Like a hammer to a carpenter or ball to an athlete, from the time Ryan Kirby first picked up a paintbrush, there was no question what his craft would be. Kirby was born an artist. And once old enough to venture deep into the woods of the family farm, his subject quickly became wild things.

Wild sunsets. Wild rivers. Wild animals.

It takes a trained eye to recreate the way sunlight bounces off a deer antler, or to perfectly place a thousand feathers as a tom turkey lunges forward into a thunderous gobble. For Kirby, the training takes place on his hunting adventures – each morning in the field used as a time to watch, listen and learn.

From the wilds of Alaska, to the Rocky Mountains, to the Heartland of his home state of Illinois, Kirby has traveled far and wide to see fur, feathers, trees and water differently than the rest of us…and the same. The same adrenaline that’s pulsed through the veins of hunters for generations is what makes Kirby tick. Only his purpose for being there is different. He is an artist - charged by God to preserve on canvas His wild places and wild things.

There’s a spiritual connection between the brush, the animal and the scene. Through Kirby’s hand, moments in time are captured forever – to be re-lived by those who gaze upon the canvas.

Maybe you’ve been here before. Or maybe you long to see these sights and sounds for yourself. Either way, Ryan Kirby’s art is painted for you.