Rod Frederick has grown up with animals… from a menagerie of pets that populated his boyhood home to a combination biology and fine arts degree in college.

  Born in Salem, Oregon, Rod grew up in Portland. Artistic influences shaped his boyhood – his mother had a degree in fin arts, and his father, a lawyer, spent weekends at the easel. The Frederick household was always full of various animals, so it was entirely natural for Rod to combine his interests in art and animals into a career as a wildlife artist.

  Frederick attended Williamette University, majoring in art and minoring in biology. Standing six feet, four inches, Rod also found time to play forward for the University basketball team.

  After competing his schooling, Frederick accepted a variety of commissions that led him to paint classic scenes of the northwest. Barns, covered bridges, mountains, fields and ponds became the focal point of his art, but gradually he worked more and more wildlife into his paintings.

  Today his career is wildlife art. And he still has a house full of pets. Only Frederick now goes beyond the domesticated variety to seek out wildlife in its natural environment: in the mountains, high above the timberline; in the forests that cover the Northwest; in streams and ponds where wildlife of all forms congregate.

  Frederick’s curiosity about animals and his own dedication to realism dictate the way he works: devouring every source of reading material about a particular species; photographing and sketching; and devoting large amounts of time to research in the field. He finds his favorite environment in the mountains, above the timberline, because “the open spaces are exciting. I have a chance to ‘get away’ and perhaps get a glimpse of my favorite animal, the mountain goat.”