic palette.

Though you’ll find other metal wall artists using heat colors in their work, few combine advanced heat-coloring methods with decorative grinding techniques to make metalwork paintings as I do.

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One of a Kind and Limited Edition Original Metal Wall Art

Our Gallery in Homer, Alaska

Though I spend most of my studio time working on commissioned metal art for individuals, businesses, and public art projects, I also find time to create my unique ‘metal paintings’ for The Dean Gallery here at our place in Homer, Alaska, and have them available here in my online metal art gallery.

My heat-colored steel wall art, metal and wood wall sculptures, and larger metal murals are available as one-of-a-kind or limited edition originals.

As they are not inexpensive, and I make a limited number each year, I reproduce images of my metal art as sheer satin metal photo prints to make them available in different sizes to a broader audience.

And if you don’t see the perfect piece for your setting, with 40+ years of experience as a professional metal artist, I can create original metal wall decor that complements your setting and aesthetic vision.

A view across the Dean Gallery in Homer Alaska to my heat-colored metal wall art, 'The Way of the Mammoth.' The Dean Gallery features art by Alaska metal artist, Jeff Dean, my wife Ranja, and our daughter M'fanwy.

If you live in Alaska and are looking for Alaska metal art, you can view my work in person at The Dean Gallery here in Homer, AK.

Decorating with Metal Wall Art

I’ve been making metal and wood wall art since the early ’80s. My article, ‘Colored Metal Wall Art, Four Decades in the Studio,’ has many examples if you’re wondering about ways to decorate with metal wall art.

This photo shows a large round octopus engraving framed with a wooden disc hanging in the open stairwell.

The natural light from the adjacent window shows the metallic colors well as you climb the stairs.

Commissioning Custom Metal Wall Art

If you don’t see what you’re looking for or need one of my designs in a size to fit your space, look over my commission’s page to discover the benefits of ordering custom metal wall art and sculpture.

'Seal Moon Rising,' a 12' wide heat-colored steel engraving commissioned by the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation Health Center in Bethel Alaska.

My Metal Art Process

As a metal artist, I make my heat-colored steel wall art and wood and metal wall art using techniques I’ve developed over the last few decades to create single and multi-layered steel wall art.

I engrave and grind designs into sheet steel using carefully chosen abrasives to define and model forms, create a sense of depth and suggest movement. My grinder is my paintbrush, while my color palette consists of heat colors made by heating the steel artwork with a large torch.

I use this innovative technique to produce pieces with a dynamic visual effect that changes with the light and viewing angle.

Variations in natural and artificial lighting highlight the metallic effects, giving each work an extensive range of characteristics unique to the medium.

You can read about how I got started working as a metal artist, see more examples of the various types of wall-hung metal art I make, and get ideas for the places you might consider displaying metal wall art in this article.

Original proposal drawing for 'Seal Moon Rising' along with the finished metal art.
An example of wood and metal wall art made by heat coloring steel. The 12' wide metal mural depicts a native hunter watching at a seal's breathing hole in front of a rising seal moon. Created when Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corp. decided to commission art for the new health center in Bethel, AK.
This design aspires to convey the age-old patience of the hunter and the elusiveness of the seal. A man kneels near his kayak on a barren ice flow, patiently watching the water through a well-worn breathing hole. This piece was created when the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation decided to commission art for the new health center in Bethel, Ak.
Working in the studio on a large metal wall art commission for a hospital titled, Seal Moon Rising.
The 12' wide metal art I made for the Bethel, AK hospital was large enough that I had to do the grinding in a vertical position.

This timelapse video shows one of the later heats when heat coloring ‘The Last Mammoth’ organic abstract metal wall art.

Large Metallic Wall Art for Denali State Park

You can read about my public art projects in my blog. ‘Through Your Spotting Scope,’ my first ‘big’ public art commission. I made the large metal mural using decorative grinding and heat coloring techniques. The curved wooden boarders are joined from many sections of reclaimed Douglas fir. It’s installed on a protected wall under the sprawling roof of Kesugi Ken Interpretive Center. You can see some good photos of the beautiful building on the structural engineer’s website.

"He exceeded the expectations of all involved in the project."

• Through Your Spotting Scope

"Jeff Dean was a pleasure to work with and provided an exceptional piece of artwork months ahead of schedule.

His website was used to provide real-time updates, detailing every step of the process. 

I was most impressed with his ability to collaborate with the client and design artwork which synergized with the vision and purpose of the Interpretive Center facility. 

He exceeded the expectations of all involved in the project."

