Daily Inspiration: Meet Gregory Mayse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Mayse.

Hi Gregory, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I rode my grandfather’s horses when I was young. I played Cowboys and Indians. I watched Gunsmoke, John Wayne westerns and the original TV show The Wild, Wild West. So it is no wonder that I finally circled back to my love for the Old West. Nowadays, I travel to photograph reenactors dressed in authentic western clothing and gear from the 1800’s and early 1900’s and paint from these references. A couple of times a year, I spend a long weekend either at a 15,000-acre ranch in South Dakota or a reconstructed western town in Kansas. These cherished times are filled with horses, wranglers, cattle, dogs, mules, wagons, stagecoaches, cowboys, cowgirls, Native Americans, mountain men, prairie families and even shady snake oil salesmen. In a typical four day photoshoot, myself and several other artists guide these reenactors in simple-to-complex scenes. I feel much like I am directing scenes on a movie set. You may start your day with a basic setup of a cowboy on his horse eyeing the sunrise and then find yourself shooting a full-on fight scene that starts with six cowboys in a saloon that spills out into the street. All the time I think what a great painting this scene will make. This is why I love what I do. I am fortunate to be able to combine my former career as a professional photographer with my current career as a painter. This experience helps me in composing a scene, getting the model in the right pose, getting the lighting right, and capturing the best series of images for painting references. I went for a commercial art degree and wanted to be an illustrator or animator. After my first basic camera course in college, I was hooked on photography.

That road led me to being a part-time photographer and eventually opening my own studio in Sandusky, Ohio in the mid 90’s. I have photographed over 300 weddings and thousands of family and high school senior portraits. I’ve photographed professional athletes, musicians, actors, shot stills for a Civil War documentary and spent the day photographing Miss America. After moving to Colorado in 2001, I began to focus on wildlife and landscape photography. I sold my prints in galleries around Colorado and at juried fine art fairs. In 2008 I even won the Editor’s Photo of the Month award from BBC Wildlife Magazine in the UK for an image of a bullsnake with a trout in its mouth. Fast forward to 2011! I decided to pick up the paintbrushes again to see what I could create. It had been 30 years since I last painted in college. Because I had an endless supply of wildlife images, I started painting from them. Looking back, I see that I was destined to paint the American West. The first painting I sold was of a horse and the first award I received was for a painting of a steer wrestler at a rodeo. Some of my best-selling photos were also of horses.

In 2017, I decided to shift my focus from painting wildlife to western life. This leads me to today and the western photoshoots and western art galleries. In May of last year, I was interviewed and featured on NPR station KCUR out of Kansas City while at a photoshoot at American Frontier Productions. I currently am fortunate to have my paintings hanging in galleries in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as a variety of juried fine art shows. I started Wolf River Studio in 2016 in the studio loft of my home in Fort Collins. There are a lot of great artists living in Northern Colorado. In 2020 I finished about 25 paintings, with many of them now hanging in galleries. Some are here, still drying, some are waiting for frames to be built. The group of western artists and models I have come to know is a unique cast of characters. I am honored to call them friends. For the future, I plan on completing more story-telling paintings of western culture. To keep on enjoying the sound of boots with spurs walking down the boardwalk in a sleepy western town, the thundering hoofbeats of a herd of horses charging past me and the sight of cowboys riding off into the glowing sunset. My journey continues with a camera and paintbrushes in hand.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Is the road of life ever smooth? It may let you think it is, but just around the next turn is a speed bump or a real setback. My life has been a creative one. I have worked as a feature writer, photographer, illustrator, and graphic designer. Suppose if I could fit another creative job in there it would be musician. I have played guitar since I was ten and still do every day. Not having a formal fine arts education had made it challenging in the early stages of my painting career. It probably took me longer to figure how to paint something correctly, but I did get it worked out. I am not a perfectionist, but I do work to improve my skills in each painting.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
My paintings are available by contacting myself as well as the following galleries. www.gregorymayse.com (970) 412-3600 Western Stars Gallery in Lyons, CO westernstarsgallery.com Powder River Art Gallery in Cheyenne, WY powderriverartgallery.net

Contact Info:

• Email: gregory@gregorymayse.com
• Website: www.gregorymayse.com
• Phone: (970) 412-3600
• Instagram: gregory mayse fine art
• Facebook: Wolf River Studio

Image Credits
Wolf River Studio Julie Denesha, KCUR.