Lovin' Montana Livin'
Afton Ray-Rossol

I'm a Montana native, born and raised in the rural community of Sidney.  My hometown is located on the eastern end of the state near the North Dakota border in a river valley of rolling hills, plains, and badlands.  I'm very passionate about my experiences in big sky country & feel very blessed to live where I do.  As an artist, I look at the world differently, things that someone else might not look twice at just might be what I'm looking at as a possible art subject.  I even have a tendency to draw things out in my mind as I am looking at them.
I  especially enjoy doing portraiture.  I always start with the eyes, my favorite to draw of all, & build out from there.  Immediately the picture comes to life.  I offer custom artwork & portraits and enjoy those projects very much.  It makes me feel pretty good to create a picture for someone of whatever it or who it is that they obviously care quite a bit about and see their reaction when they get to see the picture for the first time. 
I have worked with several different mediums & styles but just recently feel like I have really discovered who I am as an artist.  I let go and did a little exploring and my own personal style of art naturally just came out.  You can see some of my new art pieces by clicking on Artworks on the tool bar or by following the link.  I have been artistic all of my life and there was never a question of what I wanted to be as an adult because growing up I already knew what I was.  My father, Gary, is also an artist and when I was a child one of our favorite past times was drawing and doodling together.  It might have been on his lap in the easy chair or on a napkin at the local cafe.  My grandmothers were also especially good at keeping arts and crafts supplies around for when I visited.  And my mother was also a large influence artistically to me.  She taught me how to draw boxes and hearts, but that was pretty much all she could draw.  She is however quite good at decorating & fashion and that really added to my artistic bundle visually.    I attended art classes growing up and went to college on an Art scholarship.  I am a homebody however and wanted to stay near to what I hold so dear.  I am married to my high school sweetheart, Chris, and we have a little girl, Rhett Jacen.  We also have 3 dogs that are very entertaining.  In our home, I operate a framing and matting business, The GalleRay.  I offer custom framing, matting, artwork, hand-painted glassware"Good Times Glass Art" , originals & prints, shrink wrapping, & a little bit of this & that.  I also have done several wall murals.  I'm pretty much open to any kind of art project.  In late 2007 I started offering professional face painting for parties, events, & fund raisers.  It has been a lot of fun & people have really been enjoying it.  You may run in to me here and there at area arts & crafts shows & festivals or even at a county fair.  The Lord has blessed me with the incredible gift of art & I am very thankful to be making a living with it.
I'd like to invite you at this time to sign up for my email newsletter.  I don't send them out too often, just to announce a new print or entrances in local shows.  I also have a Blog on this site where you can leave comments and I sometimes list special offers there.  Also, find me on facebook and Twitter!  My artwork is on the site in collections that are broke into New Works, Originals, Art Prints,  Custom Art, Good Times Glass Art, & Face Painting just click on Artworks on the tool bar & it will get you to the collections.  I hope you enjoy browsing.  I really appreciate your attention to my art.  If you would like to email me click on the "Contact Me" option in the Navigation Bar or follow this link. 
Thanks Always