Artists: Ralph Oberg

Ralph Oberg was born in 1950 and raised in Colorado where he spent much of his youth hiking and climbing in the mountain wilderness. The freedom to move about and enjoy the wonders of the world fit his temperament. After a brief stint in commercial illustration, Ralph began to support himself with his paintings. Wildlife dominated his interest for over 10 years. The works of Rungius, Liljefors and Kuhnert inspired his development. In 1987 Oberg changed the direction of his career and began to study with some of the contemporary plein air masters of today. Since that time, he has focused on painting the landscape on location as a means of learning the colors and values of the natural world, and how to capture a sense of the moment and place. Recently, animal subjects have begun to reappear in Oberg's work, combining his natural drawing ability and accumulated knowledge of animals with a more impressionistic painting technique. Today Ralph and his wife, painter Shirley Novak, sketch the natural beauty they find near and far.

Ralph is a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America. He has received numerous awards for his work and his paintings are included in fine museums such as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the International Center for Wildlife Art. Feature articles on Oberg's work have appeared in Art of the West; Southwest Art; Wildlife Art News and Sporting Classics magazines.