Born in 1953, a primarily self-taught listed American artist (Askart.com; Artist's Blue Book), Ron Oden painted and drew since childhood. Early on Oden turned to commercial art to provide a living for himself and his family. The artist produced story illustrations for print, ads, product illustrations, outdoor posters, book illustrations and news art. Oden's work in the field of graphics spanned from the hot type and cold type eras to the digital age. Oden, former Graphics Director of the Reno Gazette-Journal, produced a body of work which appeared in the newspaper for a decade. In 2002, one year after the New York World Trade Center tragedy, Oden painted a 60" x 72" canvas titled "Liberty's Children" which he presented to then Governor Kenny Guinn; in turn, former Governor Guinn presented the piece to former New York governor George Pataki. Today "Liberty's Children" hangs in the New York State Museum.

Oden is an eight-time Nevada Press Association award winner for his work in informational graphics, illustrations, cartoons and news design presentation. Ron is also a three-time winner of the prestigious Copley Press "Ring of Truth" award; a three-time "Best of Gannett" award recipient for informational graphics and news art; and the recipient of a first place APNEC (Associated Press) award for a full-page graphic on Yucca Mountain. Ron has worked for the Department of Defense; provided his expertise to U.S. Naval Research and Development departments for a variety of programs in areas of environmental and estuary studies; has worked as a senior computer artist for Computer Sciences Corporation; has provided creative services to private industries, and has been the sole proprietor of 3 advertising and design studios during the past 3 decades. Although Oden is a primarily self-taught artist, during his high school years, he was given a limited scholarship to attended Art Center, College of Design (then located in Los Angeles). Immediately after graduation from high school, Oden attended El Camino College in southern California. A Viet Nam era Navy veteran, after military service Oden continued his education at Cuyamacha under the G.I. Bill for veterans.

Having created more than 1,350 works of fine arts to date, Oden's primary focus is on his fine arts, and he works at his studio at Lake Tahoe, while continuing to provide creative design and illustration services to select clientele. Public places in Reno where Oden's work can be found are: Lawlor Events Center (Link Piazzo commission); The Reno Boys and Girls Club (3 commissioned works); Reno Gazette-Journal lobby (Fine art reproduction on canvas of his 911 piece titled "Liberty's Children"; the original hangs in the New York State Museum in Albany, New York); a selection of original oil paintings from "Stories of the Sagebrush," (works retired to the Nevada Legislature); Palladio on the River; 2 large original paintings: "Momentum," a large abstract, and "River Walk," a whimsical figurative and architectural piece. Other cities where Oden's works are displayed to the public are: San Diego, CA; La Mesa, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Washington D.C. (Pentagon) and Albany, New York.