Jeff Dean stands beside Through Your Spotting Scope, recently installed at teh new Kesugi Ken Interpretive Center.
Eric Hershey, P.E.
Project Manager
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Final installation steps for 'Through Your Spotting Scope' at Kesugi Ken Interpretive Center in Denali National Park. Large outdoor metal wall mural with curved wood frame
Final installation steps for 'Through Your Spotting Scope' at Kesugi Ken Interpretive Center in Denali National Park. Large outdoor metal wall mural with curved wood frame.

Decorative Metal Art for Tabletops

Although I make most of my decorative metal art as wall pieces, much of it is also suited for display horizontally. The colors and grinding textures catch the light beautifully in this orientation.

I’ve made a number of decorative tables over the years, which you can read about in this article. If you’re short of wall space or are looking for a coffee table, dining table, bar, or conference table, a decorative table is a great way to incorporate heat-colored steel metal art into your decor.

"My family and I have come to treasure this work not only for its beauty but for what it has evolved over time to represent in our Alaskan home. "

• Denali Table

"My family and I have enjoyed the beautiful creativity of Jeff Dean's artistic production in our home for nearly 20 years. This has been in the form of the "Denali Table" which depicts various Alaskan wildlife pictured on iron set over a gorgeous wood table with metal coasters set around the table's periphery depicting the "foot prints" of all the pictured wildlife. This piece has been the topic of so many joyful conversations and memories and truly has forged lifetime memories for so many. I value this piece more than any other work of art in our home. My family and I have come to treasure this work not only for its beauty but for what it has evolved over time to represent in our Alaskan home. Thank you so much Jeff for sharing your gift with all of us!"

Denali National Park; the mountains, rivers, animals and animal tracks. Engraved steel  saw blade metal wall art with heat tints.
Jim Tamai MD,
Fairbanks, AK
I've used what could have worked as metal wall art as a decorative coffee tabletop. Denali National Park; the mountains, rivers, animals and animal tracks. Engraved steel saw blade with heat tints.
I've used what could have worked as metal wall art as a decorative coffee tabletop. Denali National Park; the mountains, rivers, animals and animal tracks. Engraved steel saw blade with heat tints. on Alaskan birch table.
"The sculpture was better than we imagined it would be"


• At the Breathing Hole

"We commissioned Jeff Dean and Creative Fires studio to create a sculpture for our entryway. Jeff sat down and discussed the possibilities with us. We decided to have him create “At the breathing hole” to be done with a combination of wood and steel.

We can’t believe how wonderful it turned out. The sculpture was better than we imagined it would be. Jeff sent us pictures throughout the process so we could “watch” it being created and also invited us to his workshop to see the progress.

We highly recommend Jeff for any work you wish done. His talent and creativity are amazing and we are extremely pleased with the work he has done for us."

Keith and Melissa Kenaston
Owners, Crane's Rest B&B
A lone polar bear and arctic fox watch silently as a seal rises to it's breathing hole in this multi-layered wood and metal wall art.
A lone polar bear and arctic fox watch silently as a seal rises to it's breathing hole in this multi-layered wood and metal wall art.
Engraved and heat tinted steel metal wall art of a fishing bear and raven in an Appalachian rhododendron thicket.

Some of my first sculptures were wood carvings and I was carving with wood and making wood sculptures long before I discovered metal wall art.

As you can see from many works in my metal wall art gallery, wood is an excellent complement to metal in wall art. The softer feel and warm finish are a perfect contrast to the metallic character of the steel.

Juxtaposing wooden elements with metal shapes in my metal wall sculptures creates contrast and often helps the artwork to harmonize with the surrounding architecture.

I sometimes use metallic pigment powders to stain the wood giving the three-dimensional forms a slightly metallic appearance.

If you’re interested in the process and technical aspects of assembly, I’ve written all about how I make my wood and metal wall art in this article.

‘Fishing Bear with Raven’ was one of my first pieces of wood and metal art. It’s around 8′ tall with maple elements in contrast to the heat colored steel shapes.

Wood and Metal Wall Art

Metal Wall Arts Reproductions

Many of my contemporary metal art designs are available in a variety of sizes as affordable sheer matte metal prints. You’ll find them in my Metal Photo Print Gallery.

This design aspires to convey the age-old patience of the hunter and the elusiveness of the seal. A man kneels near his kayak on a barren ice flow, patiently watching the water through a well-worn breathing hole.

Learning to Make Heat Colored Metal Wall Art

Wire brushing around a ghostly mammoth in one of the grinding and heat coloring sequences making The Way of the Mammoth.
At work on 'The Way of the Mammoth' wall piece.

If you are a metal artist and want to learn to make heat-colored steel wall art or level up your decorative grinding and heat-coloring skills, check out my online course.

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