Artwork by Chuck Gilliam

Artwork Defining an artist

Mr. Gilliam was born into a military family. This offered him an opportunity to travel and see much of this country. These travels afforded him a great source of materials on which he has based his illustrative works; and provided him insight into his new vocation, writing. With three children of his own, he has only added to his resources for illustrations and writings. Plus, many years of working as a professional illustrator and graphic designer, he has found himself in a position of determining images and words to sell an idea.

Thirty-seven years ago Charles moved to Texas. There he found the subject he wanted to portray the most – the West, with its cowboys and horses. The sights and sounds excited him and he worked to capture it on paper. And so it began and has continued up to this day.

Several years ago he began to work in color pencil. This medium allows for a great flexibility in execution. Details give you something to hang on to, at the same time allowing you room to write your own story as you look at the painting. And these pieces are “paintings” in every sense of the word.

As a fine artist, Mr. Gilliam has had gallery and museum showings. He has shown with the Texas Wild Bunch and participated in many outdoor art shows

“The talent of each artist is the result of his own inspiration and his own study of past tradition.”
Gustave Courbet

And finally,
Why does an artist paint the West?
The sound of a thundering herd of wild mustangs.
The sound of bawling calves and mooing cows.
The sound of whistling and “yeeha” at a roundup.
The sound of creaking leather as the cowboy sits in the saddle in the quiet evening.
All of these sounds bring up images that push an artist to paint, to realize these are images worth sharing.
The Spirit of the West represents so much of what life has to offer. A story worth telling. A story worth sharing with others. So, what is the challenge in painting these images? Color, light, texture are all incremental elements that need to be shown. To bring such life to the observer can only be a driving desire of an artist to portray. To share this message is why an artist paints the West.

Chuck Gilliam

chuckgilliamartist.com