Cape Region artist Richard Clifton wins sixth Delaware Duck Stamp competition

The results are in.

Delaware artist and Federal Duck Stamp winner Richard Clifton’s painting of a wigeon will become the 2013 Delaware Duck Stamp. A painting of brown trout by Illinois artist Abraham Hunter of Goreville, Ill., will become the 2013 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The paintings won top honors in the Department of Natural Resurces and Environmental Control's Division of Fish and Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held March 31 at the annual Ducks Unlimited Greenwings Event in Greenwood.

This year’s competition drew 35 entries for the 2013 Duck Stamp and 19 entries for the 2013 Trout Stamp. The 2013 Trout Stamp winner, Hunter, receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp.

The 2013 Duck Stamp winner, Clifton, who resides in the Milford area near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, will receive a $2,500 prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first place duck entry.

An avid hunter and self-taught wildlife artist, Clifton works in acrylics with waterfowl as one of his favorite subjects. He has painted 36 winning duck stamps, including six Delaware Duck Stamps, the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp and the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp.

Other winners included:

2013 Duck Stamp: second place - Brian Blight of Bear Creek, Pa., wigeon; third place - Ron Kleiber of Erin, N.Y., bufflehead; honorable mention: Broderick Crawford of Clayton, Ga., bufflehead; Guy Crittenden of Richmond, Va., pintail; and Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., blue-winged teal.

2013 Trout Stamp: second place: Donnie Hughes of Lexington, S.C., brook trout; third place – Bart Gelesh of Oxford, Pa., rainbow trout; honorable mention: Micah Hanson of Nodine, Minn., brown trout; Ron Strine of Eutawville, S.C., rainbow trout; and George Bradford of Georgetown, brown trout. Bradford won the 2012 Delaware Trout Stamp competition.

The winning 2013 Delaware Duck Stamp will be available July 1, 2013, and the winning 2013 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available Jan. 1, 2013.

The Duck and Trout Stamp entries are on display through Saturday, April 25, 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, call 302-734-1618.

The 2013 Duck Stamp judges were Delaware Ducks Unlimited Chairman Clif Bakhsh, artist Paul Shertz, collector Dan Shevock, art professional William Veasey and biologist Charlii Miller.

The 2013 Trout Stamp judges were collector Dan Shevock, biologist Charlii Miller, art professional Don Wujtewicz, Trout Unlimited member Bill O’Connor, and angler/collector/biologist Roy Miller.

DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, began the Delaware Duck Stamp and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving the wetland habitats that are vital for the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $2.5 million has been raised.

Duck Stamps go on sale July 1 for $9 and are required when hunting migratory waterfowl in Delaware.

The Division began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s. 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. The purchased trout are stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s spring trout season.

Duck and Trout Stamps are available at the Division of Fish and Wildlife offices in the Richardson and Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway in Dover, at license agents throughout the state or at www.fw.delaware.gov, which also includes a list of license agents. Collector stamps and prints are sold only at the Division’s administrative offices.

For more information, call 302-739-9911.