We sent a few photos I took of Tom’s art along with Tom’s phone number. He brought the magazine to the Minco Millennium office and asked if we could email the publisher to see if the magazine would be interested in any of his art for publication. I thought, these people might be interested in some of my illustrations,” Simonton said. “I was in the dollar store, saw the magazine and bought it.

In the summer of 2020, Simonton bought a magazine at the Dollar General in Minco. Simonton’s story of ending up a featured artist in the publications is a study in perseverance and patience, as well as a little luck. “Mark told me he was originally from Tuttle, so he knew exactly where Minco is on the map,” said Simonton.Ĭhesnut is Senior Editor and Consultant for both magazines, which are published in Nashville, Tennessee. The article featured 10 of Simonton’s works of frontier and western art and a photo of Simonton standing in front of some of his art at the Re-Store in Minco.Ī similar article accompanied by photos of the same pieces of art make up a six-page spread in the summer issue of the magazine, Guns of the Old West.īoth articles were written by Mark Chesnut. Simonton’s art was featured on the cover of the spring issue of American Frontiersman, which was accompanied by a five-page article. That heritage is strong,” Tom said in the article. “It always goes back to that, and that’s what I’m about. His great-grandparents had a ranch outside of Duncan and his great-grandmother was a Chickasaw. He explained that his family heritage inspired his love of Western art. The magazine article points out that at an early age, Tom drew dinosaurs and later focused on science fiction, but it was Western art that grabbed him. “People could notice that at four years old my stuff was different than other kids’ stuff,” Tom told Chesnut. In the article Tom said he “sold his first Western painting at the age of 14.” But his artistic talents started much earlier in life. On page 2 of American Frontiersman the Editors’ Welcome begins, “If you love the American frontier and the Old West, you’ll also love Tom Simonton, the man who created this issue’s cover art.” In addition to his beautiful oil paintings, he illustrates a cartoon each week for the Minco Millennium called “Minco Mysteries.” Simonton has lived in Minco for more than three decades. Local western artist and Minco Millennium cartoonist Tom Simonton has recently been spotlighted in two national magazines, American Frontiersman and Guns of the Old West.

Minco millennium