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.

Fading is the second painting from the lost buffalo series, in which I explore the tragic tale of the great american buffalo and their decline into near extinction. The image for Fading came to me while I was painting The Coming Storm and it was so impacting that I had to stop what I was doing to do a sketch.

I wanted to convey the great herds disappearing in a visually disturbing way as a symbol of the needless brutality, but I also wanted to leave the idea of hope as some buffalo outrun their extinction and lead on in the memory of those that were lost. I also wanted to play upon the short memory of the world, fading not only refers to the buffalo themselves, but also our recollections of the past. Fading acts as both a prologue and epilogue to the tale of the buffalo, tragic but hopeful.

Canvas Prints of 16x32 are available for $250, 6x12 poster prints matted to 11x14 are available for $45. Contact me at [email protected], if you're interested in purchasing a print or visit my website http://kyleploehnart.blogspot.com