Cyrus studied graphic design and marketing at Montana State University where he learned about the principals of design. While in school, Cyrus opened a small design company where he had the privilege of working with brands from all around the United States. He has always made a point to incorporate as many analog tools as appropriate while completing jobs in the field of advertising. By studying the work from designers dating back to the 1930’s, Cyrus carved out his own style of illustration and design.

 

His enthusiasm for design is apparent in his fine art. The shift from design to fine art was a natural one. Many of the principals of design and fine art are the same. It is just the medium that changes. Cyrus currently lives in Montana, and that is probably the reason why he has been focusing on western painting. The western genre is very interesting because it parallels the overall history of art, but it has it’s own time line determined by location. They study of western art is rewarding because of its unique ties to early American history. Cyrus is continuing the narrow time line of American Western paintings.

 

The ideas of the romantic west are continually stripped away in modern times, but the pieces that remain are dipped in the purest of gold. I am a proctor, panning in the river of my mind to unearth my gold.

 

It seems cruel to force a person who is best suited by visual communication to write about the very ideas that he can not describe. - Cyrus