Derek Guyer is a rare artist. He is currently one of only two known artists in the world who etch pictures in leather by hand. His talent in this area is truly extraordinary and it has gained him worldwide exposure, yet he has had no formal training on the technique. In fact, he happened upon the idea by pure accident when he accidentally nicked a piece of leather with his knife. He began playing as he saw the colors changing with his simple scratches. Before he knew it, he was custom dyeing cowhides and re-creating family photographs. His ability to create a photo-realitic etching in a small area was steadily increasing. 

Derek is not only gifted in leather art, but also in music and drama. He has won numerous awards for his singing abilities. Most of his awards have fallen into the barbershop genre of music. He has also recorded five acapella albums with some of his family members. Singers.com praised these albums by saying, “These inspirational hymns are consistently fine.” 

Derek is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He can be seen in the movie Cookie’s Fortune acting alongside many big name actors such as Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Ned Beaty, Charles S. Dutton and Oscar Winner Patricia Neal.

Most of Derek’s drive and motivation for art and music was given to him by his mother. She was an inspiring force of creativity in his life that pushed him further into exploring his Godgiven talents. However, at the age of 14, Derek lost his mother to cancer and, along with her, he lost his desire to create. 

Many years later, Derek is now a husband and a father to 5 beautiful children. Through his wife and children, he has regained his inspiration to use his  creative mind and talents once more. Whether etching leather, teaching his children to create, or performing for a live audience with any one of his talents, Derek relies heavily on his faith in Christ and on prayer to help him to use his talents in the way that God created him to do it.

After rediscovering his love of art and creating, Derek has etched countless pictures into leather. Yet, his favorite subjects to etch have become those that are drawn from history, especially American history. The intricate details and the lifelikeness in his etchings are admired from art enthusiasts and historians alike. One history buff described one of his recent Abraham Lincoln etchings as “absolutely breathtaking.”

With every etching, Derek discovers new techniques and details that make his pieces even more refined and exquisite. He loves to learn these new ideas, and he hopes that he is always able to use his many talents for the glory of God.

All images are copyrighted by Derek Guyer 2014. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.