Jim Rataczak began drawing as a response to the world around him at an early age. Because he spent the majority of his time outdoors, the natural world, specifically birds, were featured prominently in his art from the very beginning. His interests led him to a degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame, and a degree in Wildlife Behavior from the University of Michigan. Jim held positions with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Brookfield Zoo, and the Delta Waterfowl Research Station. Jim never stopped painting, however, and after a summer surrounded by the beauty of the natural world at the Delta Station, the pull to paint proved too strong. Jim, with the support of his wife, switched his career to pursue art. He zealously studied such masters as Louis Agassiz Fuertes, F. L. Jaques, Bruno Liljefors, and Lars Jonsson, as well as several of the Minnesota artists like Ron Van Gilder, Dan Metz, and David Maass whose work had inspired him in his youth. Hours upon hours making detailed specimen drawings of birds and preparing study skins at the Field Museum of Natural History gave him a rock solid apprenticeship in bird anatomy. He began drawing birds in the field directly from life, and thus began a devotion to field sketching that continues to this day. Jim makes hundreds of direct-from-life bird sketches each year, and regularly paints studies of landscapes “en plein air”. Jim hunts, fishes, hikes, camps, and just sits and watches critters. The authenticity shows in his work and has led to inclusion in collections, galleries and top shows across North America. His illustrations have appeared in magazines, books, and the New York Times. Recently, Jim was honored to be voted into the Society of Animal Artists as a Signature Member. Jim’s work is a product of his deep, enduring love of the natural world, and for the past 25 years he and his family have lived in Minnesota, a dozen miles north of St. Paul. His studio gratefully overlooks a nature preserve that has provided intimate source material for so many of his paintings. With each painting that comes off his easel or out of his sketchbook, Jim hopes to “paint things true to how they feel, not necessarily just true to how they look”.
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