Best Out West by R. Tom Gilleon, available from Snow Goose Gallery.

"You can still find this elevator standing outside of Big Timber, Montana,” begins Tom Gilleon, "but the beautiful artwork is gone. The corrugated metal on which it was painted has fallen away, revealing the aged and weathered wooden structure beneath.

"I’d like to imagine that this Montana grain elevator artwork was the inspiration for the cowboy on the bucking bronco we associate with the state of Wyoming as opposed to the other way around. The most widely recognized version first showed up on Wyoming license plates in the 1930s. There is a big debate in Wyoming as to the horse pictured (is it Red Wing, Steamboat or Deadman?) and who the rider is (Guy Holt or "Stub” Farlow?). The Wyoming National Guard has had its own version since WWI and the University of Wyoming got theirs in the 1920s. What if the cowboy and horse are Big Timber locals and that all the other designs were inspired by the site of this magnificent Montana artifact? That would be a neat story.”

Renowned for his contemporary vision of the Old West, Gilleon weds perfectly representative and abstract art. Most of his compositions are simply a series of vibrant triangles, squares, circles and rectangles. His seamless blend of graphic art and classic representational storytelling has collectors snatching up his artwork as soon as it becomes available. Best Out West is presented as a gallery-wrapped edition of only 25 pieces. 

Released December 2011