Gary Lynn Roberts

For his first Civil War print, lifelong Texas resident Gary Lynn Roberts put on his traveling shoes.  He gathered up his oils and canvas and headed for a Civil War reenactment in Eastern Kentucky, where he set up a tent of his own.

"I painted in the rain, underneath a tent,' he says.  'It was raining the whole time I was there.  But I believe strongly in painting from real life events."

The dedication to getting things right, including the feeling of the moment, is a hallmark of Roberts' style.  The son of noted Western artist Joe Rader Roberts, Gary Lynn grew up in an atmosphere permeated by art.  "I was fortunate to grow up in that atmosphere' he says.  "In addition to my father, I received one on one training from many of his friends such as G. Harvey and A.D. Greer to mention, only a couple.  Many of my trainers were some of the Nation's most notable artists'.

Roberts, whose paintings are in some of the most prestigious collections across the U.S., has been holding major one-man shows since he was 22.  He has also had many commissioned artworks, including a series of paintings for the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

"It's important for me to depict a feeling in a painting,” Roberts says.  "I want to do more than create a historically correct scene; I want to tell a story.  When someone views one of my paintings, I want them to feel like they are part- of the painting.”

Roberts says his style is a mix of Realism and Impressionism.   'What It's called is 'effect' painting,' he says.  'You create the mood, and you don't get overly concerned about things like needles on a pine tree.  I didn't want to paint exactly like my father.  You can definitely see his influence, however, because I admired his work so much.  But my paintings are different because I studied with other artists.  I took what I liked from each and molded it into my style.”

Other artistic training influences his work, particularly scenes from the Civil War.  Roberts has done magazine illustration for 20 years, and that experience shows.  'I always admired the Saturday Evening Post illustrators, especially W. H. D. Koerner' says Roberts.  'I feel that painting specific battle scenes with individual people involved is a real challenge.  When you have to depict a specific scene, your artistic hands are tied to a time of day, weather conditions, the color of the horses, the uniforms and etc.  You have to compose a painting within the guidelines of historical accuracy.  I admire this about illustration.  The artist's job is more difficult, but at the same time more rewarding.'

The transition from Western to Civil War art was a natural for Roberts.  A love of history is essential to both.  For Roberts, there is another link: horses.  Roberts has trained horses and ridden in rodeos, which has given him an instinctive feel for how horses behave with riders.  'Horses have a personality, and they behave certain ways under certain conditions.  It's the same, no matter if they are being ridden by cowboys or generals.' he says.

Nowadays, Roberts divides his time equally between Western and Civil War art.  He says 'What intrigues me most about the Civil War are the individuals involved.  The day to day hardships they endured were tremendous and made just staying alive a challenge.  I am especially fascinated with the exploits of Forrest, Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, Stuart, Morgan, and Armistead to name a few.  What they accomplished with the meager resources they had available to them still amazes most Historians.”