Gary Carter graduated from the Art Center College of Design in 1971 and was blessed to have great instructors who encouraged him to paint the West. He became friends with artists Joe Henninger, Don Putman and Reynold Brown.
He illustrated briefly then was offered a one-man show in Tucson, Arizona, which sold out and started his fine art career. While in Tucson he was invited to be the resident artist at Sun Ranch in the Madison Valley of southwest Montana. The ranch refurbished the bunkhouse to accommodate his studio. Gary, along with his Australian Shepherd Patches and Amos Moses, his “trick” cow horse, took up residence. It was a great learning experience, and he gained a cowboy’s perspective and fine-tuned his cowboy humor.
His interests are as diverse as hotrods, fly-fishing, trains, Bear Tooth pack trips, collecting historic artifacts, books and firearms, ranch work and painting for the CA Show. He’s been accused of having way too much fun!
Gary was adopted into the Crow Nation on June 25, 1991, as a member of the Real Bird Family and a member of the Big Lodge Clan. He was active in the Custer Battle re-enactment for years held at the Real Bird Ranch on the Little Big Horn River near Garryowen, Montana.
In 1982 he was accepted into the Cowboy Artists of America and in 1986 served as President of the organization. Gary lives with his wife, Marlys, in splendid isolation between Yellowstone National Park and Madison River ranches where he works hard to come up with new ideas and keep his “predicament” artist status alive.
