2012 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp and Print Now Available for Purchase Online
OutdoorHub 02.15.12
The 2012 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp and Print, “Redheads in Needlerush,” is now available for purchase at the N.C. Wild Store.
The acrylic painting by Delaware artist Richard Clifton was unveiled Feb. 10 at the 17th Annual East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival and the N.C. Decoy Carving Championships in Beaufort County during an evening preview reception.
This is the first year the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is offering signed and numbered regular edition prints with mint stamps at a special reduced price of $120, which is good through June 30. On July 1, the price reverts to the normal $145. Additional stamps are $10 each. The Commission will begin shipping pre-ordered prints with stamps on July 1.
Representing the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at Friday night’s unveiling were Wildlife Commissioners, Mitch St. Clair, Ray White and Wes Seegars; Robert Curry, chief of the Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries; and Sen. Stan White of Nags Head.
The unveiling of “Redheads in Needlerush” marks the second year in a row Clifton has won North Carolina’s waterfowl conservation stamp and print competition. He took top honors last year with his vivid portrayal of a pair of Canada geese standing in a pasture. He placed second in the 2010 contest with his portrayal of snow geese.
Clifton, an avid hunter, is a self-taught wildlife artist who uses his experiences in the field as inspiration for his work. His waterfowl paintings have won 34 duck stamp competitions, including the 1996 Australian duck stamp and the 2007-2008 federal duck stamp — the oldest and most prestigious wildlife art competition in the United States.
Clifton was one of more than 30 wildlife artists from 20 states to submit entries for the fourth annual North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Competition. In 2008, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission began partnering with the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild to conduct a nationwide competition open to the public.
This year, artists could submit portraits of redheads, Atlantic brant, Northern shovelers, tundra swans or gadwalls. In addition to Clifton’s painting, four others, rounding out the top five entries as selected by a panel of judges on Jan. 30, were unveiled during the reception. They were:
2nd Place – Northern shoveler by Gerald Putt of Boiling Springs, Pa.;
3rd Place – Atlantic brant by Tom Crain of Branson, Mo.;
4th Place – Northern shoveler by Scot Storm of Freeport, Minn.;
5th Place – Northern shoveler by Jeffery Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind.
Proceeds from sales of the print and stamp go to the Commission’s Waterfowl Fund, which generates revenue for the conservation of waterfowl habitat in North Carolina.
