Monte Trevor Carlton was born in 1972 in Olympia, Washington. Although he took up painting in high school, the first artistic passion that Trevor embraced was acting. He decided to forego an art scholarship in favor of accepting a dramatic arts scholarship at Skagit Valley College.

Trevor next attended the Lee Strasberg Acting Workshop. The following year he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Amidst the chaos of auditions and callbacks, Trevor paid the bills by working in a custom furniture store, specializing in antiquing and faux finish designs. It was here that a style was born. Using reclaimed lumber as his "canvas", he started painting images of vintage Americana with subjects ranging from pop icon celebrities to the heyday of jazz.

After numerous gallery shows in Los Angeles and private commissions Carlton has now combined his unique style to the most American of symbols, Mickey Mouse. Along with a series of classic “movie poster” paintings, he also created a performance piece that had him painting a large canvas of our favorite Disney characters in a matter of minutes.