An Illinois gun shop has found an unusual way to turn ordinary gun safes into works of art.
GameMasters in Quincy invited professional wildlife artist Ryan Kirby to hand-paint five Fort Knox safes with detailed images of wild animals, giving customers a chance to watch the artwork come to life inside the store.
According to WGEM, the project features five large gun safes decorated with paintings of mallards, pheasants, coyotes, elk and a whitetail buck. Each safe is being transformed into a one-of-a-kind piece ahead of deer season.
Kirby, who grew up near Hamilton, Illinois, is spending several days working on the custom wildlife paintings at the store. He has been a full-time wildlife artist for 15 years and already sells his artwork and prints through GameMasters.
The idea started when Trevor, the store’s owner, contacted Kirby over the summer. He reportedly wanted to find a creative way to turn standard gun safes into something customers would not normally see in a sporting goods store.
A customer shops for a pistol.Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Kirby welcomed the opportunity, especially because customers could watch him work instead of simply seeing the finished products.
“We can make a unique product and do something that people don’t see every day, and you can see it come together in person,” Kirby said, per WGEM.
Rather than working on a regular canvas, Kirby is painting directly on the large, glossy surfaces of the Fort Knox safes. The live art showcase has given shoppers a rare look at how an artist creates wildlife paintings on an unusual surface.
Ryan Kirby Turns 1,000-Pound Fort Knox Gun Safes Into Wildlife Art
Painting on a gun safe is different from working on a traditional canvas. One of the biggest challenges is the size and weight of the objects.
Some of the safes weigh between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds, making them much larger and heavier than the surfaces Kirby normally uses for his paintings.
“The biggest one is the scale. Some of these things weigh 1,000 to 1,500 pounds,” Kirby explained. “I’m used to painting on a white canvas with matte texture and absorbency. These are very shiny and gloss…Colors look differently based on a white or dark background, so those are things I have to figure out on the fly.”
The glossy metal also creates a different painting experience. Unlike a traditional white canvas, the safes have shiny surfaces that affect how colors appear. Kirby has to adjust his approach depending on the background of each safe.
To prepare for the project, he studied photographs of the safes before arriving at GameMasters. This allowed him to plan how each wildlife painting would look on its assigned surface.
The five designs feature different animals commonly associated with outdoor life and hunting. Mallards and pheasants appear among the featured birds, while coyotes, elk and a whitetail buck complete the collection.
Kirby’s work on the Fort Knox safes also reflects a lifelong interest in wildlife, hunting and the outdoors.
Growing up on a family farm in Illinois, he spent much of his childhood outdoors with his father, hunting and fishing. Those early experiences helped shape the subjects he would later paint.
Kirby began developing his artistic skills at a young age. According to Mountain Times, he recalled making his first oil painting when he was 11 years old. The subject was his grandmother’s black Labrador, which wore a red collar.
His interest in art continued through school, where he received guidance from his middle and high school art teacher, Steve Mullins.
At 16, Kirby won the national Junior Duck Stamp Contest with a painting of two wood ducks. The achievement helped him see that wildlife art could become more than a hobby.
He later studied graphic design and multimedia at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. After graduating, he spent seven years working in the outdoor industry for the National Wild Turkey Federation, where he worked as a designer and illustrator.
In 2012, Kirby decided to leave his job and build his own career as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and wildlife artist. He launched his independent art business and began taking on more clients and opportunities.
One of his works, titled “Running and Gunning,” appeared on the cover of the October issue of Outdoor Life in 2014, per High Country Press. The magazine described it as its first illustrated cover in more than 20 years.
Kirby also became a familiar name at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, where he has exhibited his work for several years. The organization named him its featured artist for 2023.
His paintings often focus on animals in motion, especially turkeys and deer. He has also drawn inspiration from hunting trips in places such as Alaska and Montana, along with the landscapes and wildlife around his home in Boone.
Beyond selling original paintings and prints, Kirby has used his artwork to support wildlife conservation. Some of his work helps raise funds for wildlife habitats and endangered waterfowl.
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