State wildlife officials are looking for a few good artists.
A little less than three weeks remain for artists to enter wildlife-themed paintings for use in the Division of Natural Resources’ 2017 West Virginia Wildlife Calendar. The deadline for the annual contest is Feb. 19.
“This calendar offers a wonderful opportunity for artists to feature their work,” said Scott Warner. “Besides distribution in West Virginia, our calendars are enjoyed by people all over the United States.”
In a time when many producers of such calendars use photographs, West Virginia continues to use paintings of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians.
“Our calendar is one of very few that’s related to artwork,” Warner said. “We try to distinguish our product from those of other agencies, and this is one of the ways we do it.”
Artists who enter the contest don’t have to be from West Virginia, but Warner estimated that at least half the entries do come from Mountain State residents.
“We have a lot of homegrown artistic talent, and we encourage our local artists to enter,” he added. “The calendar allows them to showcase their works and get them seen by lots and lots of people all across the country.”
Each artist who has a painting chosen will receive $100. The artist whose work is chosen for the calendar’s cover will receive $500. According to the DNR’s website, “Paintings are chosen based on overall composition and quality, along with anatomical and contextual accuracy.”
Because the calendar follows a horizontal format, 14 1/2 inches wide by 11 1/2 inches high, paintings entered in the contest should adhere to that ratio. DNR officials prefer entries in the form of electronic images at a resolution of 300 dots per inch, although high-quality prints also are accepted.
Paintings not chosen in previous years may be resubmitted.
“Just because the artwork is not selected one year, doesn’t mean it will not be selected in the future,” said Warner. “Often, there are several submissions of a particular species and only one can be used in a given year.”
Electronic images should be emailed to: Patty.S.Fordyce@wv.gov. Prints should be mailed to the DNR’s Elkins Operations Center, P.O. Box 67, Elkins WV 26241.
Warner said artists’ interest in the contest has remained keen through the years, and he expects it to remain so.
“We’ve upheld the tradition of using art, and I think the artists appreciate that,” he added. “And I think the people who buy the calendar year after year appreciate it, too. The money raised through calendar purchases goes directly into wildlife conservation programs, and I think people appreciate that, too.”
Resource: http://www.wvgazettemail.com
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