By By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Scott Storm, a resident of Freeport, Minn., won the 2010 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition at the Washington Civic Center on Monday.
Storm’s winning entry will bring him $7,000 in prize money.
“It’s exciting. I always try to think I’ve got a chance,” Storm said Monday afternoon during a brief telephone interview.
“I’m thinking I might do that,” he said when asked if he will show up for the Feb. 5 unveiling of his artwork as the winner of the 2010 competition.
Storm was the winner of the 2008 competition. The competition is a joint project of the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The competition is a prelude to the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival and North Carolina Decoy Carving Championships, set for Feb. 5-7 in Washington.
Storm’s painting of snow geese was judged the best out of 32 entries from artists in 19 states. It scored 41 points out of a possible 50 points. Delaware artist Richard Clifton finished second (38 points) and Pennsylvania artist Gerald Putt came in third (35 points). Putt won last year’s competition. He also was commissioned to produce artwork for the North Carolina duck stamps for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
“I thought it was very good,” said Joe Albea, one of the competition’s five judges, about the quality of entries. “I’m always amazed with the artists from out of state who can capture the environment of North Carolina so well without living here.”
“The quality of the work really just jumped out at you,” he said.
Albea, co-host of “Carolina Outdoor Journal” and wildlife conservationist, said Storm’s entry should reproduce well for the duck stamps, something judges must keep in mind when choosing a piece of artwork for the duck stamp.
This year’s competition was the third straight year a nationwide, public art competition was conducted to select the winning artwork used to produce the North Carolina duck stamp.
Selected entries from this year’s competition will be displayed at the preview reception for festival. At that reception, to be held Feb. 5, the top five entries will be unveiled by the Wildlife Resources Commission. The top entries will remain on display throughout the festival weekend.
Revenue from sales of the print and stamps go to the commission’s Waterfowl Fund, which provides money for the conservation of waterfowl habitat in North Carolina.
“The money is used to help North Carolina meet its financial obligations in implementing the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the international agreement helping restore waterfowl populations throughout the continent. In addition, funds have been used to support waterfowl research and to buy equipment used to manage wetlands,” according to the commission’s Web site.