TRIAD is a group of three American painters bound together by friendship, artistic and philosophic bonds. They share a love for nature and a desire to paint fine work within the broad tradition of European and American naturalism and impressionism. Their work is admirable and varied, each artist having a wide range of interest and expertise. Together, their bodies of work encompass the major artistic genres of Western art: still life, landscape, portraiture, indoor and outdoor genre, historical and symbolic painting.

Stephen Gjertson and Kirk Richards have been close friends since they met in 1978. They were both trained by Richard Lack at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gjertson from 1971-75 and Richards from 1976-80. The two have been painting and exhibiting together for twenty-five years, beginning with the seminal Classical Realism: The Other Twentieth Century, a large, traveling exhibition held at the Springville Museum of Art, The Amarillo Art Center and The Maryhill Museum of Art in 1982-83. They were members of The American Society of Classical Realism Guild of Artists and were part of Beauty: A Rebirth of Relevance, a four-person exhibition held at the Newington-Cropsey Gallery of Art in 1996. In 2003 they co-wrote For Glory and For Beauty: Practical Perspectives on Christianity and the Visual Arts. In 2003 they had a successful two-person exhibition, For Glory and For Beauty, at the Biblical Arts Center in Dallas.

In 2004 Richards suggested to Gjertson the possibility of finding another artist with whom they could exhibit. They would look for a painter from a different tradition whose artistic and philosophic goals were similar, yet one who created work that was distinct from theirs in style and execution. This would provide their exhibitions with a diverse and interesting combination of work and show the strength, similarities and differences of distinctive American traditions.

In the early 1990s, Steve Armes read, "The Art Student's Dilemma," an article Richards wrote for the book Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School. In his own quest for a traditional artistic training, Armes empathized with the struggles outlined by Richards in the article and contacted him. Richards was impressed with the passion Armes had for his art and for the tradition from which he emerged. Armes had been a student of Maynard Dixon Stewart, within the tradition of the important American painter and teacher, Frank Vincent DuMond. They began an association which has resulted in both personal and artistic respect. In 2005 Richards approached Armes about participating in a group with him and Gjertson – a professional group of three artists with commonly shared interests. Armes accepted and they formed TRIAD: Three American Painters.