Winning Artist To Be Chosen At 2009 California Duck Stamp Judging
Sacramento, California – -(TheOutdoorWire.com)- The winning design for California’s 2009 Duck Stamp will be selected at a judging event on May 27 at The California Museum in Sacramento. Eighteen artists from around the nation submitted original designs that they hope will be chosen to adorn next year’s stamp, which is required for hunting waterfowl in California.
The contest, sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), was open to the public. Entries could be produced in any artistic medium, as long as the piece depicted an image of a northern shoveler, the waterfowl species chosen by the Fish and Game Commission for the 2009 duck stamp.
In addition to having his or her design featured the stamp itself, the winning artist will be able to produce signed limited edition prints valued by art collectors.
DFG sells about 70,000 duck stamps annually. Since the California duck stamp program began in 1971, it has raised more than $22 million in revenue for waterfowl-related conservation projects.
California has the oldest state duck stamp program in the country; however, this will be the first time since 1994 that the image on the Duck Stamp has been selected by a public competition. For the last 15 years, stamp art was either commissioned or selected through a competitive bid process.
The duck stamp entries will be judged by a panel of citizens selected for their expertise in the fields of ornithology, conservation, art and printing. The judging, which is open to the public, will include first, second, third, and honorable mention placement. The top five entries will be displayed in July at the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association’s art show in Sacramento.
The event is free and open to the public but space is limited, so those interested in attending are asked to call Lorna Bernard at (916) 322-8937 to secure a place on the guest list.
For more information about the California Duck Stamp program, please visit the DFG Web site at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/about/duckstamp/.
The California Museum opens at 10 a.m. The duck stamp judging event will be held in the Museum’s large classroom beginning at 10:30 a.m. A continental breakfast and refreshments will be served.
Judging is expected to take approximately one hour. A few of the California resident artists have indicated they will attend the event. If the winning artist is not present, he or she will be immediately contacted via telephone.
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The Mission of the Department of Fish and Game is to manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public.