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ShaleseSands — Golden Elegance
Published: 2012-09-11 16:38:13 +0000 UTC; Views: 1827; Favourites: 88; Downloads: 0
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Here's my Minnesota duck stamp for this year! Just got it back in the mail today. I didn't make it past the first round this year (I did last year), but oh well. That's competitions like this for ya! I've drawn pintails before but never painted one. And I have to say, this painting gave me major issues. It never really wanted to come together the way I had envisioned it. Overall, I'm pleased with it, but I know it could've been better. I'm thinking it was probably too dark to work as a stamp. As always, the thing in real life looks way better than the image you see on your screen.Acrylic on masonite. 9" X 6 1/2"; refs of the pintail many thanks to Jennifer Miller!
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Comments: 28
I think Australia needs to do a duck stamp competition, I love seeing all the entries (online of course you only see selected entries) that the US produce. The detail in the head is amazing and I wish I could work water like you do. Have you ever won a state exclusive competition? Pintails have to one of my favorite waterfowl from America alongside the common teal, barrows goldeneye and the harlequin (I like the pretty ones or the browner ones with pretty patterns).
Do you get to choose which ducks to paint each year? Or do they give you a set number of species to choose from?
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I think that would be awesome if Australia did one--you guys have such fun looking birds over there! Aww, thank you! 
It depends on the contest. With the federal, you get to choose one out of five species that they give you (and it changes a little every year). Some of the state competitions (like my state, MN) only allow you to paint one species each year, while other states have no limit and you can paint whatever duck species you want.
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Ah funny birds we do have: [link]
Quite a few artists I follow on here do the duck stamp, some of really high standard might I add, are in the same position as you and just don't place (they get through the first round usually though), and when you see their paintings you think "Wow! Now if that didn't even place, I wonder what did!" Well everytime you enter, the more chance and practise you get I suppose, same goes for the other artists that annually enter for the same reason. Canvasbacks are beautiful, which is a shame that Australia lacks the colour palette of America's ducks (no fancy wooducks here). It's mainly browns and greys with the exception for flecks of green on the wings. We do have some pretty ones: [link] and [link]
I think having a small selection is good for contests, for then it is easier to choose for quality and skill of the artist over any bias of what just looks best. A plain gadwell can be painted splendidly with great composition while up against everyone painting the more fancy coloured fowl it probably wouldn't be given a second glance. But if judged correctly, anything goes. I've noticed the Canada Goose is a very popular subject in the duck stamps.
Have you started your canvasback painting yet? Or leaving it for a bit later on?
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Ah, I've heard of those before, but I didn't realize they had a little "dewlap" under their bills. X) Kinda cute, actually.
Yes, I have quite a bit of friends that participate in duck stamps in some way, shape, or form. This year was the first year I made it past the first round in the federal, but the judging was also super weird (so I don't know what that says, haha). And eventually, especially if you have a recognizable style, people start remembering you and your work, which is always a good thing. 
Yes, I agree with that. In that respect, the artists are judged by their skills, not by whatever flashy bird they choose. I've seen some really beautiful entries that were of "boring" colored ducks, but are sometimes seemingly passed over because of that. Or sometimes it's not a "popular" duck (the ruddy ducks here never seem to do that well in competitions unless everybody has to paint them, even though I think they're gorgeous). And funny you say that about the Canadian Goose--that's the MN stamp species this year! 
No; I've sketched a few ideas, but I don't have a solid, committed idea yet. I usually start them in the summer, as they are due in August/September. But I really should commit myself to starting earlier to relieve some of that pressure of having to figure out a design.
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Really really nice paintings - you've done so great work!
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Thanks very much! I really appreciate that.
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Well, you did your best and to me this is amazing. Congratulations for finding a buyer, for how much did you get to sell it cause its a great piece
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Thanks very much! Appreciate it.
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Thanks for the info and great job, its a very decent price but I think it is worth much more. Good luck
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Thank you so much!
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Looks like a little mandarin ship.I love,how realistic you created all the details of the feather outfit.
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Haha, thank you so much! All those details are fun (but can be a pain sometimes
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I think for such a mega talented painter like you,are this more fun than pain.
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These duck pieces just get more and more superdetailed the more you do. The colours are lovely here too. Can I ask what parts you had issues with? If you don't mind me asking! I bet water is not as easy as it looks to paint realistically... I've only ever done it in speedy work.
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Thank you! I've been thinking it would probably be beneficial for me to make a couple duck drawings/paintings without the pressures of a stamp. It might help me loosen up a bit and be able to think of more interesting and effective compositions. Well, I think it was just the whole thing (except the bg, haha). I had issues with the duck at one point and the water especially was giving me issues in that I couldn't quite pull off the effect I was going for. Basically, I wanted that moment after a rain storm at sunset where the light is golden and everything else is a deep gray/blue. The drake was going to be coming out into that light and everything else was still in shadow. But I didn't have any decent references for that effect with the water(I couldn't even find any searching the internet), so I had to guess with some of it.
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Yeah that might help a lot. The no-pressure speedy works I did, and even the more detailed ones, seemed to help me.
I can see what you were going for. It's frustrating when you know the look you want in your head, but can't quite replicate it on paper/canvas!
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That, and you are able to get to know the species better. So we'll see how it goes.
Ack, I know! Why can't it be simpler and work out easier than it does?
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I think it's beautiful. What are those judges thinking anyway?!
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Thanks, Barb!
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beautiful! 
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Thanks very much! Glad you like it.
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