Monte Gifford was born in New England. In a desperate attempt to keep him from perpetually getting lost in the woods, his parents bought him reams of paper and every type of drawing tool on the planet. This worked – to an extent – as he stopped to draw what he saw rather than making a beeline for the woods.

As a teenager, he moved to Hawaii where he was hired as a designer at an ad agency (at 19 and with no formal training). Since then, Monte has worked with clients such as LIFE Magazine, 20th Century Fox and Bonny Doon Vineyard.

He currently lives at the base of the Rockies where he's able to satisfy his obsession with rugged terrain and anything with antlers.