Story & Photos By Billie J Olson
In the quiet corners of Havre, Montana, sits a man who has spent nearly ninety years proving that mastery is not found in a crowded toolbox, but in a single, focused lead. Don Greytak does not use a palette of a thousand colors. He uses a .3mm mechanical pencil and Arches 140 lb. Hot Press paper. “If you push hard, you can make it dark. If you barely touch it, it is light,” he says. “It makes life simple.”
Don’s work ethic was forged in a house of twelve siblings northwest of Havre. For Don, life on the range taught responsibility long before it taught him technique. Except for his art, ranching was his life’s work. He remained connected to the family farm/ranch for much of his adulthood, helping with cattle and harvests while maintaining his own land—a lifestyle that provided the essential soul and background for his later art.
Before finding his true calling, Don moved through several chapters he describes as “temporary diversions.” He was a self-taught mechanic and welder who built fifty-six custom stock trailers, and he spent a brief period as an automatic transmission “specialist” at a Ford garage in Chinook. Though he finished airplane mechanic school and had worked on planes previously, he never pursued that path. These roles make for good stories today, but they were merely stops on the road to finding his place at the drawing board. The transition to graphite happened in the late ‘70s after seeing a pencil artist in Spokane. “Drawing was a little easier,” he laughs. “And I realized pencil allowed me to do lots of different things.”
Don provided the soul, but the world might never have seen it without Kathy. When they met in 1982, Don had the talent but lacked the interest in marketing, a sentiment he notes many artists share. Kathy, whose father was a commercial artist, recognized the value in his scenes and worked for many years to make the art career viable. Together, they became a legendary team, traveling to art shows across sixteen different states and building a catalog of 400 different print images. “If it was not for Kathy, I would have given this stuff away,” Don admits.
Today, he views his talent as a divine hand-off, capturing the quiet duty of the ranch and elevating it to fine art. His work has been a fixture at The Russell: A Western Art Experience for nearly forty years.
For the 2026 event at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls, Don is entering a 14×18 original graphite pencil piece titled “1187.” The artwork is scheduled as Lot #226 for the Saturday auction.
“I will have an idea, and God fills in the details,” he says. At nearly 90, Don Greytak continues to prove that a life of responsibility, faith, and a single sharp pencil can connect the modern world to a past that deserves to be remembered.
You can view his extensive portfolio of original pencil art and signed prints at Kathy’s Old Library Gallery in Havre at 439 4th Ave.
Check out his work at dongreytak.com Contact Don at: info@dongreytak.com or call (406) 265-8165.