Featured Artist - Gary Morton


Western painter, Gary Morton, sometimes likes to joke about breaking into the art business by saying, "I've been turned down by the best". While that could have been a truthful statement early in his career, Morton can now talk about the flip side of the coin - the fact that his work hangs in the most prestigious of locations. For instance, a four foot by eight foot oil entitled "The Simple Pleasures of New Mexico" was commissioned by the New Mexico State Legislature for inclusion in the permanent collection which hangs in the State Capitol Building in Santa Fe. Morton is also a regular participant in the Wyoming Governor's Invitational Show in Cheyenne which is held as a part of their "Frontier Days Celebration", and a number of his paintings were recently displayed at the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, TX as part of their "Trappings of Texas" exhibition.

Morton is primarily a self-taught artist who has honed his talent by spending numerous hours drawing the images he has experienced first hand. A cowboy at heart, Morton earned his livelihood as a ranch hand for more than ten years, wrangling primarily on the Bell Ranch in Northern New Mexico, where he eventually earned the position of wagon boss, the number two job on the spread.

Although he is now a full time artist, Morton still spends at least six weeks out of the year working as a ranch hand. "My greatest joy in the art business is going to these ranches", he relates. "It gives me a chance to enjoy the camaraderie of these special men, and to keep the images of their work sharp in my mind".

Multi-talented, Morton also enjoys participating in Cowboy Poetry Gatherings.  He has written four or five of his own poems, but for the most part he likes to recite other poet's works.