About the Artist


       I`m Ray Antolik, a life-long resident of Illinois and I began my painting career at the age of 66. After working in the food industry for many years, I retired and decided I needed something to do with my time. My wife and I began traveling in earnest and visited many of the major National Parks in the United States and the Provincial Parks of Canada. While traveling , I was drawn to wildlife and nature photography. Once home I would print out my favorite photos, but soon decided I`d like to take some of those photos and try my hand at painting them. This is when I found my true passion.  Since then, a self-taught artist, I have been painting wild life and nature scenes both for myself and for others. I have participated in many art shows and have had my paintings displayed in various galleries and buildings throughout the area.
        My painting has allowed me to meet many people. One such person is a local fireman who makes commemorative axes. After seeing my work, he asked me to paint a picture on an ax head for a gift he was giving to a recent graduate from the fire academy. This work eventually lead me to meet Rick from PlanoAmerica , where we agreed that I would paint a limited series of commemorative axe heads for his customers. I hope my work will be appreciated by many firemen and their families. 

For more information or to purchase please call Rick at  PlanoAmerica  at 630 552 8510 . Each hand painted axe head comes with a finished handle.
You can also leave your contact information for me at the bottom of the Pricing Page .

                                                                                                         
      I`m also open to painting special requests......let me turn your favorite photo into a framed painting.