Past Artist of the Year

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition / Charleston

Jerry Raedeke (Wildlife Gallery / How To Contact) sold his first wildlife paintings when he was eleven; he painted with oils from his childhood. All the while he tramped in the out-of-doors through all seasons in an ongoing celebration of the world which was unfolding before him. From this root has emerged an artist best-known as a transparent watercolorist who has savored nature and who cherishes nature. He works with a sense of mission to capture and communicate delicate, fleeting moods and moments which he perceives, seeking to capture not photographic detail but rather the essence of his subjects.
After early experiences with fine arts in Minnesota, Raedeke re-located to Los Angeles where he developed a fascination with watercolors while studying with the Chinese-American painter Jake Lee. All the while he pursued field research which by now has taken him to 38 states, six provices of Candada - 19 nations.
Excitement for Jerry Raedeke's work has become intese and sweeping. His art has been shown at nearly all major exhibition in the nation. He has been given recognition as Artist of the Year by the prestigious Southeastern Wildlife Exhibition at Charleston, S.C., by the National Wildlife At Show at Kansas City and by the Wildlife Heritage Show at Minneapolis. The Easton Waterfowl Festival has given him a twenty-year exhibition medallion. Raedeke was selected from a national search for inclusion in the National Wildlife Federation Show at Washington, D.C. While he was at the captial he was permitted to a one-man show for members of Congress in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building.
Raedeke has painted official duck stamps for the states of Georgia, Iowa and Kansas. He has been given Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year reconginition in Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio and Oklahoma. (Wildlife mugs with a Raedeke design have appeared regularly on telvision's, "Norther Exposure", and in several movies. Anheuser-Busch recently commissioned Raedeke to paint the World Famous Budweiser Clydesales in a wildlife setting.)
Jerry Raedeke was featured nationally in a specially-produced documentary for public television and in the "Prairie Sportsman" series on Minnesota Public Television. The syndicated televsion series, "The Sportsman's friend," filmed the artist painting on a remote marsh in Canada. As a artist and conservationist, Raedeke has been introduced to readers of Midwest Art, Wildlife Art News, Artists' Magazine, American Hunter, Ducks Unlimited, Turkey Call, Minnesota Waterfowler, The Correspondent, Cenex Land-O-Lakes Parterners and The Minnesota Volunteer.
As a Life Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited, Jerry Raedeke has donated 63,000 prints and 131 orginal paintings which have generated approximately five million dollars for wetland restoration projects. He supports a range of conservation efforts and organizations. Raedeke has been cited by a Governor of Minnesota and was featured in the state's, "Celebrate Minnesota" obervance. Among his most cherished recognitions is the Distinguished Alumni Citation in Fine Arts from his Alumni Citation in Fine Arts from his Alma Mater, Gustavas Adolphus College at St. Peter, Minnesota.
An artist who enjoys meeting his collectors, Raedeke has established a reputation for remarquing his prints at shows and gallery appearances. Collecting his prints, with original pencil sketches and personalizations, has become a tradition among coutless collectors of his art.


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