ìIím happy with that,î says Ratliff. ìItís so great, I can meet someone and itís always, ëIíve heard your name before, how do I know you?í Itís amazing.î

While the name may be getting more familiar, the artwork has been a mainstay at the Casa DíAngelo restaurant chain for years. Ratliff did murals at three of Tom and Sharon Casaburoís places as well as hanging his paintings there. But now, with his newfound notoriety, and a new three-story house in West Central, Ratliff is showing his work himself.

ìI have taken a lot of my work that was out there hanging on walls and moved it here to my house,î he says. ìItís nice because people call and they can come look at the art in my house. It can sell a lot better than being in a restaurant.î

It wasnít too long ago that restaurants were helping Ratliff pay the bills in another way. He graduated from Franklin College in 1989 as Fine Arts major with a teaching degree, but waited tables and worked in a framing shop while waiting for inspiration to strike.

ìI didnít know whether I would be teaching it or actually doing it,î Ratliff says. ìBut, you know, when I was framing stuff up for people I was like, I can do this, I could sell my art work. So I just started doing it.î

That was 1992. A journey begun two decades previously finally had a direction.

ìIt was always a passion,î says Ratliff. ìFrom the time I was a kid watching my mom ó who was a painter ó paint for hours and go, oh man! I just always wanted to do it.î

Itís a dream fulfilled as he now finds himself, by his own admission, saturated with work. Between commission jobs he still finds time and inspiration to paint for himself.

In Italy, an art professor taught him the basics: Always work. You work, you learn.

The only way to get better, he was told, was to practice ó an ethic that Ratliff pursued to Europe in 1996 where he spent a month painting in Paris and Italy. It was a cathartic trip. He came home with 80 paintings rolled up in an old rug. And with an appreciation for his role in the grand scheme.

ìIt blew me away,î Ratliff says of the experience. ìI need to go again because it was so good for me. You go over there and see all the history and you realize youíre just a speck in this world and you just have to work your butt off.î

Fortitude mixed with talent is usually a good recipe for achievement. Which is why Ratliff is now savoring the sweet rewards of his efforts. But while the present and future are bright, like many of his predecessors, it took past difficulties to help Ratliff forge the desire and temper the resolve.

ìThe best stuff that I do is when Iím not happy,î Ratliff says. ìFor a lot of artists, musicians or writers, it seems that if youíve had a hard life your art is amazing because youíre speaking from your soul. I try to do that. Iíve had some bad things happen in my life, so I donít take anything for granted. Itís nice to be able to do what I want to do every day. I just feel lucky.î

Lucky is a feeling not every artist can share. At 35, in addition to learning about art and what makes it successful, Ratliff has learned an even more valuable skill ó how to make it pay. And in todayís frenetic, impatient world, that means marketing and salesmanship. Expertise, while not related to putting brush to canvas, is just as essential to making the finished piece more than a dust-gatherer in the basement.

ìI think a lot of artists canít sell their work,î says Ratliff. ìTheyíll do this work and itís wonderful, but when they try to go and sell it, they just canít do it. Sometimes if somebody likes a piece of artwork of mine, thatís great, I really like that. But when they meet me it seems like it pushes them over the edge to buy it.

ìYou have to sell your stuff. A lot of people, if they do a piece of artwork, donít want to show it to anybody because theyíre a little embarrassed or they think itís not good, but I donít want to be that judge. There are some pieces that I hate and I always sell those. It never fails. Itís never the pieces that I spend months on.î

Now Ratliff has one more avenue down which to expend his energy, and thatís cracking the big time. And that means showing in Chicago or New York. Those towns are a benchmark for any artist who has aspirations of becoming more than just a regional phenomenon. So even though his resume now includes two Best of Readers Poll awards, Ratliff still wants to see how high up the measuring stick he can touch.

ìI figure if Iím selling well in Fort Wayne, I can sell well in other places too,î he says. ìIf it wasnít good artwork, then it wouldnít sell here either.î