Ray Troll (born March 4, 1954) is an American artist based in

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

. He is best known for his scientifically accurate and often humorous artwork. His most well-known design is "Spawn Till You Die", which has appeared in many places including the film ''Superbad'' and being worn by actor

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

. Troll's renditions of everything from salmon to

marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...

s to creatures only found in the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

record have become iconic in fishing, scientific, and environmental activism communities around the world. He seeks inspiration from extensive field work in marine science, paleontology, geology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. His paintings and mixed-media drawings are in the collections of the

Miami Museum of Science The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science (formerly known as the Miami Science Museum or Miami Science Museum and Space Transit Planetarium) is a science museum, planetarium, and aquarium located in Miami, Florida, United States. The museum ...

, the

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Burke Museum) is a natural history museum in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. Established in 1899 as the Washington State Museum, it traces its origins to a high school naturalist club fo ...

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the num ...

, the

Anchorage Museum The Anchorage Museum is a large art, history, ethnography, ecology and science museum located in a modern building in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska. It is dedicated to studying and exploring the land, peoples, art and history of Alaska. The mu ...

, the

Alaska State Museum The Alaska State Museum is a museum in Juneau, Alaska, United States. The museum's collections include cultural materials from the people of the Northwest Coast (Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian), the Athabascan cultures of Interior Alaska, the Inupia ...

, and the Ketchikan Museum. He has collaborated once again with

Kirk Johnson Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2002. Amateur career Johnson represented Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Bar ...

, a director with the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Entitled ''Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline: The Travels of an Artist and a Scientist along the Shores of the Prehistoric Pacific''. Troll attended

Wichita Heights High School Wichita Heights High School, known locally as Heights, is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district and serves students in grades 9 to 12. The school principal is Eric Filippi. ...

in Kansas, graduating in 1972. In 2002, the

ratfish Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively. At o ...

''Hydrolagus trolli'' was named after him in recognition of his efforts to raise awareness of ratfish.

Awards

*2005 Excellence in Public Outreach Award from the American Fisheries Society *2006 Alaska Governor's Award for the Arts *2007 Gold Medal for Distinction in Natural History Art from

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

*2008 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Alaska Southeast *2011 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship *2011 Distinguished Artist Award from the Rasmuson Foundation *2013 Geosciences in the Media Award from the

American Association of Petroleum Geologists The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with more than 40,000 members across 129 countries as of 2021. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as ...

*2014 Ocean Ambassador Award from the Alaska SeaLife Center *2015 Katherine Palmer Award from the Paleontological Research Institution

Books

*''Planet Ocean: A Story of Life, the Sea, and Dancing to the Fossil Record'' (Pictures by Troll, Words by Brad Matsen, 1994, Ten Speed) *''Raptors, Fossils, Fins, and Fangs'' (Troll and Brad Matsen, 1995, Tricycle) *''Life's A Fish and Then You Fry, An Alaskan Seafood Cookbook'' (Author Randy Bayliss, Illustrations by Troll, 2002, Alaska Northwest) *''Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z'' (2002, Alaska Northwest) *''Rapture of the Deep, the Art of Ray Troll'' (2004, University of California Press, Introduction by David James Duncan and essay by Brad Matsen) *''Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway'' (with Kirk Johnson, 2006, Fulcrum) *''Something Fishy This Way Comes'' (2010, Sasquatch) *''Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline: The Travels of an Artist and a Scientist along the Shores of the Prehistoric Pacific'' (with Kirk Johnson), 2018, Fulcrum Publishing

Music

Troll is a lifelong music aficionado and musician. He and his band, the Ratfish Wranglers, play festival, saloon, and dance party dates from Alaska to California, appearing at Salmonfest (formerly Salmonstock) in

Ninilchik, Alaska Ninilchik (russian: Нинильчик) ( Dena'ina: ''Niqnalchint'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 883, up from 772 in 2000. It is considered an Alaska ...

, the Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, and many other events around the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

Discography

*''Fish Worship'' (2015, Troll, Russell Wodehouse and Ratfish Wranglers) *''Cruisin' The Fossil Freeway'' (2009, Troll, Wodehouse and Ratfish Wranglers) *''Where The Fins Meet The Frets'' (2007, Troll and the Ratfish Wranglers) *''Dancing To The Fossil Record'' (1995, music composed by Wodehouse to accompany Planet Ocean, Dancing to the Fossil Record exhibit)

References

External links

Ray Troll's Official websiteRatfish Wranglers' Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troll, Ray 1954 births Artists from Wichita, Kansas Artists from Alaska People from Ketchikan, Alaska Living people People from Corning, New York Artists from New York (state) Musicians from Alaska Paleoartists 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians