A love for the American West

At the heart of each painting is an indelible fondness of the American West.  When I was a child my father took our family on adventures across the western United States.  We would load up a 1971 GMC Jimmy and head west from our home state of Arkansas.  By the time I was six I had traveled from the Badlands of South Dakota to Leadville's Silver Dollar Saloon, and just about every stop in between... including countless abandoned silver mines & ghost towns scattered throughout the Rocky Mountains.  

My folks would take us West every year as often as they could.  I spent my childhood reliving these experiences in a pair of old leather cowboy boots.  The images of the westward trips never faded for me.  And they surfaced vividly as my art evolved.  I began painting in 1998, when my kids were young, as I longed for a hobby to help ease the stress of raising a family in modern times.  My outlet eventually crossed paths with my love for the Rocky Mountains, which fueled my passion for becoming a professional artist.  

Everything about the West fascinates me:  the frontier,  the folklore, the desert canyons, the quaking aspens, the magnificent wildlife, the resilient western people, and those majestic Rocky Mountains.  The West encompasses the true American spirit of adventure, freedom and life without limits or boundaries.  As a professional artist, I strive to bring the authenticity and wonder of the western experience to each painting.   I spend most of my time in my studio or traveling the Rocky Mountain states in search of the next great painting idea.  My wife, Sandra, and I still live in Arkansas as we continue raising the last of our our six kids, some of whom are now grown. Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy my work.

Jeff McKay