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 fine art, 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 Willamette University, majoring in art and minoring in biology. Standing six feet, four inches, Rod also found time to play forward for the university's basketball team.

After completing 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 forest 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."

"People tell me they like the natural colors and mood I create in my work," he says. "They say it's very realistic, and that's what I'm looking for."

Rod lives in Oregon, where he has an inspirational view of the Cascade Mountains right outside his window.  Using oils and gouache to paint his wilderness scenes, his work is currently published by Mill Pond Press.  His art is featured in the book.  The Best of Wildlife Painting (North Light Books, 1997).

Rod is always ready to travel in search of new subjects.  "Often," he says,  "I'll look for a particular species, and what I'll see is something totally unexpected.  The unpredictability of seeing animals in the wild is exciting - it's what I call "planned unpredictability."  When you do see what you've planned to see it's serendipitous."