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

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a p ...

. 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. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

. Troll's renditions of everything from salmon to

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

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 preserve ...

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

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (commonly as Burke Museum) is a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is administered by the UW College of Arts and Scien ...

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

, 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 In ...

, 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''. In 2002, the

ratfish Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to Opisthoproctidae and Siganidae, r ...

''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 natur ...

*2008 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the

University of Alaska Southeast The University of Alaska Southeast (UA Southeast, Alaska Southeast, or UAS) is a public university with its main campus in Juneau, Alaska and extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan. It is part of the University of Alaska System and was est ...

*2011

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated dis ...

*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 about 17,000 members across 129 countries. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as it relates to ...

*2014 Ocean Ambassador Award from the

Alaska SeaLife Center The Alaska SeaLife Center is a public aquarium and Alaska's only permanent marine mammal rehabilitation facility. It is located on the shores of Resurrection Bay in Seward. It opened in May 1998, and is dedicated to understanding and maintaini ...

*2015 Katherine Palmer Award from the

Paleontological Research Institution The Paleontological Research Institution, or PRI, is a paleontological organization in Ithaca, New York, with a mission including both research and education. PRI is affiliated with Cornell University, houses one of the largest fossil collecti ...

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 ( Dena'ina: ''Niqnalchint'', , Alaskan Russian: ''N'in'íl'chik'') 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 considere ...

, the Fisher Poets Gathering in

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

, and many other events around the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (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. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

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 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