EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 15 © 2016 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

41 Never has a title been more appropriately applied than the one for Andy Thomas’ book ‘The West in Action’. The compositions of Andy’s paintings capture the figures at an instant of sheer tension, anguish and sometimes desperation, giving you a feeling that he was not only present when such an event took place, but that he somehow managed to freeze that precise moment at its zenith, and painted it afterward. It’s almost as if the camera inside his mind snapped the shot for him, froze the frame and then let Andy unfold it before our eyes with his artistic talent. Andy Thomas was born on September 6, 1957, and grewup inCarthage, Missouri, where he still resides today. As a boy he had an unframed copy of Frederic Remington’s A Dash for Timber pinned to his bedroom wall. “That painting revealed a fascinating, and sometimes terrifying world that came alive in my mind,” Andy reminisces. “I could sense the men’s character. I could see the leathery texture of their chaps. I could feel the power of their horses. To me, it was a compelling story of human survival. Through his artistic creation, Remington had conjured a dramatic story that grabbed my imagination and holds it to this day.” It was not only the artistry behind Remington’s painting, but the storytelling quality too that would have such an impact and influence much of Andy’s work. However, Andy didn’t study painting. Instead, he