GARY LYNN ROBERTS (American, b. 1953). Last Chance for Supplies. Oil on canvas. 30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm). Signed...

Description

GARY LYNN ROBERTS (American, b. 1953)
Last Chance for Supplies
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
Signed lower left: Gary Lynn Roberts / ©

Gary Lynn Roberts has had many artistic influences on his career as a painter of historic western scenes. Perhaps the most important was his father, Joe Rader Roberts, who was a well known western painter in his own right. As a teenager in Austin, Texas, Gary had the advantage of tutelage from his father, but also from some other very notable artists who frequently stopped by his father's studio including G. Harvey, A.D. Greer, and Dalhart Windberg. As a young developing artist, Roberts was able to incorporate a little of the techniques and styles of each of these mentors. In addition to that first hand instruction, he has also drawn inspiration from the great illustrators of the early twentieth century such as N.C. Wyeth, W.H.D. Koerner, Harvey Dunn, and others.

He has taken all of those influences and adapted them to his own unique style. He primarily works in themes from the historic West, particularly the 1870s and 1880s. While he is careful to research the facts of the time period, he says his work is more about telling a good story than being absolutely faithful to historic details. He has said, in fact, that his first and foremost job is to place his viewers in the midst of an interesting and comparative narrative, just as those early illustrators were able to do in their work.

For much of his early career, he focused on the stories and history of his native Texas, however, for the last several years, he has shifted his attention to the northern Rockies. He first traveled to the area, when he was invited to participate in the annual auction benefiting the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. After participating in the event for several years, he eventually moved there and now lives and works in the small town of Hamilton, Montana. Last Chance for Supplies combines all of Roberts's interests and favorite elements. The scene is a snow covered clearing in the northern Rockies. Roberts places the viewer in the middle of an unfolding story showing four cowboys, three mounted and one driving the chuck wagon, on their way to town for one last trip before the winter snows will make that trip impossible. Always the storyteller, Roberts adds a touch of sentimentality with the addition of the cowboy's dog, who is also along for the trip.


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