Kyle Ploehn is an artist, illustrator and writer living in Billings Montana. He likes to spend the few hours he isn't painting hiking the mountains of Montana.

When I moved from Billings to Seattle for school, one of the things that made me most homesick was the complete and utter lack of a Montanan winter season. It got gloomy and dark, but it never got cold and no snow fell. Winter had always been the herald for the cozy holiday season I adored spending in the mountains of the Little Snowies. Silent forests blanketed in thick muted white had been the backdrop to fire warmed cabins and endless hours of art my entire childhood. Upon returning to Montana, winter became a lost favorite season I greeted with open arms. Riders on the Storm was painted with the first major snow fall of the season as I watched the autumn colors blaze one final time before the winter swallowed them. I wanted to capture the melding of the seasons, while the last leaves still waver on the branches, but the storm above threatened and the glow of new snow fall makes the night sky orange. So the idea of horses driving at the edge of the season bringing the winter, but still being of fall, captured my interest and I began to do studies to compete with the impression I felt at the change of seasons. While winter is a silent and cozy time of holiday and family, it is also wild and beautiful.

The original is available for $1,200.

Prints are available. Contact me at [email protected], if you're interested in purchasing a print. Or stop by my website at http://kyleploehnart.com