The artwork of a drake wood duck by Elyria, Ohio resident Adam Grimm won first place at this year’s Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp design competition, sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Grimm’s painting will appear on the Ohio wetlands stamp for the fall of 2005.

The winning entry was selected from a field of original paintings submitted by artists in 13 states, including nine entries from Ohio. The competition was held on February 14th at the annual Ohio Ducks Unlimited Convention.

This was Adam’s first time winning the Ohio State Duck Stamp Competition. In 1999, Adam became the youngest artist ever to win the prestigious Federal Duck Stamp Competition. He also has won the 2000 Alaska, the 2001 Washington, the 2002 New York, and the 2003 Alaska. He was also selected as the 2004 Ohio Ducks Unlimited artist of the year.

More than 35,000 Ohio wetland stamps are purchased every year, according to the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Proceeds from the stamp sales help fund vital wetland habitat restoration projects in Ohio. Such habitats are important to many resident wildlife species as well as numerous migratory species.

It’s great to win in my home state and especially with this species. The Wood duck has such a history here. It was the first duck species ever featured on the Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp. The colors of this duck are what capture most peoples’ attention. In the past when I have had paintings of wood ducks in my display at shows, I always have people that say “wow, that is a beautiful duck, where are they from?” and it’s always fun for me to answer…”here”. The peoples’ reaction is shock and they always say the same thing…”well I’ve never seen one”. The truth is, they are very common in many places, especially Ohio. If they were white or blaze orange people would notice them more often but unless you see this duck up close, you won’t see the amazing colors. Part of the reason I love painting things from nature is to get people to take notice at the beauty that is all around us. So many people don’t even realize what they are missing out on… sometimes right in their own backyard.