Ron Jenkins (18 August, 1932) is an American artist who was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His love for art was very evident from a very young age. Jenkins went to Philadelphia Museum School of Art to pursue his art education, but was forced to drop out to seek for a job due to overwhelming family responsibilities. He secured a job and held it for a period of ten years. While working, Jenkins followed a correspondence course in art from 1958 - 1962. He never let his love for art die down. Instead, he took freelance jobs to gain experience and hone his oil painting skills even further. He's reputed for creating his works pretty fast, especially when working on a birds’ artwork, which is his favorite subject. His 1964 canvasbacks painting that won the 1965-66 Federal Duck Stamp Competition took him a very short time to complete, particularly because it was a painting of birds.
In the year 1966, Jenkins started freelancing in art full time. His works continued to impress many. Jenkins would later win the Montana Bird Stamp Design competition in 1980. Besides making paintings, he also illustrates stories, having done so for Pennsylvania Angler and Pennsylvania Game News. Because of the high quality of his works, they have been featured on several magazines, including Modern Game Breeding and National Geographic magazines. Many have said that Jenkins’ love for painting birds must have come from his love for falconry, something he did for the fun of seeing great birds and the magnificence of taming them. Although he works on a variety of media, he says the one that suits him best is opaque watercolor or polymer. Jenkins shares his knowledge with students and arts practitioners through art lessons and speeches on art and art conservation.
