Journey Print

A primarily self-taught American artist, Ron Oden is driven by his love of fine art. He turned to commercial art and graphics to provide a living for himself and his family, producing countless creative works for various businesses and industries. Ron created story illustrations for newspapers and magazines, print advertising images, page designs, product illustrations, billboard images, book illustrations, illustrations for the clip-art art industry, technical drawings for catalogs, publication designs and layout, and many other types of visual presentation pieces. Oden's work in graphics spanned from the hot type and cold type eras to the digital age. The artist was born at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, on September 2, 1953. He started drawing at age eight and began painting in oils by age 12. At age 13, the young artist drew and painted school murals. Throughout his childhood, Ron's parents encouraged his talent. Oden attended high school at Hawthorne, California, beginning in 1968 and studied art under the school's art program director, Clayton S. Williams, who continued to be Oden's mentor in high school. During his time at Hawthorne High, the artist's parents separated, and Ron went to live with his father. During his summer school break in 1970, at the age of 16, he took a job with Spectrum Industries, a production art factory in Los Angeles. The artist painted a series of colorful panels of tasteful, partially nude women to be framed and supplied to hotel chains in the U.S. and abroad. Oden hoped to continue his art training after graduating from high school; however, having come from a family with modest financial means, his outlook did not look promising. Each year Williams, his art teacher, was given funds to send three of the most promising students to the Art Center College of Design, located in Los Angeles, for Saturday life drawing studies. In 1970, Williams awarded the entire year's funds to Oden. Aside from motivating the young artist, this training enhanced Oden's ability to draw the human form. Mindful of Oden's financial situation, Williams would provide him with supplies he needed, and would occasionally find campus art projects for Ron to perform in return. This arrangement introduced him to the concept of creating art commercially as a trade. At his high school graduation ceremonies in 1971, Oden received a monetary award of $225.00 and a plaque from the Hawthorne Art and Cultural Society.