Gary Byrd - Fine Art
The American West is much more than epic landscapes that capture our imaginations - it’s a set of ideals. From hard-working American grit to being a good neighbor, loyal to your loved ones, and striving to build a better life. The West helped define our country and is still a beacon of what life could be. That's why we still journey the Tetons and stand in wonder. It’s why a sunset over the Arizona desert still leaves us breathless. It’s easy to imagine how life was and easier still to long for those days in spite of their difficulties.
Running into an old friend when you move to another state is more than chance. So when I found Gary Byrd, a long-time friend and fellow landman from Oklahoma, in Northern New Mexico I knew something was weaving our stories together. It turns out we both were drawn to the American West, and were seeking to portray its stories in our art. For Gary, he has found that outlet with his brush and for myself, my writing and performances.
Gary has been painting since 1993 and has studied under renown artists such as Greg Beecham, John Seerey-Lester, Martin Grelle, Dustin Van Wechel, Chad Poppleton, Charles Dayton and Jim Wilcox. His work focuses on the people, animals, and landscape of the American West and he is frequently on tour across the country. Collectors, like myself, find inspiration in his work as each, no matter the subject, invites you into a story you get to play out in your mind.
Living in New Mexico provides unlimited sources of inspiration for my writing. However, there’s something special about being in my home, drinking my morning coffee, and getting to take in Gary’s work. I often find myself wondering what it must have been like to discover the West for the first time as it was centuries ago. Did people know what they would encounter as they set off for better lives over the Rocky Mountains? Did they know their encounters with new tribes would be forging history? What must it be like to see places like Utah after months traveling through the plains!
I like to call myself the Unlikely Cowboy because I truly did stumble upon this love for the Cowboy Spirit and the American West. The beauty of this moniker is it serves as a universal welcoming call to adopt its ideals and feel the inspiration in the American West. A call for you to discover how to embody it in your own life. Not everyone is going to be spending summers herding cattle or baling hay. Not everyone will learn how to rope or maybe even get to saddle their own horse. But there’s something more to the American West for us to appreciate, even if it’s for a few days as we drive across the West. That’s what Gary’s work represents to me and it has been a pleasure becoming familiar with his work.
It’s always humbling to hear how my poetry touches people from all walks of life. I have to imagine, hearing about Gary’s collectors and the shows he attends, that he too must find similar satisfaction in embarking on this mission to preserve and share the stories of the American West, one painting at a time.
To see more of gary’s work, visit his website and be sure to follow him on facebook & instagram!
Texas Sunset
He said “Son get yourself in this pickup truck,
And I’ll treat you to a special event.”
Stuck behind that windshield all day
I was feel’n ‘Bout three quarters spent.
But, we load’d up and took off for his spread,
as shadows stretched cross the road,
N’ he recalled a tale ‘bout the”Rock’n Chair Ranch,”
as my surrounding began to erode.
As we stood there facing the western sky,
sun rest’n on the saddleback rim,
The wind laid down to noth’n at all,
then he turned, tugged his hat by the brim
And said “SOn, when things aren’t going my way
and my match I think I’ve met,
noth’n gets me lined out and think’n straight
like listen’n to a texas sunset.”
We stood there silent under that sky
and watched the first star appear.
a hoot owl called from the shelter belt,
then silence was all i could hear.
In a rush it seemed stars filled the sky,
and the starlight whispered down;
just barely enough to see things close,
on the horizon the glow of some town.
though i can’t always get there in person,
I’ve relied on it many a time;
When this old world starts get’n me down,
and i know that im just about prime
to start to give in or go off the deep end,
on one thing, my friend, you can bet.
i’ll find me a nice quiet place to hole up,
and listen to a texas sunset.
The Trailer Showdown
My friend Julia learned that if you hang around me long enough you may find yourself in one of my poems. She took it in stride and even participated in making her poem into a video that will soon premier on Youtube: “The Trailer Showdown”
Bull Riding
He was beginning to think as he mixed a drink
Of a way to spice things up
When a bull caught his gaze through the evening haze
As he was filling his cup
He began to wonder bout that bull over yonder
In his mind he began to see
A puncher or a hack climbing onto his back
To find out what was to be.
As dinner was preparing a few were raring
To move this idea along
They fashioned together some panels with leather
To make a chute that was strong
With just a handle of rope they found some dope
To climb aboard the beast
When they pulled the gate to determine his fate
Nothin’ happened not in the least
So they fashioned some hackles around his testackles
Then cinched it up good and tight
They again pulled the chute and all let out hoot
The rider was in for a fight
From the beginning there was bucking and spinning
And fear in the cowboy's eyes
It soon became clear when the dirt meets the rear
That's where the real danger lies
Having seen what occurred was absolutely absurd
The talk now focused again
On the ticks of the clock once you’ve released the stock
To determine a rider’s win
So they counted to eight when they swung the gate
And most all of the riders found
That was hard to get done when attempting the run
Before ending up on the ground.
So now we find whiskey mixed up with risky
Is behind Rodeo’s main event.
Created by ones bored with an empty gourd
Now I’m pretty sure that’s how it went
So now you all know what has started this show
Of carless Cowboy pursuit
That has us enthralled till the rider is sprawled
Once they have opened the chute.
