Randy McGovern has earned acclaim from sportsmen and collectors alike both nationally and internationally. Known for his habit of hiding creatures in his wildlife backgrounds, he has become one of the nation's most beloved wildlife artists. By taking the demanding accuracy of the wildlife painter and combining it with the discriminating talent of a trained and gifted artist, he has become one of the nation's most beloved realists in just a few short years. 

While growing up in New Orleans, his fourth grade teacher, Sr. Helene advised his parents to find him art lessons after seeing him draw. That year (1964) Randy won a city-wide art contest and the grand prize of $5.00 which proved to be a good enough incentive to continue. He studied first under a European portraitist. Meanwhile, Randy's other hobby was snake hunting in the swamps and marshes of Louisiana and selling them to the snake farm in La Place, Louisiana. Still, another hobby was that of trapping animals in humane animal traps that he invented for sketching purposes. At age 21, Randy graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, magna cum laude with a B.A. in advertising but in 1983 launched a career in fine art instead. 

Working in a precise realistic style in oils, Randy feels compelled to portray animals in their most noble character which requires adding a dimension beyond merely duplicating photos of animals in sometimes awkward compositions. " I love to create moods, the use of dramatic light sources, and rich colors tastefully mixed. I feel compelled to count feathers or scales and to feel the fur 
on live wolves before I paint them. The perfectionist in me sleeps a little better-even if a little extra accuracy goes unnoticed. You have to be more disciplined; you have to be driven."