DOVER – The results are in, and two artists have won top honors in the state’s sporting stamp art contests. A painting of green-winged teal with a yellow Labrador retriever by Deanne “Dee Dee” Murry of Centralia, Wash., will grace the 2016/17 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp, and a painting of a brown trout by Nicholas Markell of Hugo, Minn., will become the face of the 2016 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The paintings won top honors in the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held April 23 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover. This year’s competition drew 23 entries for the 2016/17 Waterfowl Stamp and 11 entries for the 2016 Trout Stamp. This year’s 36th anniversary Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that artwork chosen must include green-winged teal and a yellow Labrador retriever.

As the 2016/17 Waterfowl Stamp winner, DeeDee Murry receives a $2,500 prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of her first place entry. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Murry favors horses, dogs and wildlife as the subjects of her art, and prefers to work in acrylic and graphite. A self-taught artist, she has achieved many regional and national awards, including the Washington State Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year, Best of Show at the Puyallup Art Show, winner of the Artist’s Magazine national competition wildlife division and placements in the top 20 at the Federal Duck Stamp competition. Her love for animals shows in her art, in which she strives to capture the personality and essence of the individual animal, as well as close attention to accurate anatomy and detail.

The 2016 Delaware Trout Stamp by artist Nicholas Markell of Hugo, Minn., depicting brown troutAs the 2016 Trout Stamp winner, Nicholas Markell receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp (depicted adjacent). Markell holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree from Minnesota’s University of Saint Thomas and enjoys wildlife art because it challenges him to pay attention to the details of the natural world. His work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions, and he won the 2012 Minnesota Trout & Salmon Stamp, the 2013 Minnesota Walleye Stamp and the 2016 Minnesota Wild Turkey Stamp competitions.

Other winners included:

• 2016/17 Waterfowl Stamp: Second place – Paul Makuchal of Pocomoke, Md.; Third place – Daniel Allard of Marengo, Ohio; Honorable mentions – Stephen Hamrick of Lakeville, Minn.; Frank Dolphens of Omaha, Neb.; and James Miller of Spring, Tex.
• 2016 Trout Stamp: Second place and third place – Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., for separate paintings of rainbow trout and brown trout; Honorable mentions – Broderick Crawford of Clayton, Ga., rainbow trout; Don Meinders, Otto, N.C., brook trout; and George Bradford of Georgetown, Del., brown trout.

The winning 2016/17 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available July 1, 2016, and the winning 2016 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available Jan. 1, 2016.

Waterfowl and Trout Stamp entries are on display through Friday, May 8 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village, 866 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, just south of Delaware State University. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information about the museum, please call 302-734-1618.

The 2016/17 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Jay Reynolds, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Lloyd Alexander, art collector and retired wildlife professional; Paul Shertz, artist; Matt Dibona, wildlife biologist; and Joe Johnson, member, Delaware Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish.

The 2016 Trout Stamp judges were: Noel Kuhrt, Delaware Trout Association; artist Leon Spence; Fisheries biologists Mike Stangl and Des Kahn; and Steven Kendus, member, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp (formerly known as the Delaware Duck Stamp) and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $2.5 million has been raised. Waterfowl Stamps go on sale July 1 of each year for $9 and are required, in addition to a general hunting license, when hunting migratory waterfowl in Delaware.

The Division of Fish & Wildlife began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s, and a trout stamp and a general fishing license are required to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries, with the purchased trout stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s trout seasons. Trout stamps go on sale Jan. 1 of each year. Residents 16 through 64 years of age are required to have a Delaware Trout Stamp, which costs $4.20. Residents ages 12 through 15 years old are required to have a Young Angler Trout Stamp, which costs $2.10. Non-residents 12 years of age and older are required to have a Non-Resident Trout Stamp, which costs $6.20.

Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, as well as Waterfowl Stamps and Trout Stamps, are sold online, at the licensing office in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license or stamps online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on Delaware’s sporting stamp art competitions, please call DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife at 302-739-9911.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 45, No. 130

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