James Hitchcock
American Wildlife Artist and Conservationist

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As soon as I was able to walk down to the creek in my backyard as a kid, I was fishing! And my love and appreciation of the great outdoors has only grown stronger with a lifetime of doing so. Also, I was absolutely and truly blessed to have a father who was never too busy to teach me all of the lessons, hunting & fishing, as his father taught him. Now my greatest joy in life is doing so with children of my own.

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As far back as I can remember in school, I was always known as an artist. Kids would have me draw things, and teachers would have me doing projects for them. It was only a short time before my mother had me in private art lessons every week. It certainly wasn't the cool thing to do at the time, but I enjoyed it immensely, and have ever since.

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Instead of writing in a journal, at some point, I began to document nature's beauty with art. It didn't matter if it was the colorful spots on a trout or the feathers of a wood duck, if I thought it was cool, I'd paint it. You can bet, if I spend all day in a deer stand, duck blind, or a fishing boat, I'll be headed home to paint! It's just what I enjoy!

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My art will be here long after I'm gone, and all of my creations have some lesson, experience, or tall tale to go along with it for future generations to be educated, or hopefully even inspired.