A painting of a pair of ring-necked ducks by Indiana-based artist Jeffrey Klinefelter has been selected as the 2019 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp and Print.
The painting, which was recently unveiled at the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival in downtown Washington, will be used as the artwork on the 2019 N.C. Waterfowl Stamp and Print. Signed and numbered regular edition prints with mint stamps will be available July 1 from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s N.C. Wild Store for $148.
“It’s a great honor to win the North Carolina competition,” said Klinefelter. “I won it in 2013, but it’s still a surprise to win again. There are a lot of good artists who enter, so it’s a great feeling to get that phone call. It was actually the third year in a row that I’ve submitted a painting of a ring neck. This time I added some larger reeds and changed my subject to a female ring-neck, so maybe that helped me out this year.”
Twenty-three wildlife artists submitted entries in this year’s competition, which began in 2008 as a partnership between the Commission and the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild. Today, the competition is managed by the Washington Tourism Development Authority. This year, artists could submit realistic renderings of a blue-winged teal, ring-necked duck, bufflehead, lesser scaup or tundra swan.
In addition to Klinefelter’s painting, the other top entries selected by a panel of judges were unveiled at the festival:
2nd place – Gerald Putt (Harrisburg, Pa.)
3rd place – Rebekah Knight (Montrose, Mo.)
4th place – Broderick Crawford (Clayton, Ga.)
5th place – Guy Crittenden, (Richmond, Va.)
Proceeds from sales of the print and stamp support the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Waterfowl Fund, which generates revenue for the conservation of waterfowl habitat in North Carolina.